There are some very impressive games in the 2003 Gateway Football Conference schedules. In fact, the highest percentage of "money games" over any other conference. As with the A-10 schedule ratings, the GFC's difficulty factor is increased by the number of conference teams that finished in Pete's 2002 top-30. But unlike the A-10, there many more IA and top-rated non-conference I-AA match-ups ... this as the GFC has only 8 members (compared to the A-10's 11-team line-up). However, there are certainly some "questionable" games at the opposite end of the spectrum. Even though the combined GFC schedules contain 3 non-conference I-AA conference champs, 3 MAC, 2 Big-10, 2 SEC and 2 Big-12 road opponents ... multiple DII's (and even another NAIA) plague the slate, keeping the overall conference rating below the current first-place A-10.

     What is exciting about the 2003 Gateway race, is the fact that no less than 5 (of 8) members have a legitimate "shot" at the conference crown and/or post-season. There are the traditional powers of UNI, YSU, WIU and reigning national champs ... WKU. However, the pre-season has brought a great deal of talk about upstart's Southern Illinois and Illinois St.. Obviously, conference is loaded with post-season possibilities. So, scheduling will play the most important roll in the 2003 conference race ... let's get right to it.

1. Indiana St.: The Sycamores have, what we feel, will be the most difficult schedule in the Gateway Football Conference ... if not in the entire division. The "Trees" have always been an outstanding basketball school, with the football program finishing at, or near, the bottom of the GFC. However, coach McGuire has rebounded the club to finish 5-6 in 2002, playing a very difficult schedule ... and the 2003 12-game slate is even worse. ISU opens the season at IA Ball St., a team they shocked last year before falling in 2 overtimes. From there, they face the IA hopeful ... Florida International and there high-powered offense. Then, the "Sycs" travel to face in-state Big-10 foe Indiana. Things "ease up", (if one can call anything on this schedule "easing"), as ISU faces back-to-back non-conference games against OVC champs/play-off participants Murray St. and Eastern Illinois. It is GFC opposition the rest of the way, which will include national champs WKU as part of 4 teams in Pete's final top-30 a year ago. The lone bright spot on the schedule is the home conference slate... facing Youngstown, Western Illinois and Western Kentucky "back home again in Indiana". (okay, very poor Jim Neighbors 'rip-off').
   
   
2. Northern Iowa: The Panthers look to rebound from a very poor (by UNI standards) 2002 and this schedule will make that difficult. Being the home of a dozen current NFL players ... including Jake Soliday, Eddie Berlin, Dedrick Ward and Kurt Warner ... "purple" faithful pack the UNI-Dome with expectations to see a traditional I-AA powerhouse. The same type of club that has won 8, of the last 12, GFC crowns. Last season, the Panthers finished at 5-6 ... with 5 of those losses coming in conference. Who would believe this same team was in the semi's just a year earlier. Coach Farley's club will open up at Big-12 power [and in state foe] Iowa St.. The Panthers return home for DII "opener", prior to facing two solid Southland opponents in Stephen F. Austin and Northwestern St.. From there on, it is GFC opposition. The degree of difficulty is in UNI's 2003 "road slate" ... where they will face Iowa St., Stephen F. Austin, rival Illinois St., Western Illinois and Western Kentucky away from Cedar Falls.
   
   
3. Southern Illinois: The Salukis look to establish themselves in 2003. With the undisputed "king" of backfield ensembles; featuring all-American Tom Koutsos, Purdue transfer Brandon Robinson and the pre-season "Payton front-runner" Muhammad Abdulqaadir ... coach Kill's "Dawgs" look to return to the option game and propel themselves to the top of the GFC. Their schedule will certainly give them ample opportunities to test this rushing attack.  SIU has a 11-game slate, featuring 6 home games. However, the difficulty still lies in the 'road games'. They open with a DII, then face two OVC teams in SeMS and champ Murray St.. A "breather" against DII St. Joe's, then Gateway for the duration. The conference portion of the schedule will see "away" games against WIU, WKU and UNI. However, SIU does have home games against YSU and Illinois St..
   
   
4. S.W. Missouri St.: The Bears face the same conference challenges as the rest, but two sub-IAA games spoil a schedule that includes the Big-12's Oklahoma St.. Fair is fair ... being a 12-game season/slate, we will provide the same forgiveness to Randy Ball's club, as we have done to the rest of the division. So we will accept two sub-standard games. The one "saving grace" is that they face DII E. Central University ... a traditional powerhouse, just waiting to "pull an upset". However, the second sub-IAA game is another in the line of NAIA games that are riddled throughout I-AA. The high difficulty factor comes as a result of their "away" slate. Aside from a "treasury building" match-up at Oklahoma St., the Bears will face arch-rival SeMS, Youngstown, Western Kentucky, Southern Illinois and Western Illinois on-the-road. Looks like a steep hill for coach Ball to climb ... but they call him the "dean" of coaches ... so who knows?
   
   
5. Illinois St.: As with SIU, the Redbirds are receiving a great deal of pre-season attention. This is one team that could "hold up their end of the bargain". It was only a couple of years ago, when ILS made the semi's and this year's schedule is favorable. Coach Johnson's club has a 12-game slate ... featuring 7 home games. This includes big conference matches with rival Northern Iowa, Western Illinois and Western Kentucky. The non-conference portion of the schedule includes a DII, Drake, Florida Atlantic and a difficult test at Eastern Illinois. The Redbirds will face in-state Big-10 foe in the Fighting Illini. With the rest of the OOC schedule, they may not be able to afford this one if they expect to see a post-season bid. I say that week-4 game at EIU as the "must win" for the Redbirds. If they can win against an OVC power, they could build the needed confidence in the conference portion of the schedule. ILS has as much, if not more, talent as anyone in the GFC. However, this is one team that I feel would have benefited (financial concerns aside) from not playing a "money game". As we mentioned, the home vs. away numbers are favorable. However, the Redbirds were soundly defeated, at home, against EIU last year ... so it is more than possible for this to happen, on-the-road, again in 2003. In addition, one has to expect, at least, 2 losses in the powerful Gateway Football Conference. So, a fourth loss (even at the hands of Illinois), will all but eliminate any post-season asperations for Denver Johnson's club. Then again, ILS "ran the Gateway" in 1999. So again I say that the Redbirds must win at Eastern Illinois.
   
   
6. Western Illinois: 2003 marks the 100th year of Leatherneck football. The 'Necks look to defend their conference crown with an 11-game slate that includes 2 IA road games. Playing only 11 games could impose a problem in this regard. 11 games (when YSU & WKU have 12) puts WIU in a "must win" situation for one of these 2 IA games. This being said, the MAC's Eastern Michigan have not had a successful season in years and should provide that win. However, the hopes of a win against LSU are very slim. If the Necks would fall against both IA opponents, they would have to win every remaining game and/or win the conference crown to see the post-season. The only thing that keeps WIU from boasting one of the toughest schedules in the conference, are games against a DII and Tennessee-Martin ... both of those are at home. Then again, coach Patterson's club has been playing very consistent football and dominated the GFC last season.  
   
   
7. Youngstown State: Coach Heacock's Penguins have gone two straight season's without a playoff berth and this has not gone unnoticed by the 'guin fans. However, this year's schedule is "just what the doctor ordered" if YSU expects to be playing in December. As you might have noticed, the Penguins schedule rating is far below most of the conference. A 12-game slate offers 7 home games. In addition, a game with long-term rival IA Kent St. (for the Shwebels Challenge trophy) will seem like a home game as it is within easy traveling distance for the Penguin faithful. As with other clubs, YSU has two sub-IAA games (after all, it was then YSU coach Jim Tressel that started playing 2 DII's when the club was an independent and starving for games. Now it seems to be an epidemic through the entire division)... but again we offer some lenience with a 12-game schedule. As with SMS, one of the 2 DII games comes against a powerful team ... in this case Slippery Rock. The I-AA non-conference matches are also favorable ... facing Florida Atlantic and Liberty. The home portion of the conference schedule is evenly split, with YSU hosting Western Illinois and Western Kentucky. Although, there are some worries with away games at Northern Iowa and Illinois St.. Overall, a very light schedule should help the Penguins back to their winning ways.
   
   
8. Western Kentucky: The defending national champs will enter the 2003 season with a new head-coach and the lightest schedule in the conference. This is hard to believe, seeing as though this 12-game slate features a rekindling of the rivalry with Eastern Kentucky and a date with Auburn. However, a DII game and another one of those NAIA matches completely drop this schedule's strength. The conference slate is going to be tricky, as first-year coach Elson's Toppers have to face Western Illinois and Youngstown St. on-the-road. The remainder of the conference schedule favors the Hilltoppers. The key to the WKU season will be a victories over EKU (hard to do with such a rivalry) and one of the two road games against YSU or WIU. Last year, WKU split in two matches with WIU and played a very close win against a "fair" Penguin club ... so this is no easy task. Many are not expecting much from the Hilltoppers, as they have lost legendary Jack Harbaugh. However, don't count on it ... Elson is a long-time assistant of Harbaugh and knows how to call a game on both sides of the ball.

     As we said in the preface, there are an amazing number IA matches, solid I-AA games and even a couple of quality DII matches. However, the quantity of sub-IAA meetings balances out these other games. The Gateway crown will be heavily contested this year. One thing to watch are the traditional rivalry games. WKU, YSU and SMS have rivalries that are outside of the Gateway (EKU {OVC}, Kent St {IA}. and SeMS {OVC} respectively). The remainder of the conference face rivals within the conference. Not so much YSU, as their rival is IA ... but WKU and SMS could easily lose to their rivals ... forcing the need for an additional conference win for both clubs. The GFC winner could easily have 2, or 3, conference losses this year. Also, with WKU winning the championship, the GFC may finally have a chance at receiving 3 play-off bids in 2003 and if the clubs "beat each other up" that will not happen.