1998 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team
American college football season
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The 1998 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by ninth-year head coach Randy Ball and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with an 11–3 record overall and a 5–1 record in conference play, making them conference champions. The team received an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Montana and Florida A&M before losing to Georgia Southern in the semifinals.[1] The team was ranked No. 4 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of Division I-AA.[2]
- Randy Ball (9th season)
| 1998 Western Illinois Leathernecks football | |
|---|---|
Gateway champion | |
NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal, L 14–42 at Georgia Southern | |
| Conference | Gateway Football Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Sports Network | No. 4 |
| Record | 11–3 (5–1 Gateway) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Hanson Field |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Western Illinois $^ | 5 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Illinois State ^ | 4 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Iowa | 3 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 3 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southwest Missouri State | 3 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana State | 2 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois | 1 | – | 5 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 3 | St. Cloud State* | No. 8 | W 23–7 | 7,417 | [3] | |
| September 12 | at Central Michigan* | No. 11 | L 14–35 | 26,412 | [4] | |
| September 19 | at Elon* | No. 17 |
| W 17–7 | 6,241 | [5] |
| September 26 | Southern Utah* | No. 14 |
| W 31–3 | [6] | |
| October 3 | No. 1 Youngstown State | No. 11 |
| W 14–0 | 10,304 | [7] |
| October 10 | at Southwest Missouri State | No. 5 | W 20–13 | 12,377 | [8] | |
| October 17 | at Southern Illinois | No. 5 | W 13–3 | 12,600 | [9] | |
| October 24 | No. 18 Illinois State | No. 3 |
| W 37–10 | 16,741 | [10] |
| October 31 | at Buffalo* | No. 3 | W 41–6 | 18,648 | [11] | |
| November 7 | Indiana State | No. 2 | W 26–9 | 7,994 | [12] | |
| November 14 | at Northern Iowa | No. 2 | L 6–10 | 12,118 | [13] | |
| November 28 | No. 14 Montana* | No. 4 |
| W 52–9 | 3,614 | [14] |
| December 5 | No. 3 Florida A&M* | No. 4 |
| W 24–21 | 7,400 | [15] |
| December 12 | at No. 1 Georgia Southern* | No. 4 | L 14–42 | 11,140 | [16] | |
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