THE SERIES: Western Illinois leads 35-22-4 in the all-time series... The Leathernecks ended a three-game losing streak to the Salukis last season following the 37-36 victory.
THE COACHES: Western Illinois head coach Charlie Fisher is in his first year at WIU. He is 6-4 with the Leathernecks and 42-21 overall in six years as a head coach... Nick Hill is in his first year at Southern Illinois and overall as a head coach, posting a 3-7 record.
THE RANKINGS: Western Illinois ranks 23rd in HERO Sports, 23rd in the STATS FCS 'Top 25' poll, and 24th in FCS Coaches.
THE NEW MVFC LEADER: Senior Lance Lenoir already has re-written the WIU receiving record book, and added a MVFC record to his resume. During the second half at South Dakota he became the MVFC all-time leader in catches. He extended his record to 266.
   Lenoir jumped up two spots to fourth all-time in receiving yards, in a chase with South Dakota State junior wideout Jake Wieneke for that record. Lenoir is one of eight all-time in MVFC history with 3,000 receiving yards, currently at 3,715... Wieneke (3,944) broke the record last week, moving past UNI's Dedric Ward (3,876 yards) then followed by fellow former UNI standout Eddie Berlin (3,735).
ONE FOR THE ROAD: In order for Western Illinois to pick up its seventh win of the season, it'll have to do so on the road. The Leathernecks are currently 4-1 this year away from Hanson Field, the most road wins since the 2003 team won five (including a playoff game)… The last time Western won five regular season road games came during the 2002 campaign.
DUO TO FINISH SECOND ALL-TIME IN FCS HISTORY: Seniors Lance Lenoir, Jr. and Joey Borsellino will finish their careers second all-time in FCS history in two categories. The duo will have combined for the second-highest yardage total and second-most receptions by two players on the same team in NCAA FCS history. Combining for 448 catches and 6,056 yards so far in their fourth year, they surpassed the previous FCS records of 420 and 5,806. However, two current teammates from Eastern Washington (Cooper Kupp/Kendrick Bourne) shattered both marks with 588 catches and 8,788 yards and counting.
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Western ranks among the 'Top 15' in the latest NCAA FCS rankings:
- Time of Possession (15th/32:40)
- 4th Down Conversion Defense (8th/MVFC-leading .286)
- Blocked Kicks (10th/MVFC-leading 4)
Western also stands among the 'Top 30' in several other categories: 23rd in fumbles lost (5), 22nd in passing offense (262.3 ypg), 26th in third down percentage (.429), and 22nd in tackles for a loss allowed (4.80 p/g)...
• Brett Taylor ranks FIRST nationally in solo tackles (8.7 p/g) and third nationally in total tackles (11.9 p/g).
• Lance Lenoir, Jr. enters this week 11th nationally in receiving yards per game (101.2) and eighth in receptions per game (6.9). His 114.9 all-purpose yards per game stand second in the MVFC and 42nd nationally.
• Steve McShane stands 27th in rushing yards (MVFC-leading 835) and 38th in rushing TDs (8).
• Sean McGuire moved up to 12th in passing yards (2,577) and ranks 29th with his 17 touchdown passes. His 20.9 completions per game ranks 19th-best.
ON HISTORIC PACE: If he continues his solo tackles per game average (currently 8.9 p/g), Brett Taylor would finish with the ninth-highest single game average in NCAA FCS history... He would have the second-best average in WIU history, following All-American and Buck Buchanan Award winner Edgerton Hartwell's 9.73 in his then-NCAA record-setting 2000 season.
TAYLOR NEARING 300: Thanks to a career-high 18 tackles against Northern Iowa, Brett Taylor closed the gap to 300 career stops. He enters the weekend with 292 career total tackles.
SOLO ACT: In 35 career games, the majority coming in his 26 starts, Brett Taylor reached the career 'Top 10' in solo tackles... He set a career-high with 15 solos versus Northern Iowa... With 193 in his career, he moved up to sixth place all-time.
• Brett Taylor currently ranks second in the MVFC in tackles per game at 11.9 (third nationally). The last Leatherneck to lead the conference was All-American Kyle Glazier in 2010 (12.85), who finished second in the Buck Buchanan Award voting that year. His 8.9 solo tackles per game not only leads the MVFC but the nation as well. No Leatherneck has ever finished first in the conference in that category.
30-PLUS STARTS: Senior Nathan Knuffman extended his streak to 47 consecutive games with a start, every game of his career... Lance Lenoir made his 46th career start... Joey Borsellino joined the 30-start club in the season-opener, now 39 all-time... Offensive lineman Matt Zobrist joined the 30-club after earning the start against Indiana State, now at 35... Trenton Norvell (33) has also surpassed 30 career starts... Offensive lineman James Torgerson (29), linebacker Brett Taylor (26) and defensive back David Griffith (25), all juniors, are next closest to joining the group.
KNUFFMAN KICKS INTO THE RECORD BOOK: Senior Nathan Knuffman solidified his spot as one of the top five kickers in Western Illinois history... He ranks fourth all-time in points (240), fifth in field goals (35), and fourth in extra points (135)... Knuffman is six extra points and three field goals away from moving up to the next spot.
NO KICKOFF RETURNS HERE: Junior Luke Otto leads the MVFC and is tied for third nationally with 30 touchbacks on his kickoffs, with a season-high five coming against Indiana State and Missouri State.
TRIO MAKE HISTORY: When Isaiah Lesure surpassed 100 yards in the Illinois State game, he became the third Leatherneck to reach the 100-yard mark this year, joining Lance Lenoir and Joey Borsellino... It marks the sixth year in program history that three different receivers recorded 100 yards in a game... The most came in 2003 with five different receivers reached 100... The most recent occurrence was in 2013 when Hi-C Scott, Lenoir and Borsellino each hit the milestone.
SCOUTING THE SALUKIS: Southern Illinois closes out its season with its sixth home game of the year... SIU is 3-2 at Saluki Stadium, and the Leathernecks will look to end a seven-game losing streak in Carbondale... Four quarterbacks have completed a pass, 15 players have rushed at least once, and 16 players have caught a pass... Daquan Isom (305 yards) and Cameron Walter (302) lead the rushing attack, however, Isom has not played in more than a month... Connor Iwema has 41 catches for 519 yards and five TDs... D.J. Davis is averaging 26.1 yards per kickoff return, with one returned for a TD... Sam Straub started his second straight game. He has 725 passing yards in four contests with four touchdowns and no interceptions... Chase Allen leads the defense with 66 tackles, followed by Jefferson Vea with 54 and six pass break-ups.
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