Sycamores are set for game of national proportion

The number 16/17 ranked Sycamores are scheduled to travel to Normal, Ill. to compete against the Illinois State Redbirds in a nationally televised event on Saturday.

Following the homecoming victory this past weekend, the Sycamores improved their rankings in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to number 16 this week and number 17 in The Sports Network/Fathead.com Top 25 poll.  The ranking is the second highest in school history and the highest this season.

In their last game, the Sycamores defeated the Redbirds 59-24.  The Redbirds enter the competition 4-3, with a 3-0 record at home for the season so far.   The Sycamores enter 5-2 this season and are 2-2 on the road this season.

On offense, both teams possess a strong ground game.  The Redbirds' runmomg bacl Ashton Leggett leads the team in rushing with 802 yards rushing and is currently ranked number six nationally.  For the Sycamores, sophomore running back Shakir Bell leads with 1,125 yards on 124 carries with 11 touchdowns and is the national leader in rushing yards per game.

Illinois State's  defense is ranked third nationally in sacks with 26 so far this season for an average of 3.71 yards.  Junior defensive lineman Ben Obaseki leads the Sycamore defense after recording 22 tackles against Western Illinois University.  Five of those tackles resulted in a loss and three were sacks.

Kick off is scheduled for 2 p.m.  The game will be  televised, live, nationally on ESPN3.com.