Illinois Wesleyan vs. Augustana
Sat., Sept. 30, 2006 Game Notes

THE GAME: Illinois Wesleyan (1-2) opens play in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin at Augustana (also 1-2) in Rock Island at 1 p.m. on Sat., Sept. 30.

FOR THE RECORD: IWU is 69-36 in its last 105 games (.657) since 1995...The 36 losses have come to Wheaton (7); Augustana and Millikin (6); North Central and Carthage (3); Simpson, UW-Eau Claire and Elmhurst (2); and Coe, Mount St. Joseph, Mount Union, UW-LaCrosse, and Washington U. (1)...The Titans are 65-25 (.722) at home and 51-40-1 on the road (.560) under Eash...2005 and 2004 are the first back-to-back losing seasons for IWU since 1987 (4-5) and 1988 (4-5)...In 2004, IWU (3-7) had its first sub-.500 season since the 1993 team was 4-5. The Titans had been at .500 or better for 10 straight years.

SEPTEMBER: In September, IWU is 36-16-1 (.689) in the Norm Eash era and was 1-2 last season in the month. IWU teams won 11 straight September games (all non-league) from 1995 (loss at Simpson) until 2001 (loss to Washington U.).

ON TO THE NEXT 500: IWU is 502-373-42 (.571) in 114 years of football...IWU’s 500th win came in a 23-14 win over Wheaton on Oct. 22, 2005.

AT WILDER FIELD: Illinois Wesleyan is 55-18 (.753) at Wilder Field in the last 15 seasons (1991-2006). The IWU football facility is the fifth oldest football stadium in the country (1893), behind Wesleyan [Conn.] (1881), Williams [Mass.] (1883), Sewanee [Tenn.] and Amherst [Mass.] (both 1891).

TITAN NOTES: Illinois Wesleyan lost a 28-7 decision at Mt. St. Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sept. 16. The Titans trailed, 28-0, before sophomore fullback Jaryee Maples (Chicago, Whitney Young HS) broke a 74 yard touchdown run with 4:01 to play in the third quarter to provide the lone Titan TD. IWU limited the Lions to 290 yards of total offense but the Titans were victimized by an interception returned for a touchdown and a blocked punt also returned for a score. Eight different receivers made catches for IWU, which got 121 passing yards and 94 rushing yards in the game. Sophomore Martin Ceisel (Deerfield HS) caught four passes ror 58 yards and quarterback Brandon Cotter (Bradley, Bradley-Bourbonnais HS) was 12 of 27 for 99 yards.  Mike Mastro (Sarasota, Fla., Cardinal Mooney HS) led IWU with nine tackles while Bo Osburn (Morton HS) made eight and Andrew Dulaney (Eden Prairie, Minn., HS) had seven total tackles and an interception. Brian Smith (Louisville, Ky. Trinity HS) also had an interception.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Chosen by Titan coaches to honor top players in the week’s game and practices. The “Titan Award” honors a player for work ethic, loyalty and spirit.

OFFENSE: None selected

DEFENSE: Tim Wilkins, junior, end, Evanston (HS)

SPECIAL TEAMS: Mike Stephens, senior, end, Orland Park, Providence Catholic HS)

SCOUT (Offense): Brian Kelly, junior, quarterback, Evanston (HS); Keenan Clifford, freshman, line, Tinley Park (Lincoln-Way East HS)

SCOUT (Defense): Alex Holmberg, sophomore, linebacker, Oak Park (Fenwick HS); Jacob Jolly, junior, line, Bloomington (Normal U High)

TITAN AWARD: Bo Osburn, junior, defensive back, Morton (HS)

MARCUS DUNLOP: Junior Marcus Dunlop (Maywood, Proviso East HS) was limited to 32 yards against Mt. St. Joseph and now has 1,509 career rushing yards, making him 15th all-time at IWU. He is immediately behind Aaron Telford (1,538, 1998-01).

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS: Augustana, the preseason conference favorites according to the coaches’ poll, heads into the CCIW season with two straight losses following a 24-7 at Wisconsin-Platteville on Sept. 23. The Vikings have a win over MacMurray (53-7) and lost at home to to Baldwin-Wallace (17-7)... It has been since 1996 that the Vikings were 1-2 to start a season...Augustana was 10-2 last season, won the CCIW with a 7-0 mark and advanced to the second round of the NCAA playoffs before losing to Mount Union, 44-7...Against Platteville, Augustana allowed 374 yards in total offense (140 rushing and 234 passing). The leading tackler for the Vikings was safety David Winston with 11 (10 solos and one assist). Linebackers Joe Youngbauer and Preston Jones and tackle Tom Ferguson all had seven tackles. Jones had two tackles for loss while Youngbauer and Ferguson had one each. On offense, Augustana managed 171 yards rushing with sophomore wingback Augie Anderson, in his first collegiate start, leading the way with 84 yards on 10 carries but the Vikings could average just 3.6 yards per attempt. Quarterback Ryan McGinnis was nine for 22 in the passing department for 80 yards while Jason Kwasigroch had five catches for 42 yards.

THE SERIES VS. THE VIKINGS: In a series that dates back to 1917, Illinois Wesleyan leads by a margin of 38-32-1 but the Vikings have won the last five contests and six of the last seven including a 41-15 decision last year, also in Rock Island…The Titans won four straight from 1995-98 before Augie stopped a four game losing streak with a 41-0 shutout in 1999…At one time IWU led the series, 32-12-1, but 11 straight Viking wins trimmed the margin to 32-24-1 heading into 1992.

THE COACHES: Norm Eash (Illinois Wesleyan, 1975) is in his 20th season as head coach at IWU and has an overall record of 117-65-1 (.647) and a CCIW mark of 87-50-1 (.634) with league titles in 1992, 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2001. Eash, the CCIW “Coach of the Year” in 1992, 1996 and 2001, is fourth in all-time CCIW coaching wins, behind IWU’s Don Larson (142 wins), Bob Reade of Augustana (112) and Carthage’s Art Keller (105). Eash is second in victories at IWU, behind Don Larson (166 wins in 33 years, 1954-86). . Head coach Jim Barnes is in his sixth season at Augustana and he is 49-17 with the Vikings, including a 10-2 campaign in 2001 that resulted in a CCIW title and a berth in the NCAA Division III national playoffs. Overall he is 86-30, including 37-13 in five years at College of Wooster. He headed into the 2004 season ranked 13th in all of NCAA Division III with a winning percentage of .743.

THE RANKINGS: Four IWU foes have earned national rankings. Coe and Mt. St. Joseph, who have defeated IWU this season and are both 4-0, are ranked No. 18 and No. 34, respectively, in Don Hansen’s Football Gazette. In D3football.com, Coe is No. 14 and Mt. St. Joseph is No. 27. Wheaton (3-0) is 16th in the Football Gazette and 21st in D3football.com while Carthage is No. 38 in D3football.com rankings.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Titans host Carthage at 1:30 p.m. next Sat., Oct. 7 for the annual Homecoming game. Carthage is 3-0 and ranked No. 38 in the Sept. 26 Don Hansen’s Football Gazette...The Titans are 27-14 in their last 41 Homecoming games and have been 9-9 in the last 18 years, preceded by a six-game winning streak from 1982-87.

CCIW PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior kicker Mike Berry (Crystal Lake, Prairie Ridge East HS) was chosen “Special teams Player of the Week” in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin for his play vs. Olivet. Berry made field goals of 43 and 34 yards and also had an extra point in the 21-6 win. The 43-yard field goal is tied for the 7th longest in Illinois Wesleyan history.

PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS: Four from IWU earned honorable mention notice on the preseason All-America squads chosen by Don Hansen's Football Gazette — senior DE Mike Stephens (Orland Park, Providence Catholic HS), senior KR Eric Esch (Bloomington HS), junior RB Marcus Dunlop (Maywood, Proviso East HS) and sophomore WR Martin Ceisel (Deerfield HS).

CCIW PRESEASON POLL: IWU was picked to finish seventh in the 2006 CCIW preseason coaches’ poll. Augustana was No. 1 with 46 points, including four first place votes, followed by North Central (38 points, two first place votes), Wheaton (36 points, one first place vote). Millikin (one first place vote) and Elmhurst tied for fourth with 27 points, followed by Carthage (26 points), the Titans (17) and North Park (7).

SEASON OPENERS: IWU is 10-10 in opening-day games under Norm Eash.

EARLY START: In a check of records since 1965, this is the earliest home football game played in the modern era at Illinois Wesleyan. . . Last year the Titans hosted Simpson on Sept. 3, the earliest season start ever prior to this year, and in 2004 IWU played at Simpson on Sept. 4. Other early season openers have been on Sept. 7, 1985 (DePauw at IWU); Sept. 8, 2001 (IWU at Washington U.) and Sept. 8, 1984 (IWU at DePauw) and Sept. 9, 2000 (Washington U. at IWU). What a difference 40 years makes - the IWU season in 1965 started on Sept. 25 with a home game against Illinois State.