BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team looks to bounce back when it returns to Tucci Stadium Saturday, Nov. 2, as host to Augustana College. Kickoff of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin battle is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Jim Blossoms band, featuring IWU alumni Craig Bingaman '07, will perform at the tailgate from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. outside the Shirk Center. 
    The Green and White's record sits at 3-4 overall, 3-3 in the CCIW after dropping a heartbreaker at North Park University, Oct. 26. IWU carried a lead into the fourth quarter, but a late NPU score proved to be the dagger in a 28-24 setback. Augustana travels to Bloomington looking to snap a two-game skid and improve upon its 3-4 standing (2-4 CCIW). The Vikings most recently lost to top-ranked North Central College, 49-10, Oct. 26, one week after falling on the road at Carroll University, 30-20, Oct. 19.
    A live stream and radio broadcast featuring Eric Stock and Joel Swanson will be available as well as live stats for Saturday's game will be available through links on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.

KEE (MYLES)TONE: Senior Myles Kee needed just over seven minutes to cross over 100 yards receiving at North Park, Oct. 26, as the senior caught first-quarter touchdown passes of 51 and 52 yards to give the Titans an early lead. Kee went on to finish with 127 yards receiving on six catches to go along with his two TDs. It marked his second 100-yard receiving game of the season and the eighth of his career. It was also the third multi-score game of his career.
    Over the course of his four-year career, Kee has hauled in 137 receptions for 1757 receiving yards. He is just 243 yards away from 2000 career receiving yards, which would make him the first Titan receiver to accomplish the feat since Jack Healy accrued 2337 yards receiving from 2016-19.

SOMETHING SPECIAL: A bright spot for the Green and White this season has been the play of its special teams unit through seven games. Illinois Wesleyan has been the best in Division III in kick returns, leading the nation with an average return of 30.29 yards. The Titans' ability to gain good field position has  been led by the efforts of junior captain and returning D3football.com All-American, Jahari Scott. Averaging a kick return of 37.3 yards, Scott leads the CCIW and ranks third nationally. Additionally, he is tied for eighth nationally and first in the league in kickoff return touchdowns. In punt returns, Marco Palaganas is slotted third in the league and 34th nationally with an average return of 8.3 yards.
    On the other side, Matt Hansen has led an IWU kick coverage unit that is 23rd nationally with four blocked kicks, 33rd with one blocked punt, 39th in punt return defense (3.67 yards per return), and 49th in kickoff return defense at 16.04 yards per return. Individually, Hansen has blocked two kicks good for a tie atop the conference rankings and eighth across Division III.

VERSUS THE VIKINGS: Saturday's showdown will be the 90th 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 48-40-1, including a 24-19 mark at home. The Green and White has won six of the last nine matchups with Augie, but the Vikings have taken the last three. Most recently, the Vikings downed the Titans, 44-14, at Tucci Stadium Oct. 28, 2023.

DON'T HOLD IT AGAINST HIM: Illinois Wesleyan Athletic Director Mike Wagner is  a major 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.

QBS BEWARE: The Titans' ferocious defense has wreaked havoc in the backfield through the first seven games of the 2024 season. The Green and White is averaging 2.71 sacks per game, the 35th-most in all of Division III and the most of any team in the CCIW. The effort is led by Zach McNees, Matt Hansen, and Josh Hlavacek, all of whom rank in the top-200 individually. McNees, the conference leader, is averaging 1.00 QB takedowns per contest, while Hlavacek is 149th at 0.50 and Hansen is 192nd with 0.43 per game.
    In conference rankings, IWU is the only school in the CCIW with three players ranked in the top-10 in total sacks. McNees paces the conference with seven QB takedowns. Hlavacek is fifth with 3.5 sacks, while Hansen sits eighth with three. Additionally, McNees' eight TFLs are third-most in the league, while Hlavacek sits ninth with 6.5.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Titans are 128-55 (.699) at home since Norm Eash took charge of Illinois Wesleyan in 1987. IWU has won 27 of  its past 38 home games since the 2016 season.

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 231 games as the head man at his alma mater, ranks first in the country among active Division III head coaches. Across all NCAA divisions, Eash is fifth trailing LSU's Brian Kelly (289), North Carolina's Mack Brown (286), Sam Houston's K.C. Keeler (268), and South Dakota's Bob Neilson (234).

LONGEVITY IN LEADERSHIP: Illinois Wesleyan Head Coach Norm Eash enters the 2024 season, his 38th at the helm of the Titans, as the longest tenured head coaches in all of college football across the NCAA. Notably, of the most experienced coaches nationally, Eash is the only one with 33+ years of experience coming at one institution.

ON THE HORIZON: Following this week's home game, IWU hits the road for its penultimate contest of the season with a trip to Waukesha, Wis. There, the Titans will battle the Pioneers of Carroll University in a noon kickoff.