ALL-TIME SERIES: WIU trails 1-0
LAST MEETING: @ILL 21, WIU 0 (9/8/2007)
WESTERN CONTINUES ILLINOIS TOUR: Western Illinois continues its tour of facing in-state opponents when the Leathernecks travel to Champaign and play Illinois... It marks the second-ever meeting between the two programs... Western will face four of the six Division I programs in the state, missing on Northwestern (2014 opponent) and Northern Illinois, in the first seven games of the season.
THE SERIES: Western Illinois dropped a 21-0 decision in the only meeting between the two programs (Sept. 2007), a game played at Illinois.
THE COACHES: Western Illinois head coach Bob Nielson is in his third year with the Leathernecks. He owns a 10-15 record at Western and 180-74-1 in his 23rd year as a head coach... Illinois interim head coach Bill Cubit won his Illini debut last weekend. He owns an 86-65-1 record in his ninth year as a head coach (8 yrs at Western Michigan).
THE RANKINGS: Western jumped up in both the STATS FCS and Coaches 'Top 25' polls... The Fighting Leathernecks enter this week 30th in the STATS poll and 33rd in the Coaches.
SCOUTING THE ILLINI: After sitting through a near three hour weather delay Friday night before postponing the game, Illinois jumped out early on Kent State and cruised to a 52-3 victory... It was the first game under interim head coach Bill Cubit... The Fighting Illini scored 28 points in the first quarter and 10 more in the second... Wes Lunt, younger brother of former Leatherneck quarterback Wil Lunt, threw four TD passes and compiled a 198.99 passing efficiency rating... Five different wide receivers caught a TD pass and no one had more than two receptions in the game... Josh Ferguson rushed for 76 yards and a TD... LaKeith Walls recorded seven stops... Illinois picked off three passes... V'Angelo Bently totaled 110 all-purpose yards (85 punt return/25 kickoff)... The Illini held KSU to 59 rushing yards and 3-of-18 on third down conversions... The Illini were just 3-of-13 on third downs but were perfect in both fourth down attempts.
MORE RANKED OPPONENTS: The season started with a 33-5 win over #25 Eastern Illinois, and Western's schedule will not get any easier... Following the Illinois game, Western travels to current No. 1 Coastal Carolina... The future opponents rankings this week includes:Â Southern Illinois and South Dakota (receive votes), UNI (14th), Illinois State (4th), Youngstown State (17th), North Dakota State (2nd), Indiana State (21st) and South Dakota State (10th following win at Kansas).
BIG TEN AGAIN: The Leathernecks will continue to get significant exposure against the Big Ten Conference, facing Illinois this weekend... The game at the Illini marks the fourth Big Ten opponent Western will square off against in the last three years... Western traveled to Minnesota in 2013 then last year faced Wisconsin and Northwestern. In all three of those meetings, Western trailed by 7 points or less at halftime.
TOUGHEST SCHEDULE IN THE COUNTRY: If the preseason rankings are any indication, Western will be in for its toughest schedule ever. Of the 10 FCS opponents, all 10 received votes for the poll and eight were in the preseason 'Top 25'... Eastern Illinois came in at 25th in the coaches poll. Following a road game at bowl participant Illinois, Western travels to #5 Coastal Carolina... The MVFC season opens at home versus Southern Illinois and South Dakota (both received votes)... #W1U then travels to #10 Northern Iowa and #2 Illinois State. After a Halloween home game versus #14 Youngstown State, Western travels to four-time defending national champion North Dakota State... The regular season ends with a road game at #20 Indiana State and at home versus #15 South Dakota State.
LEATHERNECK NOTES:
• Western's current ranking of 30th nationally is the highest since the 2011 preseason poll.
• Western improved to 3-7 overall against ranked FCS teams under head coach Bob Nielson. The Leathernecks are 3-3 in their last six games versus ranked opponents, this after going 3-10 versus ranked teams from 2009-12.
• The Leatherecks improved to 2-12 when the opponent scores first. EIU got on the board first thanks to a first quarter field goal, then Western scored 23 unanswered.
• Western improved to 2-7 when a receiver turns in a 100-yard game.
• The Leathernecks moved to 4-0 against non-conference FCS teams under Bob Nielson. Following this week's FBS game versus Illinois, Western travels to current No. 1 FCS program Coastal Carolina - a program that recently announced it is making the move to the Sun Belt Conference and joining the FBS ranks.
• Keeping Eastern Illinois to 5 points marked the lowest scoring total by an opponent in the Bob Nielson era (6 points on two occasions). It's the lowest total since blanking Valparaiso in the 2010 season opener at Hanson Field.
• Western kept Eastern Illinois without a touchdown for the first time since at Penn State in 2009, a span of 65 games.
• Western will be searching for its first-ever Power 5 Conference victory when it travels to Illinois. The Leathernecks enter the game 0-7 all-time versus the Big Ten Conference.
LENOIR PICKS UP NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD: Lance Lenoir, Jr. picked up his first-ever National 'Player of the Week' award when STATS selected him as the FCS Special Teams honoree. Lenoir also earned his second MVFC 'Player of the Week' award, first for special teams play. The junior accounted for 280 all-purpose yards, setting a career-high. Of those 280, 156 came on kickoff and punt returns. The all-purpose yards were the second-highest total in NCAA Division I FCS and one yard shy of the leader... He returned two kickoffs for 105 yards and three punts for 51 yards. Lenoir's kickoff return of 71 yards was the longest by a Leatherneck in four years, while his punt return of 42 yards matched the longest since 2009. His 105 kickoff return yards were the most in four years.
CAREER RECORD WATCH: Lance Lenoir, Jr. already ranks among the WIU career receiving leaders in just two years... On the career listing, Lenoir is:
• 7th in receptions (124)
• 8th in yards (1,643)
• tied 5th in touchdowns (15)
• tied 3rd in 100-yard games (7)
HANSON FIELD TOUGH ON NON-CONFERENCE TEAMS: Playing at Hanson Field has been a tough task for non-conference teams in recent years... The Leathernecks are 32-4 against non-MVFC teams since 1999, including a current 10-game win streak following a 2-0 mark in both 2013 and 2014.
SIX STRAIGHT HOME OPENERS: Tied in with the current win streak versus non-MVFC teams at home, Western Illinois won its sixth-straight home opening game... The Fighting Leathernecks extended the streak following the 33-5 win over Eastern Illinois... The last time Western lost its home opener was 2009 versus Stephen F. Austin (40-30), part of the 1-10 season.
TWO CONSECUTIVE WINS OVER TOP 25 TEAMS: Eastern Illinois entered the game at Hanson Field ranked 25th in the FCS Coaches preseason poll. Dating back to the 2014 season-finale win versus #18 Indiana State, Western recorded consecutive wins in consecutive games versus a Top 25 opponent for the first time since the first two rounds of the 1998 NCAA playoffs (52-9 vs. #14 Montana; 24-21 vs. #2 Florida A&M)
TURNOVERS THE KEY: Since the start of 2013, when WIU commits fewer turnovers than the opponent Western is 8-4. However, when the turnovers were equal (1-3) or WIU made more miscues (1-8) the squad was winless until finally breaking the streak against Drake (minus-1) then later at Youngstown State (even) in 2014... On seven occasions Western has not committed a turnover, and the team owns a 6-1 record in those games.
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