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Leathernecks Continue MVFC Play at #12 UNI

Kickoff at the UNI-Dome this Saturday scheduled for 4 p.m.

ALL-TIME SERIES: WIU trails 30-13

THE SERIES: Western Illinois and Northern Iowa meet for the 44th time... Two of oldest programs in the former Gateway and AMCU Conferences have met every year since 1978... The 38th consecutive meeting is the second-longest continuous series in program history, trailing only the 41 consecutive meetings against next week's opponent Illinois State.

THE COACHES: Western Illinois head coach Bob Nielson is in his third year with the Leathernecks. He owns a 12-17 record at Western and 182-76-1 in his 23rd year as a head coach... UNI head coach Mark Farley is 122-59 in his 15th year in charge of the Panthers and overall as a head coach.

THE RANKINGS: Western enters this week receiving votes in both the STATS FCS (179 points/28th place) and Coaches (31 points/28th place) 'Top 25' polls... UNI is ranked 14th in the Coaches poll and 12th in the STATS poll.

MORE RANKED OPPONENTS: Last year Western played a program-record eight ranked teams in the 12-game schedule... The 2015 season picked up where last year left off, playing #25 Eastern Illinois (33-5 win) and at #1 Coastal Carolina (34-27 defeat)... The future opponents rankings this week includes (highest ranking): UNI (12th), Illinois State (4th), Youngstown State (11th), North Dakota State (2nd), Indiana State (21st) and South Dakota State (7th).

VALLEY LEADS THE NATION AGAIN: The Missouri Valley Football Conference again led the nation going 16-3 outside of league play vs. FCS competition. The three losses were: North Dakota State at Montana, SIU at Southeast Missouri and Western's loss at #1 Coastal Carolina... Five of the nation's 'Top 14' ranked teams are out of the MVFC, with Western and Indiana State next in votes received.

NATION'S TOUGHEST SCHEDULE: For the third week in a row, Western Illinois has the nation's toughest schedule according to the NCAA Division I FCS rankings... The Fighting Leathernecks are one of nine MVFC teams among the top 11 ranked.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Northern Iowa is coming off a disappointing last minute loss at #2 North Dakota State 31-28... The Panthers took a 28-24 lead following Aaron Bailey's 83-yard TD run midway through the fourth quarter. The UNI quarterback finished with a game-high 157 rushing yards and added 55 through the air... Daurice Fountain caught four passes for 110 yards and a TD, including a 67-yard reception... Brett McMakin led the defense with 13 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss, two forced fumbles, an interception and sack... Jared Farley added nine tackles... UNI is 23rd nationally, leading the MVFC in redzone defense (71.4 percent)... The 195 rushing yards per game ranks 27th in the country while the 8.2 tackles for a loss per game is ninth nationally... Bailey's 5.7 yards per carry ranks 36th nationally... McMakin leads the MVFC and is fifth nationally with 6.8 solo tackles per game while Farley is ninth (6.2).

LEATHERNECK NOTES:
• Western improved to 2-0 in Missouri Valley Football Conference action for the first time since 2010. The last time Western began conference play 3-0 was during the 2000 championship season.

• Western's current ranking of 28th nationally (FCS Coaches) is the highest regular season ranking since the 2010 team was 21st in the Nov. 22 poll. That year Western finished the season 17th, and was 27th in the 2011 preseason ranking.

• A Western Illinois victory over UNI would make the Panthers 0-3 to start league play, which would be the third time in the last four years. However, those two occurrences of losing at least the first three in MVFC Play (0-5 in 2013 and 0-3 in 2012) are the only two times doing so since 2000.

• Over the past six games, Western has registered 17 takeaways (9 interceptions/8 fumble recoveries) and owns a +8 advantage in turnover margin.

• Western ranks fourth nationally in fumble recoveries (8), led by national leader Brett Taylor (3).

• The Leathernecks also stand fifth in sacks allowed, 0.50 per game allowed. The offensive unit has not allowed a sack since the two during the season-opener against Eastern Illinois.

• The Leathernecks look to end a three-game losing streak in the UNI-Dome, last winning in October 2006 (24-13).

• Western's two wins in October already match the last two seasons combined. In fact, Western has managed just four wins during the month of October dating back to the 2011 season... In 2010, Western won three games in October.

• Brett Taylor ended one shy of tying a Missouri Valley Football Conference record with his two fumble recoveries at Illinois. He picked up another loose ball and scored a touchdown versus Southern Illinois. Taylor leads the nation with three fumble recoveries.

• Nikko Watson leads the team with five rushing TDs on 80 attempts in five games. That matches his personal-high for a season, equaling his five on 139 attempts in 10 games of the 2013 season.

• Speaking of Nikko Watson, if he met the national requirement for percentage of team games played, his 156.3 rushing yards per game would rank second nationally. As it stands, he is second in the MVFC and 28th nationally with 469 yards.







 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

(RV) Western Illinois (3-2, 2-0 MVFC)
at
(#12/14) UNI (2-3, 0-2 MVFC)
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Saturday, October 17 - 4 pm
Cedar Falls, Iowa
UNI-Dome
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LEATHERNECK GAME NOTES

PANTHERS GAME NOTES

Opponent Website: 
UNIPanthers.com
 
COVERAGE

RADIO:
ANNOUNCERS: Scott Kornberg, Dr. Tom Cody
Beardstown: WRMS 94.3 FM (Flagship)
Macomb: WJEQ 102.7 FM
Galesburg: WAIK 1590 AM
Quincy: WPWQ 106.7 FM
Clinton, Iowa: KCLN 1390 AM
Monroe City, Missouri: KWBZ 107.5 FM
Macomb: 88.3 FM The Dog

LIVE AUDIO: 
WRMSFM.com
TuneIn Radio app (Google Play / iTunes)

LIVE VIDEO:
ESPN3

LIVE STATS: 
UNIPanthers.com
SOCIAL MEDIA
SEASON INFORMATION

2015 Digital Guide (.PDF)
2015 Schedule
2015 Roster
Missouri Valley Football Conference
 
























































 



 
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Players Mentioned

Brett Taylor

#44 Brett Taylor

LB
6' 2"
Sophomore
Macomb
Nikko Watson

#41 Nikko Watson

RB
6' 0"
Senior
Rock Island

Players Mentioned

Brett Taylor

#44 Brett Taylor

6' 2"
Sophomore
Macomb
LB
Nikko Watson

#41 Nikko Watson

6' 0"
Senior
Rock Island
RB