ALL-TIME SERIES: First Meeting
THE SERIES: Western Illinois will meet Dayton for the first time in program history... The Leathernecks are 8-0 all-time versus the Pioneer League.
THE COACHES: Western Illinois head coach Bob Nielson is in his third year with the Leathernecks. He owns a 15-20 record at Western and 185-79-1 in his 23rd year as a head coach... Dayton head coach Rick Chamberlin is 65-24 in his eighth year in charge of the Flyers and overall as a head coach.
THE RANKINGS: Western received 187 points in the STATS FCS poll, good for 26th place, and 26 points in the FCS Coaches poll (29th place)... Dayton received votes in both the STATS (44/30th place) and Coaches (24/30th place) poll.
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 17' ranked... Western continues to rank first with a .674 cumulative opposition winning percentage, ahead of Elon (.632), James Madison (.604) and Furman (.603).
NIELSON AT ALL THREE NCAA LEVELS: When the Leathernecks take the field Saturday in the opening round of the FCS Playoffs, head coach Bob Nielson will complete a trifecta. He will have taken a team at the Division III, II and I FCS to the NCAA playoffs... Nielson coached Wartburg (2x) and Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1x) to the Division III postseason... Nielson won two Division II National Championships at Minnesota-Duluth, and six appearances in all... Now Western will return to the Division I FCS postseason with Nielson, his 10th appearance in 23 years.
TAYLOR AMONG ELITE SOPHOMORES: Linebacker Brett Taylor has currently recorded the most tackles by a sophomore (123 through 11 games) since Edgerton Hartwell in 1998 with 156 tackles... With nearly as many solo tackles (69) as the next closest in total tackles (Adam Brott, 72), Taylor continues on pace to become the first sophomore to lead the team since Kyle Glazier in 2008 (91)... Currently 11th nationally in total tackles and 13th in solo tackles, he's one of two underclassmen to rank in the 'Top 13' in both categories.
SCOUTING THE FLYERS: Dayton was one of the last unbeaten teams in the FCS before losing its regular season finale at Drake... The Flyers were co-champions of the Pioneer League at 7-1, 10-1 overall... UD will make its first-ever appearance in the FCS playoffs... Dayton is 1-0 versus the playoff field, a 24-13 victory over Duquesne in Week 2... Dayton ranks seventh nationally in fourth down conversion (.688), second in passes intercepted (19), third in turnover margin (1.27), second in winning percentage (.909), 16th in redzone defense (.682), 16th in scoring defense (.682) and 16th in passing efficiency defense (105.75)... The defense also stands 10th in turnovers gained (27) and offensively is 17th with a Pioneer League-best 13 turnovers lost... William Will leads the Pioneer in field goals per game (1.55/7th) and percentage (.739/29th). His 7.5 points per game stands 33rd... Cameron Stubbs ranks fifth with 0.5 interceptions per game and 10th in passes defended (1.5)... Christian Searles also leads the Pioneer, and ranks seventh nationally, averaging 12.6 yards per punt return.
LEATHERNECK NOTES:
• Even though Western was the final team revealed in the 2015 FCS Selection Show, going off the NCAA Simple Ratings System Western was not the last team selected... The Leathernecks are 20th in the SRS, ahead of fellow at-large participants: Sam Houston State (21st), Montana (23rd), Eastern Illinois (24th) and New Hampshire (40th)... Automatic qualifiers Dayton (26th), Colgate (34th) and Duquesne (38th) also came in below WIU.
• Western's six wins marked the first winning regular season since 2010... All six wins came against 'Top 50' ranked teams.
• The Leathernecks have played the most games this year versus FCS playoff teams than any other program. Western went 3-3 against the FCS field, defeating Eastern Illinois, UNI and South Dakota State while losing to Coastal Carolina, Illinois State and North Dakota State.
• Western was picked to finish eighth in the MVFC preseason poll and tied for third with the tie-breaker over South Dakota State and UNI... That improvement of 5 spots from the preseason poll is the second-biggest jump for the Leathernecks dating back to the inaugural preseason poll in 1986... Western was picked to finish eighth among the nine teams in 2010 and ended the year in second place, a Plus-6 improvement.
• South Dakota State ranked among the nation's best in fewest turnovers, having committed just six all year and no fumbles lost... Western forced four SDSU turnovers, three interceptions during the fourth quarter and made the Jackrabbits lose a fumble inside the WIU 10 yard line.
• The Leathernecks forced four turnovers against South Dakota State, the third time this year WIU gained 4+ turnovers in a game... Western opened the year with five against Eastern Illinois then followed that with four at Illinois.
• WIU recorded its first win during the Coach Nielson era when allowing a 100-yard rusher... Western was 0-2 this year and 0-9 in the past three seasons when an opponent ran for 100 yards. South Dakota State's Brady Mengarelli rushed for a game-high 187 yards.
• In 30 previous seasons, seven MVFC teams with three or more conference losses got into the NCAA playoffs. Two league teams, North Dakota State in 2010 and Indiana State last year, had a .500 conference record and earned a playoff berth... This year three teams earned a spot in the playoffs with three MVFC defeats.
Previous MVFC Playoff Teams with 3 MVFC Losses
2006 - Southern Illinois (t-4th place, 4-3 in the league)
2010 - North Dakota State (t-3rd, 4-4 in the league)
2010 - Western Illinois (2nd place, 5-3 in the league)
2012 - Illinois State (t-3rd place, 5-3 in the league)
2013 - South Dakota State (t-2nd place, 5-3 in the league)
2014 - South Dakota State (4th place, 5-3 in the league)
2014 - Indiana State (t-5th place, 4-4 in the league)
2015 - Western Illinois (t-3rd place, 5-3 in the league)
2015 - South Dakota State (t-3rd place, 5-3 in the league)
2015 - Northern Iowa (t-3rd place, 5-3 in the league)
• The win at Indiana State marked the first time in the past three years Western won a game when trailing after the first and third quarter. WIU was 0-15 when trailing after each quarter heading into the Indiana State game.
• The Leathernecks were just 1-4 this year (now 2-4) when committing fewer turnovers than the opposition. Western had four takeaways while committing just two miscues during the regular season finale.
• Sean McGuire joined his teammate Trenton Norvell as a freshman quarterback who won their first two starts... Then redshirt-freshman Matt Barr in 2007 won his WIU debut start, also an overtime victory just like McGuire, when the Leathernecks defeated South Dakota State in a four-OT win.
• Junior wide receiver Joey Borsellino has 12 catches this year of 20-plus yards. Six of those 12 catches have come during the last two games.
• Nathan Knuffman recorded his third punt of 50-plus yards this year, a season-best 53 yarder against South Dakota State.
• Over the past 12 games, Western has registered 28 takeaways (18 interceptions/10 fumble recoveries) and owns a +9 advantage in turnover margin. The defense scored three touchdowns this year alone, including the 95-yard interception return by Aaron Diggs.
• In the 35 games Western has played with Bob Nielson as head coach, the Leathernecks have forced at least one turnover in 31 of those 35 contests.
• Western gained 500-plus yards of total offense five times this season, two have come in the last two games.
• Never before had Western played consecutive games that went to overtime.
• The last time Western defeated a 'Top 5' ranked team was October 2003 versus (#5) Western Kentucky... By beating #5 South Dakota State, not only did it end that streak, it also snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Jackrabbits.
• Western accounted for 13 plays of 20-plus yards against South Dakota State, matching a season-high (Southern Illinois).
• Western ranks 32nd nationally in fumble recoveries (10), led by current second place ranked Brett Taylor (3)... The 24 turnovers gained this year leads the MVFC and ranks 16th 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 has rushed for a touchdown in eight of his nine games played... In the five WIU wins he played in Watson recorded eight TDs and five 100-yard rushing games; in the four losses he has five touchdowns but only one 100-yard game.
• Speaking of Nikko Watson, he stands ninth nationally in rushing yards per game (111.4).
• Western ends the 2015 campaign with a 4-1 record at Hanson Field.
• Western was flagged for 41 or fewer yards for the fourth straight game, following a streak of five consecutive games of 50-plus yards.
• Eddy Holtschlag joined an elite group of players with 40 or more games played... Holtschlag (42) joined Gavin Ricketts (46-of-46) and Larry Harris (45-of-46).
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