BLOOMINGTON, Ill - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team returns to the road with a trip down to St. Louis, Mo. for a College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin battle with the Bears of Washington University in St. Louis Saturday, Oct. 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Francis Olympic Field.
The Titans enter the CCIW clash with a 1-3 overall record, including a 1-2 league mark, following a 52-3 blowout win over Elmhurst on Homecoming, Oct. 2. Meanwhile, the Bears are looking to bounce back from a 40-10 defeat at the hands of fifth-ranked Wheaton, Oct. 2. WashU's record sits even at 2-2 overall (2-1 CCIW) ahead of Saturday's showdown.
Fans can tune into an audio broadcast with Eric Stock calling the action on the field alongside Joel Swanson. The game will be live streamed courtesy of WashU athletics, while live stats will also be available for the contest. Links can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.

WELL...THIS IS NEW: When the Titans and Bears square off Saturday, it will mark the first meeting between IWU and WashU with Aaron Keen at the helm of the Bears. In fact, it will be the first time Norm Eash has coached the Titans against a WashU team not led by Larry Kindblom, who retired following the 2019 season.
Eash holds a 7-3 record against WashU, with all 10 games taking place in the Kindblom era. Of the 10 games, Keen was an assistant on Kindblom's staff for seven of the them from 1994-2002.

BATTLING THE BEARS: Illinois Wesleyan and WashU will battle on the gridiron for the 19th time since the series began back in 1899. The Bears hold a slim 10-9 lead in the series following a 21-0 win over the Titans Oct. 26, 2019.
Despite dropping the latest chapter in the storied rivalry, IWU has won seven of the last 10 meetings, including the last two at Francis Field. On the flip side, the Bears held the upperhand in the early years of the series as WashU won six of the first seven games between the two.

STANGE SNAGS CCIW WEEKLY HONORS: Junior kicker Andrew Stange was named the CCIW's Special Team Player of the Week, Oct. 4. He is the first Titan to earn the honor since Dean Zigulich did so Oct. 6, 2019.
Stange was impressive for the Green and White, as he converted a season-best 44-yard field goal and went 7-for-7 in PATs. His 44-yarder is the longest field goal made by a CCIW player this season. He also recorded five touchbacks on eight kickoffs.

MURPHY LANDS ON D3FOOTBALL TEAM OF THE WEEK: Junior Conor Murphy was rewarded for his dominating defensive performance in IWU's win over Elmhurst, Oct. 2, with a spot on D3football.com's Team of the Week, Oct. 5.
Murphy recorded three tackles for loss, two and a half sacks, and a total of five tackles. He had a strip sack, while also adding three QB hurries. Murphy and IWU held Elmhurst to just 109 yards of total offense, including just seven yards rushing.

TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE: Sophomore Seth Albin jump-started Illinois Wesleyan offensively in its 52-3 rout of Elmhurst, Oct. 2. Albin took the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, putting IWU on top just 14 seconds into the game. His kickoff return was the longest TD-scoring return by a Titan since Oct. 5, 2019 when Dean Zigulich housed a kick 96-yards against Carroll.

RARE AIR: With his 44-yard field goal, Andrew Stange became the second player in Illinois Wesleyan history to convert multiple 40+ yard kicks, joining Dave Pearce who accomplished the feat with field goals of 48 (Nov. 10, 1979) and 44 (Nov. 14, 1981 and Oct. 27, 1979) yards.

THREE-HEADED MONSTER: Illinois Wesleyan flexed its depth at running back against Elmhurst as the Titans racked up 190 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns on 31 total carries. Seth Albin net 94 rushing yards on just five carries, including a pair of touchdowns. Hamid Bullie added 85 yards on 12 attempts, highlighted by two scores, while Anthony Marre recorded a 22-yard TD scamper.
IWU is the only school in the CCIW with two players ranked inside the conference top-eight in rushing touchdowns. Albin is ranked fifth with four, while Bullie is just behind him in sixth with three.

TRICK-OR-TREAT ... OR BOTH?: With the calendar having just flipped to October, it should be no surprise that the Titans reached into their bag of tricks in their Homecoming victory over Elmhurst, Oct. 2. After a shanked Bluejay punt set IWU up with first and 10 from the Elmhurst 34, senior running back Anthony Marre aired out a 34-yard touchdown pass to sophomore quarterback Sage Shindler. The 34-yard score put IWU up 28-3 with 13:13 to go in the second quarter and marked the first touchdown pass of Marre's career, as well as the first TD reception for Shindler. It's the first time a Titan QB has been on the receiving end of a TD in more than a decade.

HAVOC IN THE BACKFIELD: Illinois Wesleyan dominated the line on both sides of the ball in its 52-3 rout of Elmhurst, Oct. 2. On the defensive side, the Titans recorded 17 tackles for loss and eight sacks - both of which were season-highs. With its eight QB takedowns, IWU more than doubled its season sack total, upping it from five to 13.
Conor Murphy led the Green and White with 2.5 sacks, while Skyler Metzger and Zach McNees added 1.5 apiece. Artist Benjamin (1.0), Connor Nigro (0.5), Daniel Gibbons (0.5), and Josh Hlavacek (0.5) also added to IWU's total.
Thanks to IWU's constant pressure in the backfield, the Titans now lead the CCIW in sacks with 13 for a loss of 95 yards.

FAMILIAR FACE: WashU Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Jeff Fisher is no stranger to the Titans, as he played for IWU Head Coach Norm Eash in the early 1990's. Fisher, a 1993 Illinois Wesleyan graduate, was a starting linebacker on the Titans' undefeated, national quarterfinal team. He is now in his sixth season as the Bears' D-Coordinator and seventh on the staff overall.

TITANS IN OCTOBER: The Titans have compiled a 97-50 (.660) record in the month of October under Norm Eash. More recently, in the past five seasons, IWU is 20-2 in October. The last loss in October for the Green and White was Oct. 26, 2019 to WashU, which ended a 15-game October winning streak for the Titans.

ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan is back at home Saturday, Oct. 16, as the Titans play host to Millikin. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Tucci Stadium.

YEAR 130: In its 130th season, IWU has an overall 1,065-game record of 603-420-42 (.586 winning percentage). Of the 1,065 games, head coach Norm Eash has been involved in 367 of them (330 as a coach, 36 as a player from 1971-74).
    Illinois Wesleyan's 35-27 win at Albion on Sept. 13, 2014 was the 1,000th game in Illinois Wesleyan football history. The Titans notched the 600th win in program history with a 12-0 shutout of Augustana last season (March 27, 2021).

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Titans have historically been consistent on the road, especially in conference matchups. Over the past 10 seasons, the Green and White boast a .708 win percentage (34-14) in road games. In conference road games, IWU is 23-15 in the previous 10 seasons.