The Western Illinois football team hits the road this Saturday, looking for its first win of the season. The Leathernecks travel to Brookings, South Dakota to face the No. 3-ranked South Dakota State Jackrabbits (3-1).
Who | Western Illinois (0-4, 0-1) at South Dakota State (3-1, 1-0)
When | Saturday, Oct. 1, 2 p.m.
Where | Dana J. Dykehouse Field, Brookings, South Dakota
Previous matchups: The Jackrabbits lead the all-time series against the Leathernecks, 12-5. South Dakota State won last year's game in Macomb 41-17 and have won four straight. The last WIU win over the Jackrabbits came in double overtime in 2015. The last time WIU won at SDSU was a 33-27 win on Sept. 13, 1980.
Last time out: Western Illinois fell to Northern Iowa 52-17. After a scoreless first quarter, the Panthers took a 17-3 lead into half. Western Illinois cut the deficit to seven, 17-10 on their first possession of the third quarter but SDSU scored 35 consecutive points to pull away for the win.
In its last game, the Jacks topped nationally-ranked Missouri State 28-14 in Springfield, Missouri.
Scouting the opponent: South Dakota State averages 25 points per game, sixth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference while allowing a league-best 15 points per game. The league's top-ranked defense allows 252 yards per game.
Isaiah Davis leads the SDSU offense on the ground, averaging 79.8 yards per game. Quarterback Mark Gronowski throws for 198.8 yards per game and has completed 61.4 percent (62-101) of his passes. Jadon Janke leads SDSU with 222 yards and 16 receptions.
Adam Bock leads the defense with 33 tackles.
What's next: Western Illinois heads into its bye week before continuing the season Oct. 15 at Southern Illinois.