A stout defensive effort from the Illinois State defense resulted in ISU picking up its eighth win of the season last week against Missouri State, now the No. 6 Redbirds (8-3, 5-2 MVFC) will look to finish the season strong and boost their playoff seeding chances when they take on Youngstown State (5-6, 1-6 MVFC) at Stambaugh Stadium in the regular-season finale.

YSU dropped a 24-17 decision to Indiana State last Saturday in Terre Haute. The YSU rushing attack is extremely balanced, as five different players have recorded at least three touchdowns on the ground. Joe Alessi leads the way with 700 yards on 118 attempts with five scores. Justus Reed is among the Valley Football leaders with 11 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss, he is one of three YSU defenders with at least 10 TFLs on the season.

Getting out to an early lead has been very beneficial for the Redbirds this season and is a big reason why the team is 8-3 on the year. Overall, the Redbirds are 7-0 on the year when scoring first in the game, and they are now 5-0 when scoring on their first possession of the contest after getting a touchdown on their first drive against South Dakota State.

Illinois State currently sits at No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll  and at No. 7 in the STATS FCS Top 25 following a tough home win over Missouri State. 

Kick is 11 am central time Saturday in Youngstown.