BLOOMINGTON, Ill - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team will make the 204-mile trek to Schneider Stadium for its College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener at Carroll University Saturday, Sept. 18. Kickoff between the Titans and Pioneers is slated for 1 p.m.
Illinois Wesleyan (0-1) eyes a bounce back from a 35-21 setback against Franklin College in its season opener Saturday, Sept. 4. On the flip side, Carroll (1-0) is looking to build off a 35-24 season-opening win at Benedictine University, Sept. 11.
Fans can tune into an audio broadcast with Eric Stock calling the action on the field. The game will be live streamed courtesy of Carroll athletics, while live stats will also be available for the contest. Links can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.
PLAYING THE PIONEERS: The Titans and Pioneers have squared off on the gridiron 43 times since the series began in 1935. Illinois Wesleyan heads into Saturday's showdown with a 27-17 lead in the all-time series and winners of six straight against Carroll. The series, which began with a 12-6 IWU win in 1935, took place each season from 1955 to 1991. Following a 25-year hiatus the series picked back up when Carroll rejoined the CCIW in 2016.
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 .739-win percentage (34-12) in road games. In conference road games, IWU is 23-13 in the previous 10 seasons.
The Titans have traveled to Schneider Stadium in Waukesha, Wis. only four times, winning three of the matchups.
CCIW OPENERS: The Titans are 22-11 in CCIW openers under head coach Norm Eash, including a 10-game winning streak 1995-2004.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS: On Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Franklin, junior wide receiver Charlie Hamilton and senior running back Hamid Bullie received and rushed for over 100 yards, respectively. Bullie led the offensive attack with 141 yards on 21 carries, while Hamilton finished with 128 yards on six receptions, including two touchdowns. This is the first time since 2019 that both a wide receiver and running back have finished the game with over 100 yards. On Oct. 12, 2019 in a win against Carthage, Bullie rushed for 117 yards and Jack Healy had 10 receptions totaling 123 yards.
BALL HAWKS: Defensively, IWU had two interceptions on Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Franklin. Seniors Tyler Maple and Jack Dawson each snagged their first career interceptions. The Titans have forced two interceptions in a game only twice in the past two seasons. Most recently in the 2020 season, Fernando Chavez and Zach Mitchell each picked up an interception in a 12-0 win against Augustana.
R-E-L-A-X: The last time the Titans won a season opener was on Sept. 2, 2017 when IWU defeated third-ranked UW-Whitewater 17-10 at Tucci Stadium. Despite not winning its previous four season openers, IWU has gone on to have a winning record in the past three seasons.
In a shortened 2020 season, the Titans were defeated by Millikin in the season opener, but won their next two games to close out the season. In 2019, IWU dropped its first two games to UW-La Crosse and Wheaton and finished the season with a 6-4 record. In 2018, despite an opening loss to UW-La Crosse, the Titans went on to win their next seven games and close out the season with an 8-2 record.
SKIPPING THE SOPHOMORE SLUMP: Sophomore quarterback Sage Shindler picked up right where he left off from the shortened 2020 season. Schindler threw for a career-high 325 yards and three touchdowns Sept. 4 against Franklin. In that game, Schindler had 22 completions, including a career-long 50-yard completion to Charlie Hamilton. As a freshman in 2020, he threw three touchdowns on two other occasions,, while 325 passing yards beats his previous best of 293 yards in the 2020 season opener against Millikin.
EXPERIENCED O-LINE: Illinois Wesleyan is slated to start five seniors across the offensive line in Jake Buhe, Nicholas Cyze, Jacob Finfer, AJ Lust, and Jake Tencza. One of the most experienced offensive line units in the country, the group has combined for 52 starts in 24 games.
YEAR 130: In its 130th season, IWU has an overall 1,062-game record of 602-418-42 (.587 winning percentage). Of the 1,062 games, head coach Norm Eash has been involved in 364 of them (327 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).
THE GAUNTLET THAT IS THE CCIW: If preseason polls are any indication, the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin is predicted to be as tough of a conference as there is in Division III. North Central, the 2019 NCAA Division III National Champion, ranks No. 3 in D3football.com's Preseason Top-25. Wheaton is fifth, while both NCC and the Thunder garnered four votes for the top slot in the poll. Illinois Wesleyan received 41 points, narrowly missing the top-25, while Millikin garnered five points.
CCIW PRESEASON POLL: Illinois Wesleyan was predicted to finish third in the annual CCIW Preseason Coaches Poll. IWU's 58 points were behind only Wheaton (78) and North Central (76). WashU ranked fourth with 56 points, while Millikin's 49 points rounded out the top-five.
LONGEVITY IN LEADERSHIP: Illinois Wesleyan Head Coach Norm Eash is one of the longest tenured head coaches in all of Division III. Now in his 35th season at the helm of the Titans, Eash is the third-longest tenured head coach in the nation behind only Rick Giancola (Montclair St. - 39 seasons) and Rich Lackner (Carnegie Mellon - 36 seasons).
200-WIN CLUB: Thirty five-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 216 games as the head man at his alma mater, ranks sixth in the country among active head coaches.
ON THE HORIZON: Illinois Wesleyan returns to Wisconsin next weekend, Sept. 25, for a CCIW clash with Carthage. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
