2000 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

2000 Western Illinois Leathernecks football
Gateway champion
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 7–37 vs. Lehigh
Conference	Gateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 12
Record	9–3 (5–1 Gateway)
Head coach	Don Patterson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Hanson Field
Seasons ←  1999 2001  →

2000 Gateway Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 Western Illinois $^		5	–	1					9	–	3
No. 11 Youngstown State ^		4	–	2					9	–	3
No. 24 Illinois State		4	–	2					7	–	4
No. 19 Northern Iowa		3	–	3					7	–	4
Southwest Missouri State		2	–	4					5	–	6
Southern Illinois		2	–	4					3	–	8
Indiana State		1	–	5					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2000 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They were led by second-year head coach Don Patterson and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 9–3 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 lost to Lehigh in the first round. ^[1] The team was ranked No. 12 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of Division I-AA. ^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	6:30 p.m.	at Missouri *	No. 23	Faurot Field Columbia, MO		L 20–50	53,224	[3]
September 9	12:00 p.m.	at Ball State *	No. 25	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN		W 24–14	12,779	[4]
September 16	1:05 p.m.	No. 23 Sam Houston State *	No. 19	Hanson Field Macomb, IL		W 31–0	5,934	[5]
September 23	1:05 p.m.	Nicholls State *	No. 15	Hanson Field Macomb, IL		W 44–3	4,787	[6]
September 30	1:05 p.m.	Indiana State	No. 12	Hanson Field Macomb, IL		W 49–7	12,348	[7]
October 7	1:30 p.m.	at Southern Illinois	No. 11	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL		W 42–17	10,000	[8]
October 14	1:30 p.m.	at Southwest Missouri State	No. 7	Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO	Gateway TV	W 14–10	8,738	[9]
October 21	1:05 p.m.	No. 3 Youngstown State	No. 6	Hanson Field Macomb, IL		W 24–10	13,418	[10]
October 28	1:05 p.m.	Morgan State *	No. 3	Hanson Field Macomb, IL		W 73–17	4,839	[11]
November 4	1:05 p.m.	Illinois State	No. 4	Hanson Field Macomb, IL		L 18–25	10,147	[12]
November 18	7:05 p.m.	at No. 18 Northern Iowa	No. 6	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA		W 44–41	14,128	[13]
November 25		No. 8 Lehigh *	No. 6	Hanson Field Macomb, IL (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)		L 7–37	3,204	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

References

1. "Western Illinois Football Record Book" (PDF). Western Illinois University Athletics. p. 73. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
2. "I-AA poll". The Greenville News. Greenville, South Carolina. December 19, 2000. p. 4C. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
3. Coats, Bill (September 3, 2000). "MU opens with some special effects". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . p. D1. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
4. Zaleski, Doug (September 10, 2000). "The streak continues". The Star Press . p. 1C. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tharp leads Western Illinois in rout". Quad-City Times . Associated Press. September 17, 2021. p. D13. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Nicholls falls to WIU". Daily World . September 24, 2000. p. 1B. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Western routs Ind. State". The Pantagraph . Associated Press. October 1, 2000. p. F3. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
8. Underwood, Rick (October 8, 2000). "Leathernecks thrash Salukis". The Southern Illinoisan . p. 1B. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
9. Scranton, Lyndal (October 15, 2021). "Bears suffer another agonizing loss". The Springfield News-Leader . p. 1C. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Leathernecks claim showdown with Penguins". Quad-City Times . Associated Press. October 22, 2000. p. D2. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
11. Pospeschil, Jodi (October 29, 2000). "Western Illinois races to 73-17 romp over Morgan State". The Baltimore Sun . p. 8E. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
12. Reinhardt, Randy (November 5, 2000). "Beshel's TD carries ISU to upset". The Pantagraph . p. F1. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
13. Newhoff, Doug (November 19, 2021). "Down, and out?". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier . p. D1. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
14. Larimer, Terry (November 26, 2000). "Lehigh Delivers Loud Message; Taunted Engineers Totally Dismantle Higher-Seeded Foe". The Morning Call . Allentown, Pa. p. C1. Retrieved October 31, 2021– via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in Paul Reinhard column on same page.