McLean County Times

Illinois Wesleyan University's football team is preparing to face North Central College, currently ranked number one, in their final road game of the season. The match is scheduled for Saturday, November 4th at 1 p.m. at Benedetti Wehrli Stadium in Naperville, Illinois.

The Titans come into the game after a loss to Augustana on October 28th with a score of 44-14. Their current record stands at 2-6 overall and 2-5 within the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). In contrast, North Central remains undefeated this season with an 8-0 record overall and a perfect 7-0 in CCIW play. The Cardinals secured a decisive victory against North Park, winning 56-0 on October 28th.

Commentators Eric Stock and Matt Sosler will provide live coverage for both the radio broadcast and the IWU live stream. Links to these resources can be found on the football schedule page of iwusports.com.

Illinois Wesleyan's Jahari Scott was named CCIW Special Teams Player of the Week following his impressive performance against Augustana, where he returned a kickoff for a touchdown over a distance of 92 yards.

In defensive efforts against Augustana, Arthur Chatt led with 16 tackles while teammates Sam Schott and Shea Gaffney each recorded twelve tackles. This marks the first instance since October 2022 that three or more Titans have achieved double-digit tackles in a single game.

Historically, Illinois Wesleyan has faced North Central College on the field 72 times before this upcoming match. While IWU leads historically with a record of 37 wins to NCC's 32 (with three games ending in ties), North Central has won the last twelve encounters between these teams.

Since the inception of the D3football.com poll in 2003, Illinois Wesleyan has played against top-ranked teams only twice—both times facing North Central in recent seasons. The Cardinals defeated them with scores of 55-7 in October 2021 and then again with a scoreline of 68-3 last year.

The last victory for Illinois Wesleyan over North Central came back on Halloween night in an overtime game that ended with IWU triumphing by six points (28-22) thanks to Kraig Ladd’s touchdown pass to Michael Sloboda during overtime play.

Under Coach Norm Eash’s leadership since his appointment as head coach in1987; IWU holds significant achievements including being one among just three active NCAA Division III coaches who have reached over two hundred career victories. Eash ranks second among active Division III head coaches nationwide having amassed227 wins throughout his tenure leading his alma mater.

Looking ahead beyond this week's challenge against North Central College—the Titans are set conclude their season next week hosting Elmhurst University at home where they will also celebrate Senior Day festivities prior kick-off scheduled again around same time slot beginning early afternoon hour mark around about one o'clock p.m.on November tenth .