THE SERIES: Western Illinois trails the all-time series 14-31 against Northern Iowa. The Leathernecks have lost 11 of their past 14 meetings to the Panthers, including eight of the last 10 and five of the last six. That being said, thanks to a 24-19 win in the UNI-Dome in 2015, Western Illinois is looking for consecutive road wins over Northern Iowa for the first time since 2000 and 2002.

THE RANKINGS: Western Illinois ranks 15th in the STATS FCS 'Top 25' poll and 18th in the FCS Coaches poll. Northern Iowa is receiving votes in the STATS FCS poll, but the Panthers are 21st in the FCS Coaches poll.

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER FIRST: Despite a tight 38-33 loss to South Dakota last week, Western Illinois has started a campaign 3-1 for the second year in a row. A win at Northern Iowa would give Western Illinois a 4-1 beginning for the first time since the 2003 season, when they started 5-1. In addition to that 2003 season, the Leathernecks actually began each of the 2000, 2001 and 2002 campaigns with a 4-1 record. In the 113 prior seasons of Western Illinois football, the Leathernecks have never started 4-1 with all four wins coming on the road.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: After edging Southern Illinois on the road last week, Northern Iowa  evened up their record at 2-2. The Panthers' offense averages 366.2 yards per game, ranking 66th in the nation. Part of the problem has been a stagnant running game that ranks 107th nationally with just 82.0 yards per contest. Quarterback Eli Dunne has completed 62.3 percent of his passes for 1,137 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. Daurice Fountain is the team's leading receiver with 23 catches for 349 yards and four touchdowns. Northern Iowa's defense surprisingly ranks 96th in the nation with 445.5 yards surrendered per contest. Linebacker Jared Farley leads the team in tackles with 46, three coming for a loss. The Panthers have not generated much of a pass rush this season, as their three sacks are 112th in the FCS.

TAYLOR MATCHES PROGRAM RECORD: During Western Illinois' contest on Sept. 30, 2017, Brett Taylor racked up 28 tackles, matching NFL great Rodney Harrison (at Western Kentucky, 1993) for the school record in tackles in a single game. Those 28 stops rank as the fifth-most in MVFC history. Taylor's 18 assisted tackles are the second-most in any game in program history.

A FIRST IN PROGRAM HISTORY: Thanks to a 52-10 win at FBS-school Coastal Carolina, Western Illinois started the season 3-0 for the second year in a row, and the third time since 2002. However, this 3-0 beginning to the campaign was unique for the Leathernecks. It marked the first time in school history that Western had scored three straight road wins to start a season. The Leathernecks' throttling of the Chanticleers marked the most points any MVFC squad has ever scored against an FBS school. It was Western's largest margin of victory ever against an FBS team, and the 10 points they allowed were the fewest versus an FBS team since shutting out Northern Illinois in 1996.

FIRST SINCE 1935: You'd have to go back all the way to 1935 to find the last time Western opened the year with three consecutive road games. That year the Leathernecks opened at Parsons, at Knox and at Bradley. Western opened 2017 at Tennessee Tech before taking a plane flight west to Northern Arizona. After a bye week, they finished their non-conference slate with a plane flight east to Coastal Carolina. The total amount of miles traveled round-trip in non-conference play was 5,730 according to Google Maps.

BACK-TO-BACK FBS VICTORIES: Last year, Western Illinois ended a 15-game losing streak against FBS programs with a 28-23 victory at Northern Illinois.This year, the Leathernecks pounded Coastal Carolina 52-10 for their second straight FBS victory, marking the first time since 2002 and 2003 (Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan, respectively) that Western Illinois has earned back-to-back wins over FBS opponents. The Leathernecks are now 8-29 versus the FBS, with seven of those victories coming against MAC programs.

ROAD WARRIORS: Finishing the 2016 season 4-2 on the road, Western Illinois matched the highest road victory total since the 2003 season (5). The four road wins matches the combined total from years 2010 through 2013. Just three road games into the 2017 campaign, the Leathernecks are already 75 percent of the way there to their away win total from last year.

VALUABLE ROAD EXPERIENCE NEEDED: Having played six road games last year has already benefitted the 2017 Leathernecks. Western won its first three games on the road to begin the season for the first time ever. In addition, the seven total road games this year are the most since the 2015 squad eventually played eight road games (two in the NCAA Playoffs). The seven regular season road games in 2017 are the most in program history.

ACKLIN ENJOYS CAREER DAY: On Sept. 30 against South Dakota, Jaelon Acklin set WIU single-game records with an extraordinary 19 catches for 343 yards. The yardage set an MVFC record, and is the fourth-most of any player in a single game in FCS history. The Mountain View, Mo., native's 19 catches tied for the 11th-most in a single-game in FCS history. Acklin also scored three touchdowns, one shy of matching a program record. Acklin's scores came from 11, 41 and 62 yards out, meaning, just on those three plays alone, he racked up 114 yards receiving. In the fourth quarter alone, Acklin registered 12 catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns. Twelve catches are the fifth-most catches in a single game in Western Illinois history. Acklin's 343 all-purpose yards are also the fourth-most in a single game in program history. For his efforts, Acklin was named the STATS FCS National Player of the Week and the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week.

McGUIRE, TAYLOR EARN WEEKLY MVFC HONORS: Junior quarterback Sean McGuire and senior linebacker Brett Taylor were named the Missouri Valley Football Conference co-Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, after the Leathernecks pounded Coastal Carolina 52-10 in Conway. McGuire, who was also named CFPA National FCS Performer of the Week, went 17-for-19 for 276 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions at the Chanticleers. He also caught a 9-yard touchdown from wide receiver Isaiah LeSure. Thus, McGuire's performance marks the first time since 2010 (Matt Barr, six passing TDs, one rushing TD, 22-for-25) that a Western Illinois quarterback recorded more touchdowns than incompletions in one game. Taylor led the Leathernecks with eight tackles and tied for the team-best with two tackles for a loss at Coastal Carolina. The Macomb native has now at least tied for the team lead in stops in each of the last nine contests, including all four games this season.

MOON HONORED BY MVFC: Junior linebacker Quentin Moon earned his first weekly award when he was selected as the Missouri Valley Football Conference 'Defensive Player of the Week'. He recorded 10 tackles, including a career-high 3.5 for a loss. Moon was named Monday as Honorable Mention 'National Defensive Player of the Week' by STATS.

DUAL SPORT ATHLETES: Three members of the football team are dual-sport athletes for the Leathernecks. All-MVFC running back Steve McShane has played in 24 career football games and 68 baseball games (44 starts) through two years. Defensive back Justin Fitzpatrick has 21 career football games and 53 career baseball games (32 starts). Both juniors played in each sport as a true-freshman, and both are outfielders on the baseball team. Fitzpatrick owns a career .181 average with four doubles and a triple while making 76 putouts in the outfield, including several highlight reel catches. McShane owns a .218 career average with two doubles and two triples. He has swiped 17 career bases, scored 31 runs and recorded 88 putouts. Sophomore transfer Tony Tate is also listed to compete for the track & field team this year.

CAREER STARTS LEADERS: Senior James Torgerson leads all active Leathernecks with 34 career starts, all consecutive... Brett Taylor is next with 31 starts, also all consecutive... David Griffith has 30 starts, 29 of those consecutive... Jacob Judd owns 28 straight starts... Josh Baldus has 28 career starts, 19 consecutive.

LEATHERNECK QUICK HITTERS:

• Thanks to a career-high 441 yards passing against South Dakota, the third-most in a single game in Western Illinois history, Sean McGuire surpassed 5,000 career passing yards. In nine of his 19 career starts, McGuire has thrown for 300-plus passing yards and the team owns a 5-4 record. He is currently into seventh place in school history with 5,135 yards, while his 218.7 yards of total offense per game is the best in program history.

• Over his last 10 quarters of play, quarterback Sean McGuire is 65-for-87, completing 74.7 percent of his passes for 853 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception. On the season, McGuire ranks seventh in the nation in completion percentage (69.3 percent), 10th in both passing efficiency (168.3) and yards per attempt (9.32), 24th in passing touchdowns (nine) and 25th in completions per game (19.75). In the fourth quarter alone against South Dakota, McGuire threw for 204 yards on 15-for-21 (71.4 percent) passing. Also versus the Coyotes, he came within one of matching a program record with 31 completions in one game.

• The Leathernecks have dominated opponents this year when it comes to time of possession. Western has won the time of possession battle three times this year, holding the ball for 37:20 against Tennessee Tech, 39:03 at Northern Arizona and 33:03 at Coastal Carolina. Last year's season-best was 36:50 at Missouri State. The Leathernecks rank second in the MVFC and sixth nationally in time of possession with their 34:45 average. This year, Western has held the ball for more than 10 minutes in a quarter three times (11:09 4Q at Tech; 11:18 2Q at NAU, 10:14 4Q at NAU). The team did that seven times all last year.

• Western Illinois registered 19 total plays of at least 20 yards in their first three games of the season. However, against South Dakota, the Leathernecks compiled 15 such plays, eight of which were recorded on a passing connection between Sean McGuire and Jaelon Acklin.

• After going 3-for-3 in the red zone against South Dakota, Western ranks first in the MVFC and fifth nationally by scoring on 94.7 percent of their red zone possessions. The only miss in 19 times this year was getting inside the 20 during their final drive at Northern Arizona, which ended when Western ran out the clock to end the game. The Leathernecks also finished 7-for-7 in the red zone against Coastal Carolina.

• Western Illinois has excelled on both sides of the ball on third downs. The Leathernecks rank 21st in the nation by converting 46.3 percent of their third downs. Meanwhile, their defense ranks sixth nationally by holding opponents to a 26.9 percent success clip on third down.

• Related to their success on third down offensively, Western Illinois ranks in the top 20 in scoring offense (eighth, 41.0 points per game), total offense (13th, 462.3 yards per game) and passing offense (22nd, 271.5 per game).

• Western Illinois' defense collected two more sacks in Saturday's game against South Dakota. Thus, through four contests this season, the Leathernecks have registered 11 sacks, just shy of the 13 total they had all of last year. Western's 11 sacks in 2017 rank 25th in the nation. Khalen Saunders' 3.5 total is second in the conference and 25th nationally. On offense, the Leathernecks rank 14th nationally by having only yielded four sacks.

• The Leathernecks have forced at least one turnover in 44 of the last 51 contests. Thirteen times in the last 22 games Western recorded two or more takeaways, including 15 over the last five games.

• Brett Taylor is one of 12 players all-time with 300 career tackles (365). He ranks seventh all-time in school history, two from tying Frank Spraggins (1991-93) for sixth place and 14 from evening Ken McMillan (1991-93) for fifth. His 222 solo tackles rank him in a tie with McMillan for fourth all-time in WIU history.

• Western Illinois is 41-76-1 (.347) all-time against ranked opponents, including 27-57 (.321) in conference play.

• In 25 career games (18 career starts), Sean McGuire is tied for third place all-time for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (8). He's four away from Steve LaFalce in second place.

• Quentin Moon, MVFC Defensive Player of the Week after Week 1, has five career games of 10-plus tackles, including a personal-best 14 last year at Missouri State. Four of those double-digit tackles came during the 2016 season.

• When Isaiah LeSure surpassed 100 yards in the Illinois State game last year, he became the third Leatherneck to reach the 100-yard mark, joining Lance Lenoir and Joey Borsellino. It marked the sixth year in program history that three different receivers recorded 100 yards in a game.

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