It’s Homecoming in Normal, Ill., and the Illinois State-Western Kentucky game
is part of the Gateway Television Network. Mitch Holthus, Richard Baldinger and
Scott Warmann will call the action from Hancock Stadium, beginning at 2:30 pm
CDT.

The game will be seen live on the Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network and
will be joined in progress at 3 pm by Fox Sports Net Midwest. (A complete
Gateway TV schedule, with clearances, is on page four of this release.)

Home Sweet Home
Two league schools have their Homecoming games on Saturday, Oct. 18. Illinois
State hosts Western Kentucky in Normal, while SMS entertains UNI in Springfield,
Mo.

Winning Ways
Entering games for Oct. 18, six teams in the Gateway are .500 or better (two
others are 3-4). The league had five .500 or better teams in each of its first
two seasons (in 1985 and in 1986), and again in 2002, but no more than four in
any other.

Three-Headed Monsters
In league history, three teams have been ranked among the nation’s Top 10 the
same week on four occasions, including once this year.

Fab Four
In league history, four teams have been ranked among the nation’s Top 15 the
same week five times, including twice this year.

Fearsome Foursome
A minimum of four Gateway teams have been ranked in the same Top 25 poll 31
times in league history, including seven polls in 2001 and a league-record nine
times during 1999. This year, three top-25 polls (Sept. 22-29, Oct. 6) have had
four Gateway teams.

Gateway Ranked vs. Ranked
As of Oct. 11, 2003, two ranked Gateway opponents have played each other a total
of 43 times in Gateway Conference history, including one this year (No. 5
Western Kentucky at No. 2 Western Illinois on Oct. 4). Of those previous 43
games, nine times the meeting involved teams that were both ranked in the Top 10
at the same time. The home team has a 25-18 record; while the higher-ranked team
is 24-19.

Good Starts
In the history of the Gateway, six teams have started the season with 6-0 marks
(including Southern Illinois this year). The previous five went on to postseason
play.

Top Dogs
When Western Illinois earned the No. 1 ranking (Sept. 8, 2003), the Leathernecks
joined UNI (1992), Western Kentucky (2002), and Youngstown State (1997 and 1998)
as Gateway teams that had reached that pinnacle. In fact, every Gateway school
has been ranked No. 3 or better at one time in their history, with Indiana State
and Southern Illinois also achieving No. 1 rankings prior to Gateway membership.

Strength in Numbers
After going 25-13 against non-conference competition in 2002, the league has
gone 25-10 this season (matching an all-time best for winning percentage). Eight
of the 10 losses have come at the hands of I-A (the league is 1-8 vs. I-A). The
Gateway is a near perfect 13-2 against I-AA teams (including 4-0 against ranked
I-AA teams) and a near perfect 18-2 in home non-league contests. The Gateway has
had a winning non-league record 13 times in 19 football seasons, which includes
better than .500 marks in eight of the past nine years (including 2003).

Gateway-OVC Challenge Series
In a cooperative effort to highlight intersectional rivalries between member
institutions of each league, the Gateway Football Conference and the Ohio Valley
Conference started a Challenge Series in 2003. A total of eight regular-season
games between the two leagues constitute the challenge, with three of the games
featured on TV. The winner of the series earns regional bragging rights. The
Gateway was a perfect 8-0 in the series.

Koutsos Sets Record
With 153 rushing yards against Illinois State , Tom Koutsos of Southern Illinois
became the league’s all-time leading rusher.

ILS .. Dynamite Dwayne
Since his arrival on the ISU campus, wide receiver Dwayne Smith has been an
offensive explosion. At Southern Illinois, Smith collected four catches for 85
yards and now has 975 yards for his ISU career. With 25 more yards, he will
become only the 11th receiver in Redbird history to post 1,000 yards receiving.

INS .. Shields Up
RB Jake Shields is averaging 133.0 yards per game on the ground for the
Sycamores — that ranks No. 2 in the Gateway. The last Sycamore to lead the
league in rushing was Derrick Franklin in 1991. Shields missed the UNI game this
past week, but he has five 100-yard rushing games in six tries this year.

UNI .. Casey at the Bat
LB Casey Tierney recorded a team-high 7.5 tackles, including seven solos, as UNI
defeated Indiana State, 22-14. He was credited with two tackles for loss of nine
yards, and he also had one sack for eight yards, and one deflection.

SIU .. Best Start Since 1983
The 2003 Salukis became just the fifth team in SIU history to open the year with
six straight wins. The last team to do it was the 1983 club, which won its first
10 games, en route to winning the I-AA National Championship.

SMS .. Single-Digit Score
The 9-6 score at Western Kentucky marked the first time SMS has held a Gateway
foe to single-digit scoring or without a touchdown since a 27-9 victory over
Southern Illinois in 2000. Notably, the 15 total points scored marked the 10th
lowest scoring league game in conference history. It marked only the sixth game
in league history in which neither team failed to reach double-digit points.

WIU .. Patterson Moves Up
With Western Illinois’ win at Youngstown State this past Saturday, coach Don
Patterson has now won in every Gateway Conference city. He picked up his 37th
career victory and now ranks No. 7 on the all-time WIU win list.

WKU .. Moore Tops Toppers
Lerron Moore ran for a career-best 192 yards on 32 carries in a three-point win
over SMS Saturday, averaging 6.3 yards per attempt. It’s the third time in as
many games against NCAA Division I-AA opponents that the sophomore has collected
a 100-yard game. SMS came into the contest allowing 151.6 total rushing yards
per game.

YSU .. Penguins Have the Edge
The Youngstown State Penguins have won 11 of 12 all-time meetings with Indiana
State, including the last six games. YSU is 6-0 playing at Memorial Stadium,
including a 35-21 win in its last visit in 2001.

ILS .. Wringing the Bling Bling
Reigning I-AA national champions have not had the best of luck against the
Redbirds in the season following their championship run. Today’s game is the
fifth time the ’Birds have faced the defending champion and in the first four
meetings, ISU owns a 3-1 mark, including a 2-0 record in Hancock Stadium.

INS .. He Could Go All The Way
Kyle Mitchell’s 72-yard interception return for a TD almost turned the tide in
Indiana State 22-14 loss to UNI at the UNI-Dome. It is the longest interception
return in the league this year and longest in the league since UNI’s Ryan Doak
returned one for 100 yards against Indiana State on Oct. 21, 2000.

UNI .. Freeney on Pace
TB Terrance Freeney recorded his third-straight game of rushing for more than
100 yards when he gained 102 against Indiana State. Averaging 135.8 yards per
game, he’s on track to become just UNI’s 10th player to rush for 1,000 yards in
a season.

SIU .. Little Makes Big Plays
QB Joel Sambursky’s go-to receiver this year has become Brent Little. He is the
only player to catch a pass in every game, and has made 27 percent of the team’s
receptions. Most impressively, he averages 19.6 yards per catch and has a
team-high three TD receptions.

SMS .. Pratt Leads Ground Game
Against Western Kentucky, TB Cody Pratt had his third 100-yard rushing game in
six outings for SMS as he rambled for 139 yards on 22 carries. Pratt has now
logged 611 yards in six games this season, an average of 101.8 rushing yards a
contest. Pratt’s touchdown was his seventh of the season for SMS.

WIU .. Three With 100
Reggie Gray had seven catches for 116 yards against Youngstown State, marking
the third different Western Illinois receiver to reach the 100-yard plateau this
season. Terrence Hall had 110 against Eastern Michigan, while James Norris had
109 vs. Western Kentucky.

WKU .. Veals Keys Victory
Antonio Veals collected 34 of his season-best 84 punt return yards in the final
period against SMS, with his 19-yard return setting up the Hilltoppers’
game-winning drive. Veals added a 15-yard kick return for 99 all-purpose yards,
his highest total since recording 111 in the season debut against West Virginia
Tech.

YSU .. (Ry)Crafty QB
Youngstown State QB Matt Rycraft set a school record for rushing yards by a
quarterback in a game with his 152-yard performance against Western Illinois.
Rycraft carried the ball 21 times and score touchdowns on runs of three and 35
yards. Entering the game, Rycraft had 198 yards rushing this season.