Western Illinois ended its season with a 2-9 record. (photo courtesy goleathernecks.com)

A second-half outburst propelled Northern Iowa past Western Illinois 41-3 Saturday in Cedar Falls in the final game of the Leathernecks’ season.

The loss means WIU ends with a 2-9 overall record. The Leathernecks finish 2-6 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

Northern Iowa are 6-5 overall and 4-4 in the conference. The Panthers still hold out hope of making the FCS playoff field, which will be announced Sunday morning on ESPNU.

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

Explosive plays again scalded Western Illinois

The Leathernecks were hurt numerous times all fall by giving up big yardage plays on defense.

That trend continued Saturday as Northern Iowa broke a 3-3 tie with a 99-yard touchdown run up the middle by Dom Williams.

The Panthers exploded for 21 third quarter points and added 10 more in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin.

WIU entered Saturday with the lowest ranked defense among the Missouri Valley’s 11 teams. The Leathernecks gave up 478 yards on 65 plays to the Panthers. UNI averaged 5.6 yards per carry with its 237 rushing yards.

2. WIU’s offense was held in check

Meanwhile, Northern Iowa shut down the usually high-powered Western Illinois offense.

Coming into the game, WIU featured the conference’s top-ranked passing offense. The Leathernecks averaged 301 yards per game; UNI held Western to just 163.

Harried for much of the game, WIU quarterback Connor Sampson completed 29-of-39 attempts and was intercepted a season-high three times. The senior was sacked 13 times.

Sampson’s 163 passing yards were his second-lowest total of the season. In an early-season loss to nationally ranked Montana, Sampson threw for 112 yards.

WIU receiver Dennis Houston came into Saturday tied for the FCS lead in receptions. The senior had five catches for 29 yards against UNI. Therefore, Houston ends the season with 90 receptions for 1,015 yards and six touchdowns. Morehead State’s BJ Byrd also had five catches Saturday, bringing him to 90 receptions.

Taking away the sacks, the Leathernecks ran the ball only 12 times. Ludovick Choquette led WIU with 20 rushing yards on four carries.

3. The Leathernecks start their coaching search

On Nov. 9 WIU released a statement that the school and head coach Jared Elliott had “mutually agreed to part ways at the conclusion of the 2021 season.”

Elliott first came to Macomb as quarterbacks coach in 2012. Following a stint at Carthage from 2013 to 2015, Elliott returned to WIU as an assistant coach under Charlie Fisher in 2016. A former Miami (Ohio) player, Elliott took over as WIU head coach when Fisher left for a position on the Arizona State staff in 2018.

Elliott, a Franklin, Tenn. native, finishes with a 9-31 record in four seasons as WIU head coach.

Thus, Western Illinois has begun its process to find its next head coach. WIU has indicated no timetable to announce its hiring.

News & notes

Darius Joiner, the FCS national leader in tackles, led WIU with eight tackles. Joiner registered double-figures in tackles in all but two of the Leathernecks’ 11 games this season. He made 12 or more tackles seven times . . . senior receiver Tony Tate caught seven passes for a team-high 45 receiving yards . . . five different Leathernecks registered solo sacks . . . WIU’s two wins came in Missouri Valley games, the first against Youngstown State and the second over rival Illinois State.

What’s next? 

WIU opens its 2022 season Thursday, Sept. 1 at UT Martin in a non-conference game.