2017 Case Western Reserve University Football NCAA Division III Playoffs - First Round #16 CWRU (10-0, 8-0 PAC, 2-0 UAA) at #11 Illinois Wesleyan University (9-1. 7-1 CCIW) Saturday, November 18th, 2017 • 1:00 p.m. ET • Bloomington, Ill. (Tucci Stadium) EVENT COVERAGE: LIVE STATS: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/iwu/ LIVE VIDEO: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/iwu/ UAA CHAMPIONS (’96, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’11, ‘16, ‘17) • PAC CHAMPIONS (’17) • NCAA PLAYOFFS (’07, ’08, ’09, ‘17) CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SPARTANS THE MATCHUP 16th-ranked Case Western Reserve University (10-0, 8-0 PAC, 2-0 UAA) will be making its fourth NCAA Division III Playoff appearance, when the team travels to Tucci Stadium in Bloomington, Illinois to face the Illinois Wesleyan Location .............................................Cleveland, Ohio University Titans in the first round on Saturday, November 18th at 1:00 p.m. ET. Enrollment ........................11,340 (5,121 undergrad) PAC & UAA CHAMPIONS President ......................................Barbara R. Snyder Case Western Reserve University went 8-0 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and won its first league title since Athletic Director ....................................Amy Backus joining the conference as a football affiliate member prior to the start of the 2014 season. The Spartans split the PAC Conference ............. University Athletic Association Championship with 15th-ranked Washington & Jefferson, which also claimed the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs based on the strength of conference victories tiebreaker (the Spartans earned one of the at-large bids Football Affiliate Conference .. Presidents’ Athletic to the playoffs). Case Western Reserve also claimed its second-straight UAA Championship and seventh overall in Colors ..........................................Navy, Gray & White program history, going 2-0 in league play. Stadium ............................................... DiSanto Field Surface/Capacity ............................. FieldTurf/2,400 SCOUTING THE SPARTANS Case Western Reserve completed the regular season with a 10-0 overall mark, including a 5-0 road record. The Spartans have averaged 43.5 points per game (first in the PAC, 11th in DIII) on 462.9 yards of offense (third in the PAC, 2017 Records ...................... 10-0, 8-0 PAC, 2-0 UAA 29th in DIII), including 268.8 passing yards (second in the PAC, 44th in DIII) and 194.1 rushing yards per game (64th in Head Coach ............ Greg Debeljak (John Carroll ’88) DIII). The defense is second in the PAC with just 16.9 points allowed (43rd in DIII), while leading the conference with th 283.4 total yards allowed (28th in DIII), and 112.7 rushing yards (54th in DIII) per game, and is third with 170.7 passing Record at School......................101-42 (14 season) yards allowed per contest (41st in DIII). The Spartans average 32:33 time of possession per game, and have a +10 Overall Record .........................101-42 (14th season) turnover margin. Offensive System ........................................... Spread Senior quarterback Rob Cuda has completed 59.6% of his passes and thrown for 28 touchdowns with just five Defensive System ................................................ 3-4 interceptions, and leads the PAC with 2,510 passing yards. He has also run for 392 yards and six touchdowns this season. 17 different Spartans have caught at least one pass this year, led by junior wide receiver Justin Phan (48 SID ......................................................... Jon Schwartz catches, 591 yards, 7 TDs) and senior wide receiver Zak Hurd (25 catches, 606 yards, 4 TDs), who is ninth in Division III with 24.24 yards per catch. Other leading targets for Cuda include senior running back Aaron Aguilar (16 catches, Email .................................. [email protected] 210 yards, 5 TDs), and senior tight end Zech Medved (18 catches, 324 yards, 2 TDs). The CWRU ground game has been Office Phone ..................................... (216) 368-6517 anchored by senior Jacob Burke, who has carried the ball 210 times for 1,073 yards and 17 touchdowns (first in the Office Fax .......................................... (216) 368-5475 PAC and 10th in Division III). Pressbox Phone ............................... (216) 368-5185 Senior linebacker Justin McMahon leads the team with 72 tackles (29 solo), including eight for a loss and three fumble Website ........................................athletics.case.edu recoveries, and senior linebacker Andrew Banathy has added 64 tackles (35 solo) with a team-leading 11.0 for a loss and four sacks. Junior defensive end Cameron Brown has 10 tackles for a loss, including a team-best 4.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries, while junior defensive tackle Ian Henderson has forced three fumbles, and senior defensive end Dan Techman has chipped in 49 tackles, including 7.5 for a loss and 3.5 sacks. Sophomore safety Patrick Crossey has a team-best four pass breakups and four interceptions, while freshman defensive back Nick Kadlecik and senior ILLINOIS WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY TITANS cornerback Adrian Cannon have each added two interceptions apiece. Senior placekicker Ben Carniol has made eight-of-11 field goal tries and 55-of-57 extra point attempts. Freshman Location ........................................... Bloomington, Ill. punter Quinn Saluan has punted 31 times for an average of 37.2 yards, including 12 inside the 20 yard line. Phan has Enrollment ......................................................... 2,113 returned 17 punts for an average of 10.6 yards, and senior safety Cody Calhoun has 23 kick returns for an average of President ..............................................Eric R. Jansen 22.7 yards. Athletic Director .................................. Mike Wagner SCOUTING THE TITANS Conference ...... College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin Illinois Wesleyan stands at 9-1 overall, including a 7-1 record in the CCIW, where they finished as conference co- champions along with North Central. The Titans’ one loss during the year came on the road at then fifth-ranked North Colors ..................................................Green & White Central, 26-13 on September 16 (giving the Cardinals the automatic bid to the NCAAs), but the team also has victories Stadium ...............................................Tucci Stadium over then third-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater (17-10 on September 2nd) and then fourth-ranked Wheaton College Surface/Capacity .......................Artificial Turf / 3,500 (14-10 on September 30th). The team’s strength is its defense, which ranks 11th in Division III in points allowed (10.8), 23rd in total yards allowed (274.0), and fourth in rushing yards allowed (49.9), while yielding 224.1 passing yards per game. Offensively, Illinois Wesleyan averages 25.3 points per game on 344.3 total yards, including 136.8 rushing 2017 Records .......................................9-1, 7-1 CCIW yards and 207.5 passing yards. The Titans average a time of possession of 30:47 per game and a +2 turnover margin. Head Coach ........Norm Eash (Illinois Wesleyan ‘75) Record at School................200-103-1 (31st season) Sophomore quarterback Brandon Bauer has completed 60.1% of his passes for 1,993 yards and 22 touchdowns with st just six interceptions, while rushing for 149 yards and another four scores. His leading targets include sophomore Overall Record ...................200-103-1 (31 season) receivers Jack Healy (40 receptions, 524 yards, 8 TDs), Zach Walsh (33 receptions, 481 yards, 5 TDs) and Liam Keffer Offensive System ...........................................Pro Set (28 receptions, 339 yards, 2 TDs). Junior tailback Morgan Alexander has carried the ball 217 times for 964 yards and Defensive System ................................................ 4-3 six touchdowns. The team’s leading tackler is senior linebacker Jordan Hassan with 92 (70 solo), including 5.5 sacks and 11.0 total SID ........................................................Stew Salowitz for a loss, in addition to a pair of interceptions. Junior defensive end Eric Dubose has a team-leading 10 sacks, and Email [email protected] senior defensive tackle Justin Krzeczkowski has paced the squad with 12.0 tackles for a loss. Junior free safety Trevor Staley leads the team with three interceptions, and sophomore cornerback Trevor Koepke has a team-high 10 pass Office Phone .....................................(309) 55603206 breakups. Website ................................... www.iwusports.com Sophomore kicker Patrick Tata has made three-of-five field goal tries and 10-of-12 extra point attempts during the year, and sophomore Noah Baird has punted 50 times for 34.1 yards, including 10 inside the 20-yard line. Nick Harcar has returned six kicks for an average of 24.3 yards, and junior Mitch Pfeiffer has 13 punt returns for an average of 7.2 yards. 2017 CASE WESTERN RESERVE SCHEDULE THE COACHES CWRU Head Coach Greg Debeljak, named the 2017 PAC Coach of the Year earlier this week, will enter Saturday’s (All times listed eastern) game with an overall record of 101-42 (.706) during his 14-year career with the Spartans. The 1988 graduate of John Carroll University has led Case Western Reserve to six UAA Championships in the last 11 years, notching four Sept. 2 at Chicago W, 34-14 undefeated regular seasons and four NCAA playoff appearances (2007-09, 2017). Since the beginning of the 2007 season, Case Western Reserve has posted