BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team will close out its 2024 campaign this Saturday, Nov. 16, with a battle with No. 1 ranked North Central College at Tucci Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. for the Senior Day showdown.
    Illinois Wesleyan carries a 5-4 overall record, including a 5-3 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin mark, into Saturday. The Titans have won back-to-back games, most recently rallying to defeat Carroll University, 24-21, on the road. Meanwhile, North Central clinched the league title with a 70-7 dismantling of Elmhurst University, Nov. 9. The Cardinals own a perfect 9-0 record with an 8-0 CCIW standing ahead of Saturday's regular season finale.
    A live stream as well as live stats for Saturday's game will be available through links on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.

EASH ERA: THE FINAL CHAPTER: Norm Eash, the winningest coach in CCIW football history, announced he will retire following the conclusion of the 2024 campaign Sunday, Nov. 10. He will transition into a new role as Senior Advisor for Titan Traditions & Alumni Legacy at the end of the season. To read the full release about his retirement announcement, click here.

SENIOR DAY SENDOFF: Saturday's game will mark the final in the careers of IWU's 32-man senior class. Illinois Wesleyan will recognize Ryan Saxe, Frank Roti, Myles Kee,Tre Moore, Jimmy Capecci, Jonas Capek, Jack Friedewald,Jay Lemenager,Sam Schott, Eddie Cisneros, Marco Palaganas, Josh Davis, Artist Benjamin, Anthony LaMantia, Markus Marshall, Ben Deaner, Nik Espejo, Cole Pradel, Kyle Morrissey, Joshua Klein, Joe Gaskill, Melchizedek Woodson, Zach McNees, Cole Faivre, Paul Zunkel, Josh Hlavacek, Caleb Heims, Dylan Meyer, Peyton Feldman, Joshua McMillin, Christian Cloutier, and Owen Phaby. Colin Elledge, who is graduating early, will also be recognized.

FOURTH QUARTER COMEBACK: Sophomore quarterback Dermot Smyth directed the Titans on a 75-yard game-winning drive in the fourth quarter at Carroll, Nov. 9. Smyth and IWU used 12 plays and chewed up nearly seven minutes of game time to claim a 24-21 lead with 20 seconds left to play. The game-winning effort featured key completions by senior Myles Kee along with rushes by Smyth and Jahari Scott before Danny Kent punched it in for a one-yard score. The touchdown put Illinois Wesleyan in front for good, and gave the Green and White its first fourth-quarter comeback since Oct. 15, 2022 when the Titans topped North Park, 43-34, at Tucci Stadium. In that game, IWU trailed 34-21 into the fourth quarter, but the Green and White scored 22 points in the final quarter to come away victorious. A two-yard touchdown run by Jay Lemenager and a one-yard scamper by Seth Albin gave IWU a slim, 35-34, edge with 5:59 to play. Frank Roti's 70-yard pick-six sealed the win, 43-34.

WAUKESHA WINNERS: Illinois Wesleyan picked up its first win at Schneider Stadium since Sept. 29, 2018, as the Titans defeated the Pioneers, 24-21, this past Saturday, Nov. 9. Brandon Bauer ran for two scores in IWU's 2018 victory, while adding a six-yard passing TD to Bryce Dooley. Morgan Alexander racked up 107 rushing yards with a touchdown. Jack Healy hauled in seven catches for 161 yards and Trevor Koepke paced the defense with 13 tackles.

HELPING OUT THE HUMANE SOCIETY: The Illinois Wesleyan athletic department is teaming up with the Humane Society this weekend. Fans are encouraged to bring donations to the game and drop them in the boxes near the gate.

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 151 receptions for 1899 receiving yards. He is just 101 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.

CLASHES WITH THE CARDINALS: Illinois Wesleyan and North Central have met on the gridiron 73 times ahead of Saturday's showdown, with the Titans owning a 37-33-3 edge in the all-time tally. NCC has had the upper hand as of late, winning the past 13 matchups. IWU holds a 24-17-1 record against the Cardinals at Tucci Stadium.

TITANS AGAINST NO. 1: Since the D3football.com poll began in 2003, the Titans have only played a No. 1 ranked team three times, as IWU has played a top-ranked North Central squad in each of the past three seasons. The Cardinals bested the Titans, 55-7, Oct. 23, 2021, 68-3 a season ago, Nov. 5, 2022, and 83-26 in the most recent meeting, Nov. 4, 2023, in Naperville, Ill.

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.

SOMETHING SPECIAL: A bright spot for IWU this season has been the play of its special teams unit through nine games. Illinois Wesleyan has been one of the best in Division III in kick returns, ranking 26th in the nation with an average return of 24.22 yards. The Titans' ability to gain good field position has  been led by the efforts of returning D3football.com All-American, Jahari Scott. Averaging a kick return of 28.3 yards, Scott leads the CCIW and ranks 17th nationally. Additionally, he is tied for eighth nationally and first in the league in kickoff return touchdowns. In punt returns, Marco Palaganas is slotted fourth in the league and 47th nationally with an average return of 6.8 yards.
On the other side, Matt Hansen has led an IWU kick coverage unit that is 37th nationally with four blocked kicks, 45th with one blocked punt, 59th in kickoff return defense at 16.85 yards per return, and 61st in punt return defense (5.00 yards per return). Individually, Hansen has blocked two kicks good for a tie atop the conference rankings and 15th across Division III.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Titans are 129-55 (.701) at home since Norm Eash took charge of Illinois Wesleyan in 1987. IWU has won 28 of  its past 39 home games since the 2016 season.

QBS BEWARE: The Titans' ferocious defense has wreaked havoc in the backfield through the first nine games of the 2024 season. The Green and White is averaging 2.67 sacks per game, the 38th-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-150 individually. McNees, the conference leader, is averaging 0.94 QB takedowns per contest, while Hlavacek is 117th (0.56) and Hansen is 150th (0.50).
In conference rankings, IWU is the only school in the CCIW with three players ranked in the top-12 in total sacks. McNees paces the conference with 8.5 QB takedowns. Hlavacek and Hansen are tied for third (five) and tied for fifth (4.5), respectively. Additionally, McNees' 12 TFLs are tied for third-most in the league, while Hlavacek sits seventh with nine. Hansen is eighth with 8.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.