| The Shootout | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First Meeting | |
| Season 5, Week 1
Western Illinois 36-34 | |
| Statistics | |
|
Meetings Total: 1 All-Time Series: Western Illinois leads 1-0 Largest victory: Western Illinois 36-34 (Season 5) Longest win streak: Western Illinois, 1 (Season 5) Current win streak: Western Illinois, 1 (Season 5) |
The Shootout is the name given to the McNeese State–Western Illinois rivalry. It refers to the Fake College Football rivalry between McNeese State and Western Illinois of the Southland Athletic Conference and Missouri Valley Conference respectively.
The Shootout is like an intrastate rivalry. It started in the 5th season of the Fake FCS when new coaches Chris Vulcrum, McNeese State, and Barry McKockiner, Western Illinois, decided to start playing. The rivalry is all the more intense since both coaches actually know each other in real life.
While the name "The Shootout" has made less and less sense as seasons go by, the original idea for it came in a pre-season game between the two in which Western Illinois scored a whopping 21 points in the second half.
History[edit | edit source]
The first Shootout game was a preseason game held at Cowboy Stadium, Lake Charles, Louisiana. In the beginning, it was a very close game, with a 7-0 McNeese State lead at the end of the first quarter. But once the second quarter started Western Illinois turned on the jets scoring 21 in that half alone. McNeese State did end up tieing it after the second half started with a 10-second 55-yard touchdown, making it 21-21. But Western Illinois took over from there ending the game 38-29. While this game is considered the first, it is not considered part of the record, since it was a preseason game.
There has only been one game since, which was also won by Western Illinois. This game was a lot closer though, ending 36-34. McNeese State let Western Illinois score 21 points in the first quarter this time but quickly followed up making it 21-20 by halftime. They then marched down the field to score another touchdown and went for two, going ahead 28-21. But it all fell apart from there. A safety, missed two-point conversion, bad time management, all of these could be reasons for McNeese State's loss. But in the end Western Illinois did squeak through.
Game results[edit | edit source]
| Season | Week | Location | Winner | Score | Ranked Teams |
| 5 | 1 | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney, Australia | Western Illinois | 36-34 | #24 Western Illinois |