8 things to know about UND's homecoming opponent Western Illinois
Oct. 4—GRAND FORKS — The UND football team hosts Western Illinois on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Alerus Center in a Missouri Valley Football Conference matchup on homecoming.
Here are eight things you need to know about UND's next opponent.
In May, Western Illinois announced it will leave the Missouri Valley Football Conference and Summit League and join the Ohio Valley Conference.
The move was effective for the Summit in late June. Football will be final after this 2023 season.
UND is 3-0 all-time against Western Illinois. The teams played in Macomb in the pandemic-altered spring season of 2020-21 and in Grand Forks the following season in the fall of 2021.
UND beat WIU 28-7 in Macomb in the first meeting in 1979.
Western Illinois likes to get the ball in the hands of Jay Parker whether it's returning punts and kicks, handing it off or catching it as a receiver.
Speed is clearly his skill because it's not size.
Parker is 5-foot-6 and 144 pounds.
The graduate senior, who played four years at Austin Peay, has 16 catches for 173 yards and has a 45-yard punt return and a 42-yard kick return.
The NCAA's official stats website says Western Illinois has the worst rushing offense in the country with a ranking of No. 122. Even No. 121 is outproducing the Leathernecks significantly.
WIU is rushing for 27.0 yards per game. The next-worst team is Bucknell at 54.8.
Leathernecks running back Ludovick Choquette is the team's leading back and averages 30.0 yards per game.
The fact Choquette rushes for more yards per game than the team averages indicates how many negative plays the Leathernecks have had this season.
In college football, quarterback sacks' lost yardage are included in team rushing totals.
UND's first-year running backs coach Donnell Kirkwood Jr. came to Grand Forks from Western Illinois.
Kirkwood, who played collegiately at the University of Minnesota, was the running backs coach and director of player personnel at WIU in 2022.
UND first-year outside linebackers coach Tom Dosch was the head coach at NCAA Division II Northern State in 2018.
His offensive coordinator at the Aberdeen, S.D., school was Myers Hendrickson, who is in his second season as head coach at WIU and still searching for his first win.
Western Illinois ranks No. 121 in the FCS in quarterback sacks allowed, giving up 4.5 per game.
The only worst team in the FCS at sacks allowed is Valparaiso at 5.0 per game.
WIU quarterback Matt Morrissey, who's 6-foot-5, has been sacked 18 times. Morrissey is a former JUCO All-American who transferred to Macomb from Northern Iowa.
Something will have to give between UND's pass rush vs. WIU's pass protection. UND ranks 99th nationally with just four sacks in four games.
The only time Western Illinois has ever come to Grand Forks, UND offensive coordinator Danny Freund busted out a deep bag of tricks.
Wide receiver Jake Richter threw a touchdown pass to Bo Belquist and quarterback-turned-wide receiver Brock Boltmann threw a touchdown pass to then-quarterback Quincy Vaughn.
That fall 2021 game was the breakout performance for Gavin Ziebarth, who ran for more than 100 yards against the Leathernecks.
Western Illinois' nickname is the Leathernecks. The nickname and mascot is an English bulldog, imagery derived from the traditions of the United States Marine Corps.
The school adopted the nickname in 1927 when then-athletic director and head baseball, basketball and football coach Ray "Rock" Hanson was granted permission byt the U.S. Navy to use the Marine's official seal and bulldog mascot along with their nickname.
WIU has the distinction of being the only non-military institution to officially have its nickname derived from a branch of the military service.
Former UND All-American Greg Hardin is a first-year wide receivers coach at Western Illinois.
Hardin has previous coaching stops at Eastern Washington, Oregon State, Robert Morris and Millersville University.
Hardin played at UND from 2009 to 2013, earning all-Big Sky Conference honors in 2012 and 2013 and was a two-time Third Team All-American.
After playing at UND, Hardin spent time in the professional camps of the Denver Broncos in the NFL and the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL.
