Record-setting Western Illinois quarterback Connor Sampson helped lead the Leathernecks to a comeback win over rival Illinois State Saturday in Macomb. (photo courtesy goleathernecks.com)

Time and again this season Western Illinois fell behind early in games, staged strong second-half comebacks, yet still wound up losing. That formula netted a different result Saturday at Hanson Field in Macomb.

A very different result. One that harkened back to Western’s 38-35 come-from-behind thriller Sept. 25 at Youngstown State.

In Saturday’s case, the Leathernecks rallied from a late third quarter, 15-point deficit to knock off longtime rival Illinois State 38-31 in Missouri Valley Football Conference action.

“There’s no better feeling than beating an in-state rival,” WIU quarterback Connor Sampson said on goleathernecks.com. “We struggled the last few weeks on third-down conversions and stayed positive throughout the game to make plays.”

The win snapped a four-game losing string for WIU. Following Saturday’s victory, Western is 2-7 overall and 2-4 in the MVFC.

Illinois State, coming off an upset of nationally ranked South Dakota a week ago, slipped to 3-5 overall and 1-4 in the conference.

Here are three things Prairie State Pigskin learned from Saturday’s game.

Western took an old formula and added a new twist

As previously stated, WIU has dug itself a large first-half hole much of this season and then fallen short with spirited second-half rallies.

Saturday, however, the Leathernecks flipped the script. WIU outscored ISU 25-10 in the second half to snatch victory away from its bitter rival.

“There was a more consistent execution, and I was very proud of how our guys played in the second half,” WIU head coach Jared Elliott said afterward. “We went out, battled, and won the game. Simple as that.”

Western tied the game at 28 when Darius Joiner forced Illinois State quarterback Bryce Jefferson to fumble and Mike Lawson returned it 41 yards for a touchdown with 1:37 left in the third quarter and WIU added a two-point conversion.

“All I saw was the ball on the ground,” Lawson told Scott Holland of The McDonough County Voice. “J.J. (Ross) tipped it, I bobbled it, then kicked it and thought it was going out of bounds, but then it rolled back and I picked it up and ran.”

The Leathernecks have also improved their ground game as the season has progressed. Myles Wanza rushed 18 times for 77 yards.

(photo courtesy goredbirds.com)

Wesetern grabbed its first lead of the game when senior receiver Dennis Houston scored with 10:31 remaining.

ISU closed the gap with a field goal, but Western added a Mason Laramie field goal to finish out the scoring.

The Leathernecks thwarted ISU’s final drive when Ross recovered a fumble at midfield when the Redbirds were attempting their last-ditch laterals.

2. Records continue to fall for WIU’s QB

Sampson became Western’s single-season pass completions leader in Saturday’s win.

Sampson, a senior from Belleville, Mich., moved past Paul Singer’s previous 239 completions.

Sampson added 27 completions on 39 attempts for 298 passing yards Saturday and now has 253 completions this year.

In the last two games, Sampson has broken the aforementioned record as well as for single-season passing yards (2,359).

“There’s no better feeling than beating Illinois State, that’s for sure,” Sampson told Holland. “It’s a long-time rival, it goes back before we were here and it’s been a few years since we beat them so it feels good to beat them.”

Elliott told Holland, “I was encouraged by that second half, the general execution, we started to play better special teams, we flipped the field a couple times, we had some huge defensive stops, created some negative plays and offensively generated explosive plays.

“Thank God in the second half we finished drives with scores and not field goals, that and being more consistent with our execution was the difference.”

3. ISU may well have found its next great running back

Illinois State fans certainly enjoyed the collegiate career of running back James Robinson — and continue to follow the Rockford native’s NFL success with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Could the next great Redbird runner be freshman Cole Mueller? The Missouri native rushed for 159 yards on 27 carries in Saturday’s game. In addition, Mueller scored three touchdowns — all in the first half.

Saturday’s performance marked the fourth time this season fourth time that Mueller has broken the 100-yard rushing plateau. In the previous three 100-yard games, Illinois State posted wins.

In the last two weeks, Mueller has rushed 52 times for 337 yards and four touchdowns.

News & notes

Mueller’s three touchdowns are the most since Robinson also rushed for three against the Leathernecks in 2019 . . . The 38-31 victory was WIU’s largest victory this fall . . . both teams converted third downs at a 50 percent rate. ISU was 6-for-12 while WIU was 7-for-14 . . . Mason Laramie kicked three field goals for Western . . . ISU quarterback Bryce Jefferson was 8-for-16 passing for 110 yards and touchdown. He was sacked three times . . . The Redbirds’ Jarrell Jackson blocked a Laramie field goal attempt and Kenton Wilhoit lateraled to Clayton Isbell who appeared to have returned it for a touchdown. However, a replay review overturned the call when Wilhoit’s knee was ruled down at the ISU 36.

What’s next

Illinois State returns home to face Northern Iowa Saturday, Nov. 6 at Hancock Stadium in Normal. Kickoff is at noon. UNI upset No. 3-ranked Southern Illinois 23-16 Saturday in Cedar Falls.

WIU closes out its home season with Senior Day Saturday, Nov. 6 against South Dakota. The Coyotes were idle Saturday and lost to ISU 20-14 in their last game.