THE SERIES: Western Illinois trails the all-time series 8-5. Last year Western ended a seven-game skid to the Jackrabbits following the 30-24 double-overtime home win in the regular season finale.
THE COACHES: Western Illinois head coach Charlie Fisher is in his first year at WIU. He is 3-0 with the Leathernecks and 39-17 overall in six years as a head coach... John Stiegelmeier owns a 129-92 record in his 20th year at SDSU and overall.
THE RANKINGS: Western ranks 8th in the STATS FCS 'Top 25' poll, 7th in HERO Sports and tied for 8th in FCS Coaches... South Dakota State ranks 15th in the STATS FCS 'Top 25' poll, 16th in HERO Sports and 16th in FCS Coaches.
FISHER'S START: Over the past 60 years, Charlie Fisher became the eighth head coach in Western history to win his debut. The Leathernecks' captured a 38-21 season-opening win at in-state rival Eastern Illinois... Fisher joins Don Patterson (1999 at Northern Illinois, 27-21) and Bill Shanahan (1976 at South Dakota State 28-21) as the only coach to win his debut when playing on the road in that same span... Starting his debut year 3-0, Fisher joins three others to start their WIU career at least 3-0: Patterson (1999, 3-0, 7-4), Shanahan (1976, 4-0, 7-3) and Wes Stevens (1954, 4-0-2, 6-1-3).
ANOTHER UPPER DIVISION WIN: Charlie Fisher notched his third victory versus an upper-division program following Western's win at Northern Illinois. While at Division II West Georgia he secured a 15-14 win over then-FCS Georgia Southern in 1994 and Jacksonville State in 1996.
LENOIR'S HIGH FIVE: Lance Lenoir captured his fifth career WIU record when he caught a pass during Western's opening drive at Northern Illinois. That marked his 33rd consecutive game with a catch, matching Gunnard Twyner for first place.
LENOIR AMONG ACTIVE NCAA LEADERS: Lance Lenoir so far this year is ranked among the NCAA FCS career active leaders, including:
3rd in Total Receptions - 214
4th in Total Yards - 3,032
Tied 3rd in Receiving Touchdowns - 22
All-Time Receiving Yardage Leaders   All-Time Receptions Leaders
1. Lance Lenoir (2013-Pr)      3,032    1. Lance Lenoir      214
2. Reggie Gray (2002-05)      2,426   2. Joey Borsellino   158
3. Lito Senatus (2008-10)Â Â Â Â Â Â 2,269Â Â Â
4. Gunnard Twyner (1993-95)Â Â Â 2,243Â Â Â Â
5. Terriun Crump (2009-11)Â Â Â Â Â Â 2,067
6. Joey Borsellino (2013-Pr)Â Â Â 2,048
BORSELLINO REACHES 'TOP 10': Joey Borsellino continues his climb up the all-time yardage leaderboard... Borsellino became the sixth player in WIU history to surpass 2,000 career receiving yards with his game-high 148 yards at Northern Illinois... Borsellino moved into a tie for eighth place all-time with his fifth 100-yard receiving game.
BORSELLINO 100-YARD RECEIVING GAMES
187 - at Indiana State (career-high 10 rec, TD/2015)
148 - at Northern Illinois (9 rec/2016)
113 - at Coastal Carolina (career-high 10 rec, TD/2015)
112 - South Dakota (4 rec, TD/2015)
110 - Southern Illinois (career-high 10 rec/2013)
CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A RECEPTION
33 - Lance Lenoir (2013-Pr)
33 - Gunnard Twyner (1993-95)
29 - Reggie Gray (2003-05)
26 - Joey Borsellino (2013-Pr)
CHALK UP THE FBS VICTORY: Western Illinois ended a 15-game losing streak against FBS programs following its 28-23 victory at Northern Illinois... The Fighting Leathernecks improved to 7-29 overall versus the FBS with all victories against Mid-American Conference programs... Western's previous FBS win came at Eastern Michigan in September 2003.
UNDEFEATED NON-CONFERENCE SLATE: The Leathernecks accomplished a feat last done in 2002 (4-0), going undefeated against non-conference teams during the regular season... Western during that 2002 stretch also defeated Northern Illinois... Two of Western's wins this year came on the road (Eastern Illinois, Northern Illinois).
WHAT ANOTHER ROAD WIN MEANS: Currently at 2-0 on the road, the next Western Illinois road win this year would match the highest total since the 2003 season (5).
WELCOME BACK TO THE 'TOP 10': Following the victory at Northern Illinois, the Leathernecks jumped up to seventh in the HERO Sports poll and eighth in the STATS FCS and Coaches 'Top 25' poll... The last time Western earned a ranking among the 'Top 10' was during the 2003 season, spending 12 of the 15 weeks in the 'Top 10' going as high as #2 and ending with a #5 ranking.
BIGGEST POLL JUMP IN 14 YEARS: Western opened the year ranked 20th in the preseason poll, and the current #7 ranking has seen WIU jump 13 spots so far. That's the biggest in-season jump by the Leathernecks since the 2002 campaign when they were ranked 19th on September 16 and rose as high as #2 in the final regular season poll (17 spots).
LOOKING FOR BACK-TO-BACK: One of the Leathernecks' goals during the off-season is to accomplish something only done two other times in program history... Coming off a 2015 FCS Playoff appearance, if Western returns to the postseason, this year's team will match the consecutive years streak from 1996-98 and again from 2002-03.
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS: Western shares the national lead in several categories in the latest NCAA FCS rankings:
4th Down Conversion (1.000), Fumbles Lost (0), Passes Had Intercepted (0), Redzone Defense (.400), Winning Percentage (1.000) and Turnovers Lost (0).
The Leathernecks also hold 'Top 15' rankings in:
2nd - Time of Possession (34:58)
5th - Net Punting (41.32)
12th - 4th Down Conversion Defense (.143)
 • Steve McShane leads the nation in rushing yards (147.3) and third in all-purpose yards (182.3). He also stands 23rd in rushing yards per carry (6.05) and sixth in rushing TDs (5).
• Nathan Knuffman stands 32nd in field goals per game (1.0) and 17th in punting (42.1).
• Steve Mercado and Mick Nelson are tied for 18th nationally with a fumble recovery.
• Stacey Smith stands 34th averaging 24.7 yards per kickoff return.
• Brett Taylor (12.0) and Xavier Rowe (8.0) rank first and sixth in the MVFC, respectively, in total tackles. Taylor moved up to fourth nationally in total tackles and now solo tackles per game (MVFC-leading 8.0).
RECENT WINS OVER 'TOP 25' TEAMS: Eastern Illinois entered the 2015 season-opening 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)... After a 7-point loss at #1 Coastal Carolina, WIU rebounded in its next 'Top 25' meeting with a 24-19 win at #12 UNI... WIU closed the regular season with a win over #5 South Dakota State, the first 'Top 5' win since 2003. The SDSU win marked the 26th upset of a ranked team or higher ranked team dating back to 1985 in WIU history... The Leathernecks extended their streak following a home-opening 34-20 win over #17 Northern Arizona.
CURRENT SAGARIN RANKINGS: According to the current Sagarin rankings of all Division I football programs, Western Illinois stands seventh among the FCS teams (fourth-highest in MVFC) and 97th of 253 teams... Western is ranked ahead of 38 FBS programs.
   Among the conference ranking leaders, the Missouri Valley Football Conference once again stands as the top-ranked FCS league in 16th place. The MVFC (57.24) ranked ahead of: Conference USA East Division (17th/55.83), Sun Belt (18th/55.47), MAC-East (19th/55.03), and Conference USA West Division (20th/54.18). The next closest FCS Conference is the Southern Conference (21st/47.72).
TWO MAJOR TURNAROUND STATISTICS FROM 2015: Western ended last year minus four minutes in the time of possession battle, losing the head-to-head statistic nine of the 13 games... This year the Leathernecks lead the Missouri Valley Football Conference and rank second nationally averaging 34:58 minutes per game... Last year, Western averaged 30.6 yards of net punting. So far in 2016, the Leathernecks have allowed 3.75 yards on punt returns to score 41.32 yards of net punting, good for fifth in the country.
LEATHERNECK NOTES:
• Steve McShane's 70-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter at Eastern Illinois was the longest by a Leatherneck dating back to 2000. In that game, Frisman Jackson set a WIU quarterback record for longest rush with his 77-yard run at Southern Illinois.
• Steve McShane's second half against Eastern Illinois put him in the record book. His 168 rushing yards in a half was the fourth-most in program history while his 110 yards in a quarter (fourth) ranked him sixth.
• Currently the national rushing leader, Steve McShane is trying to become the first Leatherneck to lead the Missouri Valley Football Conference in rushing since Herb Donaldson in 2008.
• Brett Taylor currently leads the MVFC in tackles per game at 12.0 (fourth 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.
• Brett Taylor needs just 32 solo tackles to tie for 10th place on the WIU career 'Top 10'.
• Two of Brett Taylor's three career interceptions have come against Eastern Illinois. He owns 54 interception return yards versus the Panthers, including a touchdown.
• Nathan Knuffman is one point away from his 200th career kicking point.
• In just 13 career games, Sean McGuire is tied for eighth all-time for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (4)... He is just two away from a tie for fourth place... Every other quarterback on the list has a mininum 20 games played.
• Two members of the football team are dual-sport athletes for the Leathernecks. Steve McShane (2016 baseball - 33 GP/22 starts) and Justin Fitzpatrick (25 GP/19 starts), who both played football as a true-freshman last year, are also on the baseball team... Both started games last year for baseball head coach Ryan Brownlee.
• Western has owned the 2nd and 4th quarters this year, allowing the first points of the year in each quarter during the Northern Illinois game... The Leathernecks own a 20-7 scoring advantage in the second quarter, 31-20 in the first and 35-21 in the third... NIU's 16 points in the fourth quarter puts WIU down on the season 16-14 over the final quarter.
• The Leathernecks have forced at least one turnover in 35 of the last 39 contests... Seven times in the last 11 games Western recorded two or more takeaways.
• Before the final two games of the 2015 regular season, never before had Western played consecutive games that went to overtime.
• A victory over South Dakota State this Saturday would mark the first occasion of back-to-back wins in consecutive years over the Jackrabbits since 1980 and 1981.
• The Leathernecks are looking to end a three-game losing streak when opening MVFC play on the road (2014 at Southern Illinois; 2012 at UNI; 2008 at South Dakota State).
SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS: South Dakota State is coming off a bye week and will play its third straight game at home... SDSU opened with a loss at TCU then split decisions against Drake and Cal Poly... The offense is averaging nearly 43 points per game and 419 yards of total offense per game, however, the defense is allowing 41.7 points and 524 yards per game... All-American Jake Wieneke leads with eight touchdown receptions (20 catches/329 yards)... Dallas Goedert has three TD receptions of his own (14 catches/249 yards)... Taryn Christion has thrown 10 TD passes to just one interception. He's completed 63-of-91 passes for 809 yards... Isaac Wallace (165 yards) and Brady Mengarelli (156 yards) lead the rushing attack... Jesse Bobbit leads the defense with 29 tackles and one of the team's five interceptions... The defense has recorded 8.0 tackles for loss and three sacks.
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