BLOOMINGTON, Ill - The Illinois Wesleyan football team returns home for senior day and their final game at Tucci Stadium this season, Saturday Nov. 5. The Titans will face the No. 1 team in the country and CCIW foe North Central College with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
The Titans enter the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin matchup fresh off a heartbreaking 24-21 loss to Augustana on Saturday, Oct. 29. Illinois Wesleyan fell to 5-3 overall and 4-3 in conference play. Meanwhile, North Central is coming off a 59-0 shutout victory over North Park University, Oct. 29. North Central sits at an 8-0 overall mark on the season, including a 7-0 league record. North Central is outscoring opponents 228-0 in the last four games, including a 31-0 shutout over WashU on Oct. 22.
Fans can tune into a video broadcast with Eric Stock calling the action on the field alongside Joel Swanson, while live stats will also be available for the contest. Links can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.
SENIOR SEND OFF: Illinois Wesleyan will recognize its 18-man senior class prior to Saturday's game. The Titans will celebrate the careers of seniors Fernando Chavez, Zach Bozarth, Payton Gerberding, David Kaplan-Perkins, Charlie Hamilton, James Porter, Anthony Wachal Jr., Austin Spiller, Ian Kroemer, Jonathan Rukujzo, Andrew Stange, Matthew Milan, Robbie Pulliam, Conor Murphy, Holden Smith, Jackson Joyce, Nick Deaner, and Brennan Weir.
CLASHES WITH THE CARDINALS: Illinois Wesleyan and North Central have met on the gridiron 71 times ahead of Saturday's showdown, with the Titans owning a 37-31-3 edge in the all-time tally. NCC has had the upper hand as of late however, winning the past 11 matchups.
The Titans will host the Cardinals for the first time since 2018. IWU owns a 24-15-1 lead when taking on NCC in Bloomington, but holds a 13-16-2 record against the Cardinals in Naperville, Ill.
TITANS AGAINST NO. 1: Since the D3football.com poll began in 2003, the Titans have only played a No. 1 ranked team once. The No. 1 Cardinals and Titans faced off last season on Oct. 23, 2021 resulting in a 55-7 North Central victory.
LAST WIN OVER THE CARDINALS: Illinois Wesleyan's last win over North Central came via a 28-22 overtime thriller on Halloween, Oct. 31, 2009. It was just the second OT game in IWU history.
North Central had the ball first in overtime but missed a 42-yard field goal on fourth down. On the Titans' possession, which consisted of five plays, Kraig Ladd hit Michael Sloboda with his first catch of the day for a 10-yard score to give IWU the 28-22 win.
STANGE SECURES WEEKLY AWARD: For the first time this season and third time in his career, kicker Andrew Stange was named CCIW Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance against Augustana on Oct. 29. Stange went 2-for-2 in field goals and 1-for-1 in PATs on Saturday, including a 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
The Lake Zurich, Ill. native is the only kicker in the CCIW with multiple 40+ yard field goals made this season.
TOP DAWGS: Saturday's contest will feature the CCIW's top two receivers in North Central's DeAngelo Hardy and IWU's Charlie Hamilton. Hardy, the league's top receiver, is averaging 107 receiving yards per game, while Hamilton is close behind averaging 95 yards per game. Hamilton ranks first in the conference in receptions per game with 7.0, while Hardy averages 5.8 catches per game.
NO FLY ZONE: Illinois Wesleyan sophomore Artist Benjamin finds himself amid a breakout season for the Titans in the secondary. Benjamin has set career-highs in just about every statistical category with two games remaining. Nationally, Benjamin is sixth in passes defended, averaging 1.8 breakups per game.
BEHIND ENEMY LINES: The Titans are the only team in the CCIW with six players in the top-25 in the tackles for the loss category. Zach McNees ranks sixth in the conference with an average of 1.50 TFLs per game, while Josh Hlavacek ranks eighth with 1.38 per game. Joshua Klein sits tied for 13th with 1.00 tackles for loss per contest and Fernando Chavez and Frank Roti are slotted tied for 17th at 0.94 per game. Owen Phaby is tied for 23rd with 0.79 per outing.
IWU IN NOVEMBER: Illinois Wesleyan has posted a 46-36 record under longtime head coach Norm Eash.
ON THE HORIZON: The Titans will wrap up the regular season next Saturday, Nov. 12 against Elmhurst. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. in Elmhurst, Ill.
