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2008 Western Illinois

6–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Missouri Valley Football Conference), coached by Mark Hendrickson (acting, first 7 games), then Don Patterson (10th season, final 4 games).

Schedule and results

Western Illinois in 2008, game by game: lost at Arkansas 24–28; won vs. Quincy 63–0; lost vs. South Dakota State 22–24; won vs. Stephen F. Austin 34–14; won at Missouri State 33–21; won at North Dakota State 27–22; won vs. Indiana State 56–0; lost vs. Northern Iowa 6–30; lost vs. Southern Illinois 14–24; won vs. Illinois State 48–45; lost vs. Youngstown State 28–31+63−24Lost 24–28 at Arkansas-4ArkansasWon 63–0 vs. Quincy+63QuincyLost 22–24 vs. South Dakota State-2South Dakota St…Won 34–14 vs. Stephen F. Austin+20Stephen F. Aust…Won 33–21 at Missouri State+12Missouri StateWon 27–22 at North Dakota State+5North Dakota St…Won 56–0 vs. Indiana State+56Indiana StateLost 6–30 vs. Northern Iowa-24Northern IowaLost 14–24 vs. Southern Illinois-10Southern Illino…Won 48–45 vs. Illinois State+3Illinois StateLost 28–31 vs. Youngstown State-3Youngstown State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atArkansasL 24–⁠2817%
Sep 6vsQuincyW 63–⁠078%
Sep 13vsSouth Dakota StateL 22–⁠2440%
Sep 20vsStephen F. AustinW 34–⁠1476%
Oct 4atMissouri StateW 33–⁠2153%
Oct 11atNorth Dakota StateW 27–⁠2231%
Oct 18vsIndiana StateW 56–⁠091%
Nov 1vsNorthern IowaL 6–⁠3045%
Nov 8vsSouthern IllinoisL 14–⁠2431%
Nov 15vsIllinois StateW 48–⁠4572%
Nov 22vsYoungstown StateL 28–⁠3171%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Youngstown State 31–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 53 on file).

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 4th in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
355–⁠239
Coach
Mark Hendrickson (acting, first 7 games), then Don Patterson (10th season, final 4 games)
Elo
1356 +16 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−21.0 No. 31 of 125 in FCS
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Thomas Casey

Drafted in 2009

The 2009 draft
Rd 3Jason Williams OLBDallas Cowboys

2008 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Iowa7–⁠111–⁠2
Southern Illinois7–⁠19–⁠3
South Dakota State6–⁠27–⁠5
Western Illinois4–⁠46–⁠5
North Dakota State4–⁠46–⁠5
Missouri State3–⁠54–⁠7
Youngstown State3–⁠54–⁠8
Illinois State2–⁠63–⁠8
Indiana State0–⁠80–⁠12

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.