ALL-TIME SERIES: WIU leads 50-44-3
THE SERIES: Western Illinois will meet Illinois State for the second time this year and 98th all-time... WIU holds a 50-44-3 edge in the series, and when Saturday rolls around the Leathernecks will look to end a five-game losing streak to the Redbirds.
THE COACHES: Western Illinois head coach Bob Nielson is in his third year with the Leathernecks. He owns a 16-20 record at Western and 186-79-1 in his 23rd year as a head coach... Brock Spack owns a 55-28 record in his seventh year in charge of Illinois State 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)... Illinois State earned the second seed in the FCS Playoffs, and during the final poll of the regular season was fourth in both the STATS FCS and Coaches polls.
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 eight MVFC teams among the 'Top 24' ranked... Western continues to rank first with a .682 cumulative opposition winning percentage, ahead of Elon (.629) and James Madison (.609).
NIELSON AT ALL THREE NCAA LEVELS: WIU head coach Bob Nielson has now officially completed a coaching trifecta. He has 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... Western returned 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 (130 through 12 games) since Edgerton Hartwell in 1998 with 156 tackles... Taylor has as many solo tackles (74) as the next closest in total tackles (Adam Brott, 78)... Currently 15th nationally in both total tackles and solo tackles, he's one of two underclassmen to rank in the 'Top 15' in both categories.
SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS: Illinois State received the #4 ranking in the end of the regular season 'Top 25' poll and No. 2 seed in the national playoffs after sharing the Missouri Valley Football Conference regular season title... Marshaun Coprich was named the MVFC 'Offensive Player of the Year' as he led the league in rushing yards (169 ypg) and touchdowns (20)... His 169.0 all-purpose yards per game rank him fifth nationally... Wide receiver Anthony Warrum is fourth in receiving TDs (13) and 11th in yards (1,031) while averaging only 3.9 receptions per game... Tre Roberson's 152.1 passing efficiency stands 12th in the country, and he leads the nation averaging 20.5 pass yards per completion... Pat Meehan and Alec Kocour lead the defense averaging 7.8 tackles per game each... In the first meeting, Coprich, Roberson and Warrum combined for all seven touchdowns.
SUCCESS VERSUS THE REDBIRDS: Lance Lenoir has been the most productive against Illinois State during his three-year career than any other Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent... In the three meetings, Lenoir has combined for 30 receptions, 431 yards and 5 touchdowns... Three of his 10 career 100-yard games have been versus the in-state rival.
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.
• As Western continues its climb back to the national spotlight, its seven wins are the second-highest total dating back to the 2003 season, and guarantees its fourth winning season in the last 12 years.
• The Leathernecks have played the most games this year versus FCS playoff teams than any other program. Heading into the postseason Western went 3-3 against the 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.
• For the 11th occasion dating back to 2000, Western put together a win streak of at least three consecutive victories, including two this year... The four longest winning streaks in that span were: 8 (2000), 7 (2002) and 4 (2002 and 1998).
• Lance Lenoir and Stacey Smith tied a WIU playoff single-game record with their touchdown reception... Including those two, on 19 occasions a TD catch was made in a playoff game.
• Dayton had committed just one redzone turnover all year, but the Leathernecks forced three redzone turnovers (2 interceptions/1 fumble recovery).
• The Leathernecks forced four turnovers against Dayton, the fourth 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 and versus South Dakota State.
• During the current 3-game win streak, Western is converting 53.6 percent on third downs... WIU is just 1-of-11 during the first quarter but 12-of-16 in the fourth quarter and 22-of-30 after halftime.
• 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.
• 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.
• Junior wide receiver Joey Borsellino has 13 catches this year of 20-plus yards. Seven of those 13 catches have come during the last three games.
• Over the past 13 games, Western has registered 32 takeaways (21 interceptions/11 fumble recoveries) and owns a +11 advantage in turnover margin. The defense scored three touchdowns this year alone, including the 95-yard interception return by Aaron Diggs.
• In the 36 games Western has played with Bob Nielson as head coach, the Leathernecks have forced at least one turnover in 32 of those 36 contests.
• Western gained 500-plus yards of total offense five times this season, two have come in the last three 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. Another opportunity presents itself facing #4 (and second-seed) Illinois State.
• The three road wins this year matches the 2007 team as the highest total during the past 12 seasons (5 in 2003).
• Western ranks 24th nationally in fumble recoveries (11), led by national leader Brett Taylor (4)... The 28 turnovers gained this year leads the MVFC and ranks 10th 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 recovered a Dayton fumble on 4th-and-inches at the goal line to stop a Flyers' scoring threat... He leads the nation with his four recoveries, and tied the WIU season record with the most since 2003 (Lee Russell)... Taylor is the only underclassmen tied for the season record.
• Nikko Watson has rushed for a touchdown in nine of his 10 games played... In the six WIU wins he played in Watson recorded nine TDs and six 100-yard rushing games; in the four losses he has five touchdowns but only one 100-yard game.
• Eddy Holtschlag joined an elite group of players with 40 or more games played... Holtschlag (43) joined Gavin Ricketts (47-of-47) and Larry Harris (46-of-47).
• The team's 2,947 passing yards are the fifth-most in a season while the 17 turnovers tie for the eight-most... With 4,760 total yards Western has the sixth-highest total and counting.
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