BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Back at home after a convincing road victory, the Illinois Wesleyan University football team welcomes Augustana College to Tucci Stadium for a 1p.m. kickoff in College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play.
    Illinois Wesleyan enters the weekend after a 34-7 win at Carthage, Oct. 21, where the Titans never trailed. IWU now sits at 2-5 on the season and 2-4 in league play, while Augie is tied for second in the CCIW standings at 6-1 (5-1 CCIW). The Vikings travel to Tucci with a four-game winning streak, having most recently defeated North Park, 42-28, in Rock Island, Oct. 21.
    Eric Stock and Joel Swanson will call the action on the field for the IWU live stream as well as the radio broadcast, while live stats will also be available. Links can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.



VERSUS THE VIKINGS: Saturday's showdown will be the 89th all-time meeting between IWU 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 48-39-1, including a 24-18 mark at home. The Titans have won six of the last eight matchups with Augie, but the Vikings have taken the last two. Most recently, the Vikings held off the Titans, 24-21, Oct. 29, 2022.

DON'T HOLD IT AGAINST HIM: 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.

TITANS IN OCTOBER: The Titans have compiled a 103-56 (.648) record in the month of October under Norm Eash. More recently, over the past six seasons, IWU is 27-7 in October.

KEE TO THE GAME: Junior Myles Kee erupted for 139 receiving yards on 11 catches with two touchdowns at Carthage, Oct. 21. Kee's 11 catches, were one shy of his career-high, while he hauled in multiple TDs for the first time in his career. Kee's catch total marks the first time a Titan has had double-digit receptions since Oct. 15, 2022, when Charlie Hamilton made 10 grabs.
For the season, Kee is ranked fifth in the CCIW in receiving yards and tied for seventh in TD catches during league play.

TD KG X2: Highlighted by a circus one-handed catch in the corner of the end zone, fifth-year tight end Kevin Graham finished the Carthage game with three receptions, 40 yards, and two touchdowns. He made 15-yard and 13-yard touchdown receptions in the win as he posted the second multiple-touchdown game of his career. He previously accomplished the feat against Millikin Oct. 1, 2022.

NO SOUP FOR YOU: The Titans defense limited Carthage to -2 rushing yards as the Green and White controlled the line of scrimmage. The Firebirds rushed a total of 15 times, but six tackles for loss and a sack kept them from getting anywhere. It is the first time IWU has held an opponent to negative rushing yards, since North Park finished with -8 yards April 10, 2021 during the COVID-19 season that was played in the spring.

WE'LL TAKE THAT: Juniors Jimmy Capecci and Frank Roti picked off passes in Illinois Wesleyan's win at Carthage, Oct. 21, doubling IWU's season interception total. Capecci snagged his second career INT, with both having come at the hands of the Firebirds, while Roti recorded the fourth of his career. Additionally, it marked the first time the Titans recorded multiple interceptions since Oct. 29, 2022 when Roti and Anthony Wachal Jr. picked off Augie in Rock Island.

THROWING DARTS: Freshman Dermot Smyth stuffed the stat sheet in Illinois Wesleyan's win at Carthage, Oct. 21. The first-year quarterback completed 24-of-30 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns, all of which were career-highs. Smyth became the first Titan to toss four TDs since Jay Lemenager did so in last season's win over Carthage Oct. 22, 2022 at Tucci Stadium.

WINNING TRADITION: Veteran head coach Norm Eash is one of just two active coaches nationally in NCAA Division III with 200-or-more career wins. Eash, who has won 227 games as the head man at his alma mater, ranks second in the country among active Division III head coaches. Across all NCAA divisions, Eash is seventh trailing Alabama's Nick Saban (287), North Carolina's Mack Brown (280),  LSU's Brian Kelly (279), Sam Houston's K.C. Keeler (259), and Bethel's Steve Johnson (248), Harvard's Tim Murphy (229).

TEAM AWARDS - WEEK SEVEN: Dermot Smyth, Myles Kee, Arthur Chatt, Zach McNees, and Cole Faivre were IWU's week seven team MVPs as voted by the team. Smyth and Kee were named Co-Offensive MVPs, with Faivre garnering Special Teams MVP honors. Chatt and McNees were co-defenensive MVPs. Matt Gordon (co-offense), Carson Green (co-offense), Nathan Schmidt (co-defense), and Maguire Pallissard (co-defense) were voted scout players of the week. Arthur Chatt was the recipient of the Titan Award.

HOME COOKING: The Titans are 125-53 (.702) at home since Norm Eash became head coach in 1987. IWU has won 24 of its past 33 home games dating back to the 2016 season.

ON THE HORIZON: The Titans go on the road for the final time of the 2023 season next Saturday, Nov. 4, for a battle at No. 1 ranked North Central. Kickoff of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin game is scheduled for 1 p.m.