In a battle of top 25 teams, No. 22-ranked Illinois Wesleyan opens its 66th College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin season against the No. 6-nationally ranked Wheaton Thunder in a 6 p.m. game on Wilder Field at Tucci Stadium in Bloomington.

Illinois Wesleyan (3-0) improved to No. 22 (up from No. 28) in the Sept. 26 American Football Coaches Association poll while Wheaton (also 3-0) is tied at No. 6 and North Central is No. 11 in the poll that has Wis.-Whitewater at No. 1.
The Titans are No. 41 for the second straight week in the D3football.com poll. Wheaton is No. 7 and North Central is No. 9 in that poll, also topped by Whitewater.

Go here for complete Illinois Wesleyan/Wheaton game notes.

The IWU/Wheaton game will be broadcast live on WJBC 1230 AM and on the Internet at www.wjbc.com. There will also be a video streaming broadcast of the game by clicking here.

Illinois Wesleyan is 3-0 against non-CCIW teams who have a combined record of 4-7 (Hope is 2-2, Aurora is 1-2 and Alma is 1-3).
The Thunder has won 29 straight non-conference games dating back to 2002 and, last Saturday, Wheaton was a 49-15 winner over Olivet College. Wheaton has wins over Albion (54-34) and Wisconsin-Platteville (23-14) as the Thunder's non-CCIW opponents have a combined record of 3-8 as Albion and Olivet are winless.

Night home games have been favorable to the Titans since bringing lights back to the Tucci Stadium facility in 2001 - Illinois Wesleyan has a 7-1 home record under the lights, including a 30-26 win over Elmhurst in 2010.