The Toppers faced a big game – their first as a team in the Football Bowl Subdivision – against the defending national champion, the University of Florida.
Junior David Wolke faced a big challenge – his first collegiate start, and his first game as Western’s quarterback.

Seven games into the season, diagnosed concussions among Western’s football players were triple the total number diagnosed last season, according to records provided by Head Athletic Trainer Bill Edwards on Oct. 22. The number of cases rose from four diagnosed last season to 12 diagnosed this season.

Along with hard hits come the hard tasks of identifying concussions and deciding when to clear players for returning to normal routines.

Gary Solomon, the consulting neuropsychologist for the Tennessee Titans and team neuropsychologist for the Nashville Predators, puts this into perspective.

For tight end Chris Brunemann, the pressure came because only three games were left. A Northern Iowa player clocked Brunemann, a spring graduate who also played special teams, as Western returned a kickoff during a game in the 2006 season. The Panther player’s helmet connected with Brunemann’s at the earhole.