BLOOMINGTON, Ill - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team travels to Rock Island, Ill. for week two of the season for a game against Augustana College Saturday, March 27. Kickoff between the Titans and Vikings is set for 1 p.m. at Augustana's Knowlton Athletic Complex.
    Illinois Wesleyan is 0-1 on the season after a comeback bid fell short, 38-28, at Millikin, March 20. Meanwhile, Saturday's game will be Augustana's (0-0) season opener. The game will be live streamed and will have live stats available. Links to both can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.

ALL-TIME AGAINST AUGIE: Saturday's showdown will be the 86th all-time meeting between Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana in a series that dates back to 1917. The Titans are the only team in the CCIW with a winning record versus the Vikings, as IWU leads the series 47-37-1, including a 24-17 mark at home. Illinois Wesleyan won the inaugural meeting 12-3 more than 100 years ago. Most recently, the Titans topped the Vikings 21-17, Sept. 28, 2019, for their fifth straight win over Augie.

COMMON BONDS: Illinois Wesleyan Athletic Director Mike Wagner is the lone common link between the two conference foes. Wagner, a 1992 Augie graduate, played football for the Vikings for four seasons. A Honorable Mention All-American by Dan Hansen's Football Gazette, Wagner was an All-CCIW linebacker for the Vikings. He led Augie to three NCAA Division III Playoff appearances during his playing career.

WHAT A DEBUT: Lucas Segobiano did a bit of everything in Illinois Wesleyan's season opener at Millikin, March 20. The St. Charles, Ill. native hauled in a game-high seven catches for 104 yards, including two touchdowns in his IWU debut. He also completed a two-yard pass and rushed for 16 yards and a touchdown.

FRESHMAN SLINGER: In its season opener Saturday, March 20, Illinois Wesleyan started a freshman at quarterback for the first time since Brandon Bauer started against Wheaton, Oct. 1, 2016. In his collegiate debut, Sage Shindler completed 25-of-37 passes for 293 yards and three touchdowns.
Nationally, Shindler ranks fifth in completions per game (26), seventh in passing yards per game (332) and total offense (332), 11th in passing efficiency (159.5), and 12th in complete percentage (.650).

TIP OF THE CAP: Longtime Augustana Sports Information Director Dave Wrath recently announced his upcoming retirement following more than 40 years of promoting Augie's student-athletes. He is the longest-serving SID in the CCIW. Wrath, who served as the CCIW Sports Information Director from 1996-2005, was instrumental creating the CCIW Academic All-Conference teams.
    Wrath is not only the most decorated sports information/media relations professional in the history of the CCIW, he is among the most decorated in the history of college athletics. He received CoSIDA's Warren Berg Award in 2000 for the top communications professionals at the Division II, III or NAIA level. He was selected to the CoSIDA Hall of Fame in 2003; and in 2005 he received the Lester Jordan award from CoSIDA for his work with the Academic All-America Committee.
    Thank you for 40+ years of service within the CCIW, Dave.

MONSTER IN THE BACKFIELD: Senior defensive end Mike Murphy enters the season following a record-setting 2019 campaign.  For his career, Murphy's 20.5 sacks are second-most on the Division III active list. His 16.0 QB takedowns in 2019 were the most in all of Division III, while his 1.60 sacks per game were the most among FBS, FCS, and Division II.
Murphy was named to the D3football.com Preseason All-America First Team back in September. He was one of 11 CCIW players to earn a selection, and the first Titan to do so since Trevor Staley did in 2018. Overall, he is just the third IWU player to be recognized on the D3football.com preseason team since 2005.

IN THE TRENCHES: Illinois Wesleyan returns nearly its entire offensive line from a season ago, including co-captains Jake Buhe and Michael Norwood. IWU also returns AJ Lust, Chris Wojciak, and Jacob Finfer. Collectively, the group has made  42 career starts.

LEADING THE WAY: The Titans will be led by captains Jake Buhe, Liam Krammer, Mike Murphy, Michael Norwood, and Emmett Zima this season. The captains are voted by the team. A tradition that typically takes place near the end of "Spring Ball," was held via virtual meetings this past summer due to COVID-19.

200-WIN CLUB: Thirty three-year veteran Norm Eash is one of just nine coaches nationally in NCAA Division III with 200-or-more career wins. Eash, who has won 214 games as the head man at his alma mater, ranks tied for fifth in the country among active head coaches.
    Redlands Head Coach and 1980 Illinois Wesleyan alumnus Mike Maynard joined Eash in the 200-win club with a 27-19 victory over Linfield, Sept. 21, 2019.

YEAR 128: In its 128th season, IWU has an overall 1,059-game record of 599-418-42 (.586 winning percentage). Of the 1,059 games, head coach Norm Eash has been involved in 361 of them (325 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.