IWU football season outlook

Friday, August 31, 2007 7:50 PM CDT

Pantagraph sportswriter Douglas Hamm’s take on the Titans’ prospects this season.

Titan dream

Coming off three straight 3-7 seasons, Illinois Wesleyan needs to get off to a fast start and generate some momentum. Plain and simple. It won’t be easy with a trying non-conference schedule that kicks off with road games against Coe and Olivet (Mich.).

The biggest test will come in the Sept. 15 home opener against Mount St. Joseph, which has qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs the last three seasons. The Titans would love to be 3-0 entering College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play, but they would take 2-1.

IWU opens its CCIW slate with an exclamation point as Augustana visits Wesleyan Stadium for a rare night game (6 o’clock start). A win over the Vikings could fuel a solid run through the remainder of the conference schedule. The Titans hope to be more than spoilers for the season finale at home against league favorite Wheaton.

The Titans will rely heavily on a speedy defense featuring seven senior starters. If the defense can force turnovers and stay away from the big play, that will ease the pressure on second-year quarterback Nick Panno and the rest of the offense.

Titan nightmare

IWU’s biggest question mark is on the offensive line, where center Eric Van Hise is the lone returning starter. It all starts up front for the Titans, who have some potent offensive weapons in senior running back Marcus Dunlop and junior wide receiver Martin Ceisel if Panno gets the time to find them. The line has to jell in a hurry.

The defense is solid everywhere although Charlie Welke is the only returning starter at linebacker. IWU will be undersized on the defensive line and the Titans could be in trouble against physical, smash-mouth teams.

One of the Titans’ biggest challenges will be burying the losing mentality and erasing the doubt that has crept in over the last three seasons. A demoralizing loss early in the season could spell disaster and send the Titans careening toward another losing campaign.

Injuries could also prove devastating. Dunlop needs to stay healthy, which has been a problem in past seasons. Panno’s backup, sophomore Kraig Ladd, is talented but untested. After Ceisel, the Titans have little experience in the wide receiving corps.

Titan reality

The Titans are a major question mark, and it will be interesting to see how the season develops. It can’t get much worse than the last three years, when IWU never seemed to catch a break and the frustration level reached a fever pitch.

IWU’s defense will fly around and provide some big plays that have been missing in the past. The offense has the potential to move the chains consistently, but a lot hinges on the development of the line.

Coach Norm Eash, his staff and the Titan players are confident this will be a breakout year, and the team showed a lot of life in its scrimmage against Benedictine. Winning the CCIW title remains the primary objective, but that is asking way too much. A .500 or better overall record isn’t out of the question if everything falls into place.