BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Illinois Wesleyan University football team returns to Tucci Stadium Saturday, Oct. 25, for a clash with North Park University. Kickoff of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin contest is slated for 1 p.m.
    The Titans enter the weekend 3-3 overall and 3-2 in league play. IWU got back on track with a 49-27 win at Millikin University, Oct. 18, to push its record back above .500 in CCIW competition. The Vikings most recently ran into the buzzsaw that is top-ranked North Central College, Oct. 18, falling, 75-0. The loss dropped NPU to 2-4 overall and 1-4 in league action.
    Fans can tune into a radio broadcast with Eric Stock calling the action on the field alongside Joel Swanson, while live stats and a broadcast will also be available. Links can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.

TWICE IS NICE: For the first time since the 2023 regular season finale, IWU saw two Titans earn CCIW weekly awards. Dermot Smyth was tabbed the offensive player of the week, while Matt Worthington grabbed special team status.
    Futhermore, Smyth became the first Titan to be named CCIW Offensive Player of the Week twice in a season since Brandon Bauer did so in 2018. Worthington is the first IWU punter to earn weekly honors since Matthew Noguez's selection Nov. 10, 2023 alongside Zach McNees (defense).

REELING IN NATIONAL NODS: The sophomore duo of Cooper King and Matt Worthington were named to the Week Seven D3football.com Team of the Week Monday night, Oct. 20. It marks IWU's first appearance on the weekly honor roll since 2022. King is the third tight end to earn the award in program history, joining Zack Tencza and Kevin Graham, while Worthington is the first Titan punter to reel in the honor.

WORTH THE BOOT: Sophomore Matt Worthington flipped the field with a 71-yard punt in Illinois Wesleyan's win over Millikin, Oct. 18. Worthington's career-best boot is tied for fifth-longest in IWU history. It is the longest by a Titan since Matt Kussmann's 73-yarder against Elmhurst Oct. 25, 2014. Additionally, Worthington's punt is one of 21 boots of 70+ yards this season across Division III.
    For the season, Worthington leads the CCIW with an average punt of 40.6 yards per kick. His average is also 26th-best across the country and currently sits sixth-best in IWU single-season laurels. In fact, Worthington is looking to become the ninth Titan all-time to maintain an average north of 40.0 ypp and the first since Kussmann set the record (43.29) in 2014.

SMYTH STRIKES RARE AIR: Putting together one of the best performances in his career, Dermot Smyth powered Illinois Wesleyan past Millikin, Oct. 18. Smyth threw for 392 yards, completing 21-of-31 pass attempts. He threw for five touchdowns for the second time this season, tying his career-high. Smyth's 392 passing yards stands tied for sixth-most by a Titan all-time and is the most since Brandon Bauer established the record of 431 against North Park Nov. 10, 2018.
Smyth, who also threw for five TDs at Carthage earlier this season, joins Lon Erickson, Kraig Ladd, and Chad Beaty as the only Titan QBs with multiple games with five-or-more touchdown passes.

COOPER IS KING: With two touchdown receptions at Millikin, Oct. 18, junior tight end Cooper King secured the first multi-TD game of his career. An emerging weapon for the Titan offense, King is the first IWU tight end to haul in multiple scores in a game since Oct. 21, 2023 when Kevin Graham accomplished the feat at Carthage.
    King finished Saturday's win with a career-high three catches for 50 yards. His three touchdown receptions are second-most amongst tight ends in the CCIW and just one behind Wheaton's Ben Juska. King's 22.1 yards per catch lead the league.

RISING THE RANKS: Amid the best season of his career to date, Dermot Smyth is climbing Illinois Wesleyan's career ranks. Over 24 games donning the Green and White, Smyth has thrown for 4740 yards and 44 touchdowns. He has added 778 rushing yards and 20 TDs on the ground.
Smyth needs just 260 passing yards to become the eighth Titan in program history to throw for 5000+ yards. He is listed throughout the IWU record book midway through his junior year as Smyth is 11th all-time in passing touchdowns (44) and tied for fifth in rushing scores (20). His 381 completions are eighth-most all-time.

TALE OF THE TAPE: IWU holds an all-time record of 59-6 against North Park. The Titans have been even more dominant at home, owning a 34-0 record against the Vikings at Tucci Stadium and a 25-6 record away from Bloomington. IWU has won seven of the past nine matchups, but NPU has taken the win in the last two meetings.
    Last season, Illinois Wesleyan saw a 24-14 third quarter lead slip away as North Park put together an 18-play, 77-yard game-winning drive in the final stanza. The Titans moved the ball 59 yards to just outside the red zone before an interception thwarted the late-game drive.

TITANS IN OCTOBER: The Titans have compiled a 105-62 (.629) record in the month of October since 1987. More recently, in the past eight seasons, IWU is 29-15 in October including this year's 1-2 mark.

ESTABLISHING HIMSELF: Will Nazha has put together a breakout year through six games this season, establishing himself as one of the top wide receivers in the CCIW. Nazha leads the conference and is 13th nationally with 155.17 all-purpose yards per game. The Barrington, Ill. native leads the conference in receptions per game (7.67 - 15th nationally), receiving yards per game (109.2 - 17th nationally), and total receiving yards (655 - 15th nationally). He is third in the CCIW with five TDs.

RIDE ON: As the calendar flips to November, the Green and White returns to the road with a trip to Rock Island, Ill. Saturday, Nov. 1. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. between IWU and Augustana at Ericson Field.