WESTERN ILLINOIS 2017 FIGHTING LEATHERNECK FOOTBALL @Wiufootball | @Wiuathletics
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
WESTERN ILLINOIS 2017 FIGHTING LEATHERNECK FOOTBALL @WIUFootball | @WIUAthletics GAME at Illinois State Nov. 4, 2017 • 12 p.m. CT No. 15/18 WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS Normal, Ill. (5-3 overall, 2-3 MVFC) Hancock Stadium Head Coach: Charlie Fisher 9 WIU leads 50-46-3 Record at Western Illinois: 11-8 (2nd season) Career Record: 47-25 (7th season) BROADCAST INFORMATION LIVE STATS ...................www.GoRedBirds.com LIVE VIDEO ..................................... ESPN3.com No. 12/13 ILLINOIS STATE REDBIRDS LIVE AUDIO ......................www.WRMSFM.com (6-2 overall, 4-1 MVFC) MOBILE DEVICE ... TuneIn Radio app (WRMS) Head Coach: Brock Spack Record at Illinois State: 68-37 (9th season) RADIO (Leatherneck Sports Network) Career Record: 68-37 (9th season) ANNOUNCERS ...Scott Kornberg, Dr. Tom Cody Beardstown: WRMS 94.3 FM (Flagship) Macomb: WJEQ 102.7 FM Galesburg: WAIK 1590 AM Saturday’s game between Jaelon Acklin is the eighth Quincy: WPWQ 106.7 FM Western Illinois and Illinois Leatherneck to ever record a Clinton, Iowa: KCLN 1390 AM State is the 100th meeting 1,000-yard receiving season. 100 all-time in the storied rivalry 8 He is 183 yards away from between the two programs. the school record. TELEVISION NETWORK ..............................................ESPN3 VIDEO THE SERIES: Saturday’s game between Western Illinois and Illinois State is the 100th Fans can watch the game live via ESPN3. Links meeting all-time in the storied rivalry between the two schools. The Leathernecks lead the can be found on the football schedule page on all-time series 50-46-3, but have lost seven games in a row to the Redbirds. Prior to this GoLeathernecks.com. rough stretch, Western Illinois had won eight of 10 against Illinois State from 2001-10. In three of the last four contests between the programs, the Leathernecks have seen a second MOBILE / TABLET DEVICES The game can be heard by downloading the Tu- half lead dissipate into a loss. neIn Radio app on iTunes and Google Play, then searching for WRMS radio. THE RANKINGS: Western Illinois ranks 15th in the STATS FCS ‘Top 25’ poll and 18th in the FCS Coaches poll. Illinois State is ranked 12th and 13th, respectively. SOCIAL MEDIA In-game tweets are available by following Leath- THE PLAYOFF PUSH: In addition to the STATS FCS ‘Top 25’ poll and FCS Coaches poll, erneck Football on Twitter @WIUFootball. Fans four separate metric systems can also be used in the argument for at-large FCS playoff can use the #WIUGameday or #W1U hashtag for bids. At 5-3 overall, Western Illinois needs one more win to become playoff eligible. While comments or re-tweets. the Leathernecks rank 15th in the STATS FCS ‘Top 25’ poll and 18th in the FCS Coaches poll, Western is placed significantly higher when using other FCS metrics, which factor in strength of schedule. The Leathernecks are ranked No. 5 in the FCS by Sagarin, sixth by Massey, seventh by BennettRank and 20th by Compughter for a composite ranking of 9.5. 2017 SCHEDULE / NOTES Date Opponent Time/Results All-Time Series Game Notes / Meeting Highlights A31 at Tennessee Tech W 41-14 WIU leads 1-0 Norris: 133 rush yards; Defense: 3 Takeaways in 24 pt 3Q S9 at Northern Arizona W 38-20 WIU leads 2-1 Acklin: 166 all-purpose, 2 TDs; Defense: Fumble rec. for TD S23 at Coastal Carolina (E3) W 52-10 WIU leads 2-1 WIU: 8th win against an FBS school, 52 points most since 2010 S30 • South Dakota (E3) L 33-38 WIU leads 5-3 Acklin: 19 rec., 343 yards, 3 TD; Taylor: 28 tackles O7 • at Northern Iowa (E3) W 38-29 WIU trails 15-31 WIU: Consecutive UNI-Dome wins for first time since 2000, ‘02 O14 • Missouri State (E3) W 49-30 Series tied 17-17-1 WIU: 282 rush yards (7.4 avg), 4 TD; McShane: 143 rush yards, TD O21 • at North Dakota State (E3) L 12-24 WIU trails 2-7 Acklin: 115 receiving yards; Taylor: 17 tackles O28 • South Dakota State (E3) L 24-52 WIU trails 5-10 WIU: Outscored by SDSU 28-7 in second half; McShane: 3 TD N4 • at Illinois State (E3) 12:00 WIU leads 50-46-3 100th game between the two programs N11 • Indiana State (E3) 12:00 WIU leads 24-15 WIU has won four straight in the series N18 • Southern Illinois (E3) 1:00 WIU leads 35-23-4 Leathernecks won two of last three at home versus SIU N25 NCAA FCS Playoffs Opening Round E3 - ESPN3 live broadcast (ESPN3.com or WatchESPN app) Western Illinois Football at ILLINOIS STATE Charlie Fisher CAREER COACHING RECORD Western Illinois (11-8 / 2 years) 2017: 5-3 Charlie Fisher enters his second year 2016: 6-5 (3-5 MVFC) in charge of the storied Leatherneck Football Richmond (Assistant Coach) program. The Leathernecks look to take the 2014-15 2 FCS Playoff appearances next step during year two and “Finish This Penn State (Assistant Coach) Fight” (program’s motto started during the off- 2012-13 season). Miami (Ohio) (Assistant Coach) The Leathernecks jumped out to a 2011 3-0 start during the 2016 season, winning all Vanderbilt (Assistant Coach) three non-conference games, including a 28-23 2002-2010 FBS win at Northern Illinois - the program’s first since 2003 - and got off to a 6-2 mark. Western Temple (Assistant Coach) jumped to as high as seventh in the national 2000-2001 rankings in 2016. Two players were named North Carolina State (Assistant Coach) All-American under Fisher, wide receiver Lance 1998-1999 Lenoir, Jr. (all-time leading receiver in WIU West Georgia (36-17 / 5 years) history and most catches in MVFC history) and 1991-1997 (1993-97 as head coach) linebacker Brett Taylor, who finished seventh in the Buck Buchanan Award voting. 1997: 8-2 Tied 1st GSC (6-1) Western Illinois becomes the second head coaching stop for Fisher. From 1993-97 he was 1996: 9-3 2nd GSC (5-2) the head coach at West Georgia and posted a 36-17 record with a share of the 1997 Gulf South 1995: 8-3 2nd GSC (7-1) Conference championship and two postseason appearances. He coached 45 All-Gulf South Con- 1994: 7-3 Tied 2nd GSC (6-1) ference performers and seven All-Americans. With more than 30 years of college coaching experience, Fisher spent time as an assistant 1993: 4-6 3rd GSC (4-3) coach at: Richmond, Penn State, Miami (Ohio), Vanderbilt, Temple, North Carolina State, West Lenoir-Rhyne (Assistant Coach) Georgia, Lenoir-Rhyne, Ole Miss and Eastern Kentucky. He was a graduate assistant on the 1982 1985-1990 1 Conference Title Eastern Kentucky team that won the FCS national championship. Mississippi (Graduate Assistant) Fisher earned his bachelor’s degree from Springfield College and a master’s degree at East- 1983-1984 1 Bowl Appearance ern Kentucky. He and his wife Julie have two sons: Brian and Brett. Eastern Kentucky (Graduate Assistant) 1982 FCS National Champion FISHER’S 2016 START: Over the past 60 years, Charlie Fisher became the eighth head coach in Career Totals: 47-25 7 years Western history to win his debut. The Leathernecks’ captured a 38-21 season-opening win at in-state rival Eastern Illinois... Fisher joined Don Patterson and Bill Shanahan as the only coach to win his debut when playing on the road in that same span... Having started his first year as a Leatherneck 3-0, Fisher joined three others to start their WIU career at least 3-0: Patterson (1999), Shanahan COACHES AND STAFF (1976, 4-0) and Wes Stevens (1954, 4-0-2). CHARLIE FISHER ......................HEAD COACH @CoachFish_RipIt ANOTHER UPPER DIVISION WIN: WIU head coach Charlie Fisher notched his third victory ver- JARED ELLIOTT ..Co-Offensive Coordinator (QB) sus an upper-division program following Western’s 2016 win at Northern Illinois. While at Division @_CoachElliott II West Georgia he secured a 15-14 win over then-FCS Georgia Southern in 1994 and victory at Jacksonville State in 1996. DOUG MALONE ... Co-Offensive Coordinator (TE) @DMaloneWIUFB FISHER’S NFL CONNECTIONS: Charlie Fisher has coached numerous players that have gone onto NFL careers. Those current players include: Jordan Matthews (WR) Buffalo Bills; Christian TONY GRANTHAM ....Defensive Coordinator (DB) Hackenberg (QB) NY Jets; Matt McGloin (QB) Philadelphia Eagles; Zac Dysert (QB) Dallas @CTonyGrantham Cowboys (currently on IR); Jay Cutler (QB) Miami Dolphins (had as Pass Game Coordinator at Vandy); Lance Lenoir (WR) Dallas Cowboys; Brian Brown (WR) Dallas Cowboys; Tyler Ferguson BEN HODGES . Special Teams Coordinator (OLB) (QB) Tennessee Titans... @CoachBHodges Fisher has coached three other notable NFL players who turned in impressive pro careers, including: JP BOUDREAUX ........................Running Backs Torry Holt (WR) NC State and Rams; Koren Robinson (WR) NC State and Seahawks, Packers; @Coach_Boudreaux Earl Bennett (WR) Vanderbilt and Bears TY HOWLE .................Recruiting Coordinator (OL) DID YOU KNOW? @CoachTHowle Charlie Fisher earned DEION MELVIN .....................Inside Linebackers his bachelor’s degree @CoachMelvin_WIU from Springfield Col- lege. Another famous DAVID ROCCO ..........................Wide Receivers alum from Springfield @DRoccoWIUFB (Mass.) College is WIU former head TYLER STOCKTON .................... Defensive Line coach and Athletic @Coach TsTock Director Ray ‘Rock’ Hanson... Western’s Nick Brautigam ...Graduate Assistant Defensive .....Graduate Assistant Operations field is named after Holden Boyle Willie White ........Graduate Assistant Video Ops Rock Hanson. 2 2017 Western Illinois Football Western Illinois Football at ILLINOIS STATE WESTERN QUICK FACTS QUARTERBACKS DEFENSIVE BACKS Founded .................................................... 1899 Returning Letterwinners: Sean McGuire Returning Letterwinners: Eric Carrera, Aaron Enrollment .............................................. 10,373 Returning Squad Veterans: None Diggs, Justin Fitzpatrick, David Griffith, Xavier Nickname........................ Fighting Leathernecks Redshirts: Connor Sampson Rowe, Josh Smith, Tim Smith, Mike Viti School Colors ........................