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

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.