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WIU Football and Indiana State Meet Saturday

The Fighting Leathernecks travel to Terre Haute for a 12 pm central kickoff.

ALL-TIME SERIES: WIU leads 23-15

THE SERIES: Western Illinois leads the all-time series 23-15 against Indiana State, including two consecutive wins... Western looks to improve on its 8-11 record in Terre Haute.

THE COACHES: Western Illinois head coach Bob Nielson is in his third year with the Leathernecks. He owns a 13-20 record at Western and 183-79-1 in his 23rd year as a head coach... Indiana State head coach Mike Sanford owns a 13-22 in his third year with the Sycamores and 29-65 overall in eight years as a head coach.

THE RANKINGS: Western is receiving votes (43 points/32nd place) in the STATS FCS poll... Indiana State received one vote in the FCS Coaches poll and 62 points in the STATS FCS poll (31st place).

LEATHERNECKS CONTINUE WITH NATION'S TOUGHEST SCHEDULE: Once again based off the NCAA rankings, Western Illinois has the nation's toughest schedule according to the NCAA Division I FCS... The Fighting Leathernecks are one of six MVFC teams among the 'Top 13' ranked... Western still ranked first with a .689 cumulative opposition winning percentage, ahead of Elon (.638) and Villanova (.625).

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, at #1 Coastal Carolina, at #12 UNI, at #3 Illinois State, versus #24 Youngstown State and at #5 North Dakota State... The future opponents rankings this week include (highest ranking): Indiana State (RV) and South Dakota State (5th).

TAYLOR AMONG ELITE SOPHOMORES: Linebacker Brett Taylor surpassed 100 tackles on the year following the North Dakota State game... With 104, he has currently recorded the most tackles by a sophomore since Lee Russell ended his 2001 year with 107... With nearly as many solo tackles (53) as the next closest Leatherneck in total tackles (David Griffith, 58), Taylor is on pace to become the first sophomore to lead the team in tackles since Kyle Glazier in 2008 (91)... Currently eighth nationally in total tackles and tied for 12th in solo tackles, he's the only underclassman nationally to rank in the 'Top 14' in both categories.

SCOUTING THE SYCAMORES: Indiana State fell out of the Top 25 rankings following a 59-13 loss at UNI... The Sycamores were out-gained 330-272 and were limited to 46 rushing yards... Matt Adam passed for 214 yards and a touchdown but threw three interceptions, two of which were returned for a score... Robert Tonyan caught three passes for 80 yards and a TD... Marcus Gray led the defense with 11 tackles (10 solos)...  ISU ranks 35th nationally converting 56 percent on fourth down, and the four fumbles lost stands 18th-best... The offense has struggled in giving up the sack, allowing more than four sacks per game... ISU ranks 35th in turnovers lost (12) and 50th in turnover margin (0.22)... Matt Adam's 18 touchdowns rank him 16th in the country... Gary Owens, who sat out the UNI game with an injury, stands 11th nationally with eight touchdown receptions.

LEATHERNECK NOTES:
• Over the past 10 games, Western has registered 23 takeaways (14 interceptions/9 fumble recoveries) and owns a +8 advantage in turnover margin. The defense scored three touchdowns this year alone, including the 95-yard interception return by Aaron Diggs.

• In the 33 games Western has played with Bob Nielson as head coach, the Leathernecks have forced at least one turnover in 29 of those 33 contests.

• Western ranks 22nd nationally in fumble recoveries (9), led by current second place ranked Brett Taylor (3)... The 19 turnovers gained this year is second in the MVFC and 20th nationally.

• 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 ranks second in the nation with three fumble recoveries.

• Nikko Watson's nine rushing touchdowns (in seven games played) lead the team and place him 23rd nationally. In those seven games he already matched his previous three year total of nine.

• Speaking of Nikko Watson, now that he met the national minimum of percentage of team games played, he stands 19th nationally in rushing yards per game (98.1)... His total rushing yards place him 45th - with essentially three less games played than others nationally.

• When Eddy Holtschlag entered the game Saturday, he played for the 40th time in his career. He joins two other seniors in playing 40+ games - Gavin Ricketts (44-of-44) and Larry Harris (43-of-44).

LED BY UNDERCLASSMEN: The Leathernecks lost their top seven tacklers from last year and had a few holes to fill on defense along the back seven. Midway through the season, Western's six of the top seven tacklers are all freshmen and sophomores, led by middle linebacker Brett Taylor. The sophomore recorded a game- and career-high 17 tackles versus Southern Illinois (11 solos), deflected a pass that led to an interception and returned a fumble for a touchdown in which he earned National Player of the Week honors. Taylor earned his second MVFC Player of the Week award with 12 tackles at UNI... He leads the way with 104 and enters this week eighth nationally averaging 11.6 tackles per game and 12th with 5.9 tackles per game... Sophomore David Griffith recorded his third 10-plus tackle game this year, making 10 stops at North Dakota State. He has 58 total tackles this year... Sophomore linebacker Adam Brott stands third in tackles with 57 and he leads the way with 7.0 tackles for a loss... Sophomore safety Aaron Diggs is tied for fourth with 52 tackles... He also recorded his second career interception in as many weeks (at UNI, at Illinois State)... Redshirt-freshman Xavier Rowe (51) set a career-high with 10 tackles at North Dakota State. He is followed by fellow redshirt Michael Bishoff (37).









 

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

(RV) Western Illinois (4-5, 3-3 MVFC)
at
(RV) Indiana State (4-5, 2-4 MVFC)
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Saturday, November 14 - 12 pm
Terre Haute, Indiana
Memorial Stadium
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LEATHERNECKS GAME NOTES

SYCAMORES GAME NOTES

Opponent Website: 
GoSycamores.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: 
GoSycamores.com

COACH NIELSON MEDIA APPEARANCES:
MONDAY: Bob Nielson appears on air at 7 a.m. at Macomb Regional Media radio. His interview with Kipp Jones will air on 100.1, 102.7 & 95.9 FM.
    Every Monday at 12 noon, Nielson will speak at the Downtown Athletic Club luncheon at Sports Corner @ 124.
    Every Monday from 6-6:30 p.m. the Bob Nielson radio show is broadcast live at Buffalo Wild Wings in Macomb. The public is invited to attend.
  
THURSDAY: Coach Nielson will be on the air live with Josh Houchins on WGEM SportsCenter AM 1440 around 7:50 a.m. The WGEM SportsCenter app is available for download on iTunes and Google Play.
    During the 6 p.m. newscast on WGEM-TV (Quincy), Bob Nielson and select players will be featured "On the Sidelines" with sports director Ben Marth. Fans can also see the interview online at www.WGEM.com.

SATURDAY: The Bob NielsonShow airs every Saturday morning at 11:30 am on KHQA-TV in Quincy.
SOCIAL MEDIA
SEASON INFORMATION

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
























































 




 
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Players Mentioned

Michael Bishoff

#47 Michael Bishoff

LB
6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
Elk Grove
Adam Brott

#35 Adam Brott

LB
6' 2"
Sophomore
St. Clair
Aaron Diggs

#5 Aaron Diggs

DB
6' 1"
Sophomore
Millennium
David Griffith

#38 David Griffith

DB
5' 11"
Sophomore
Avon
Larry Harris

#39 Larry Harris

TE
6' 1"
Senior
Rock Island
Eddy Holtschlag

#99 Eddy Holtschlag

DL
6' 4"
Senior
Notre Dame
Gavin Ricketts

#98 Gavin Ricketts

DL
6' 1"
Senior
Western
Xavier Rowe

#6 Xavier Rowe

DB
6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman
Oak Park-River Forest
Brett Taylor

#44 Brett Taylor

LB
6' 2"
Sophomore
Macomb
Nikko Watson

#41 Nikko Watson

RB
6' 0"
Senior
Rock Island

Players Mentioned

Michael Bishoff

#47 Michael Bishoff

6' 2"
Redshirt Freshman
Elk Grove
LB
Adam Brott

#35 Adam Brott

6' 2"
Sophomore
St. Clair
LB
Aaron Diggs

#5 Aaron Diggs

6' 1"
Sophomore
Millennium
DB
David Griffith

#38 David Griffith

5' 11"
Sophomore
Avon
DB
Larry Harris

#39 Larry Harris

6' 1"
Senior
Rock Island
TE
Eddy Holtschlag

#99 Eddy Holtschlag

6' 4"
Senior
Notre Dame
DL
Gavin Ricketts

#98 Gavin Ricketts

6' 1"
Senior
Western
DL
Xavier Rowe

#6 Xavier Rowe

6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman
Oak Park-River Forest
DB
Brett Taylor

#44 Brett Taylor

6' 2"
Sophomore
Macomb
LB
Nikko Watson

#41 Nikko Watson

6' 0"
Senior
Rock Island
RB