ROCK ISLAND - Illinois Wesleyan's football team has had nearly two weeks to ponder its 1-2 start courtesy of an open date on the schedule.

The prevailing opinion among the Titans hasn't changed as they gear up for today's 1 p.m. College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin opener against Augustana at Ericson Field.

"We feel like we should be 3-0," said IWU junior free safety Brian Smith. "We let Coe slip away in the second half and we let Mount St. Joseph slip away in the second half.

"It's a whole new season for us. We feel like we're going into the conference 0-0. If we win conference the nonconference schedule won't matter. We'll be 8-2 and on our way to the playoffs."

The Titans were plagued by fatal breakdowns in their losses to Coe and Mount St. Joseph, both unbeaten and ranked in the American Football Coaches Association Division II poll.

IWU blew an early 14-0 lead against No. 14 Coe, while No. 20 Mount St. Joseph returned an interception and a blocked punt for touchdowns in its 28-7 win over the Titans.

"Not that you want to be sitting at 1-2, but I don't think we feel like we're 1-2," said IWU coach Norm Eash. "That's good because there's confidence there thinking we're better than 1-2, and we are. We've played some pretty good people.

"We're anxious to start that conference season. It's a big game just because Augie is 1-2 and we're 1-2. We both need a win and we both want to get that first conference win."

Defending CCIW champion Augustana, which was picked to finish first again in the league's preseason coaches poll, struggled offensively in its losses to unranked Baldwin-Wallace (17-7) and Wisconsin-Platteville (24-7).

After finishing second in the nation last season with an average of 346.3 yards rushing per game, the Vikings have managed only 215.7 yards this season. Senior fullback Mike Guzman, a first-team all-CCIW selection in 2005, has been held to 141 yards on 36 carries.

Augustana quarterback Ryan McGinnis has already thrown 47 passes, surpassing last year's 12-game total of 33 that set an NCAA Division III record for fewest attempts in a season.

"Augustana is Augustana," Eash said. "We have tape on them for 20 years, and they haven't changed a whole lot. They're kind of in a transition and they have some new faces.

"They're probably throwing the ball more in the first three games than we've seen them do in the past. That might be because they were behind in the Baldwin-Wallace and Platteville games, so you have to be careful with that."

Augustana has won five straight and six of the last seven against IWU, a streak the Titans are eager to end.

"We have to stay focused on our keys because if you slip up once and start worrying about someone else's job or looking at a different key, that's when they hit the big play on you," Smith said.

"That goes true for the whole defense. If it's a run and you're not in your gap, that gap opens up and there's six points."

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TITAN ESSENTIALS

Illinois Wesleyan vs. Augustana

Site: Ericson Field, Rock Island

Kickoff: 1 p.m.

Records: IWU 1-2; Augustana 1-2

Coaches: IWU's Norm Eash is 117-65-1 in 20 seasons at his alma mater. Jim Barnes has a six-year record of 49-17 at Augustana.

Illinois Wesleyan leaders: Rushing - Marcus Dunlop (244 yards, 1 touchdown); Passing - Brandon Cotter (47-89, 460 yards, 3 touchdowns); Receiving - Martin Ceisel (18 catches, 251 yards, 2 touchdowns); Scoring - Marcus Dunlop (2 touchdowns, 12 points), Martin Ceisel (2 touchdowns, 12 points); Tackles - Mike Mastro (23)

Augustana leaders: Rushing - Mike Guzman (141 yards, 1 touchdown); Passing - Ryan McGinnis (21-47, 206 yards, 0 touchdown); Receiving - Jason Kwasigroch (8 catches, 97 yards, 0 touchdowns); Scoring - Josh Patterson (2 FGs, 7 XPs, 13 points); Tackles - Preston Jones (21)

Illinois Wesleyan injuries: Running back Marcus Dunlop (ankle) and tight end Brock Klein (shoulder) are probable.

Augustana injuries: Unavailable

What to watch for

- Both teams will be looking to make an early statement as they open College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin play.

IWU is coming off a bye week and a tough nonconference schedule that included losses to No. 14-ranked Coe (34-21) and No. 20 Mount St. Joseph (28-7). Augustana has suffered losses to unranked Baldwin-Wallace (17-7) and Wisconsin-Platteville (24-7) after a season-opening 53-7 win over MacMurray.

- Augustana must get its normally potent ground attack untracked after averaging 215.7 yards in its first three games. The Vikings finished second in the nation last year with an average of 346.3 yards.

- With starting tailback Marcus Dunlop hobbling, junior fullback Jaryee Maples will get more carries for the Titans. Maples broke off a 74-yard TD run against Mount St. Joseph on only his second attempt of the season.

Points of interest

- Defending champion Augustana was picked to finish first in the CCIW preseason coaches poll. IWU was tabbed for a seventh-place finish.

- IWU holds a 38-32-1 advantage in the all-time series, which dates to 1917, but Augustana has won the last five meetings including a 41-15 decision last year in Rock Island.

- Starting senior cornerback Kyle Simpsen, a Ridgeview High School graduate, is one of 10 former Pantagraph area players on Augustana's roster. Junior fullback Joel Campbell (Gridley), junior linebacker Brennan Deike (LeRoy), senior split end Tom Green (Pontiac) and sophomore offensive lineman Matt Reoch (University High) are listed as backups on the Vikings' two-deep chart.

Sounding off

- "It's the same concept. They're going to run at you and they're going to get a lot of double teams on our D linemen with those backs coming through. We just have to play our responsibilities against them because they want to lull you to sleep with the run and then try to hit that play action a little bit." - IWU coach Norm Eash

- "We need to finish a game. We've come out and we've gotten on top and had huge momentum swings. We just need to take advantage of them. It seems like in the second half we haven't been able to do that. If we accomplish that I don't think there's anybody that can stay with us." - IWU junior free safety Brian Smith