Western Illinois linebacker Jason Williams was out running errands Saturday and decided to tune in to the Illinois-Missouri game when he got home. That’s when he heard about the college football story of the year, or the decade, or the millennium — that Appalachian State had won at Michigan.
“The first thing I thought was, ‘OK, that’s huge,'” Williams said.
Like Appalachian State, Western Illinois is a member of the NCAA’s Football Championship Subdivision, known until this year as Division I-AA.
This week the Leathernecks go for their own memorable upset when they provide the opposition for the Illini’s home opener Saturday.
Illinois has to hope the Leathernecks got the surprise bug out of their system Thursday, opening with a 29-26 four-overtime upset of then-No. 20 South Dakota State, a win that vaulted Western into the national rankings at No. 23.
The Leathernecks won’t be awed at Memorial Stadium. Last year they played at Wisconsin, falling 34-10.
“We never saw anything like that until last year,” said Williams, a junior from Chicago’s DuSable High School. “It’s an overwhelming feeling as you set foot out there and see 85,000 people. It’s a big rush.”
The Leathernecks have taken their swings at NCAA Division I-A teams (now the Football Bowl Subdivision). In coach Don Patterson’s eight seasons, they’ve gone 4-6 against I-A teams, beating teams at the Mid-American Conference level.
Their best shot at a big-time upset came Sept. 13, 2003. The Leathernecks had just climbed to No. 1 in the Division I-AA rankings and visited No. 11 LSU. The Leathernecks were trailing 13-7 in the third quarter when they attempted a flea-flicker, which was intercepted, paving the way for LSU to pull away for a 35-7 win.
“Our guys went to LSU thinking we could pull it off — I know it sounds silly, but I know how Appy State felt,” Patterson said. “I just wish we had the same kind of experienced lineup that we had in ’03. That would give us a better chance Saturday night.”
That Western Illinois team made the I-AA quarterfinals, as did Patterson’s ’02 team.
Appalachian State’s victory was less of an upset from the perspective of I-AA teams.
“The thing I know from watching Appalachian State is they have the capability to beat quite a few I-A teams,” Patterson said. “They’re without question the best in I-AA. If we had the team speed that Appy State had, we’d feel better about our game against Illinois.
“They’re just exceptional when it comes to team speed and, obviously, that presented some problems for Michigan. We simply don’t have that kind of team speed. … We need for things to happen just right for us to earn a win Saturday night.”
For Illinois, Michigan’s loss came at a good time. If the Illini needed it, they were reminded that Big Ten teams can indeed be upset.
“It was definitely a shocker,” Illinois linebacker Brit Miller said. “You’d think Michigan would take care of business against just about anybody. I wasn’t sure what to think. Those guys on Appalachian State played hard. They have good athletes. Michigan maybe took them a little lightly. It shows anybody can win. We have to go out and play like we’re playing Ohio State.”
And it helped coach Ron Zook’s motivational speech.
“This [Western Illinois] team is capable of beating us or anybody in the Big Ten,” he said. “They scored first on Wisconsin last year.
“We’re not going to see the same game we see on tape — we’ll get their top game. And there are a lot of guys on their roster who could very easily be on our roster.”
As for the Leathernecks, the argument is always there that a big underdog has nothing to lose.
“Technically you could say that, but we’re playing for a winning season,” Williams said.
Win or lose, WIU will have a chance to pick up style points in the minds of the committee that will select the 16 teams that will play in the tournament that determines the FCS national champion.
“It’s another step toward a playoff berth,” Williams said.
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tabannon@tribune.com
