After competing in back-to-back road games against top-5 nationally ranked teams, the Illinois State Redbirds (0-3) are excited to return to the nest Saturday to host Western Illinois Leathernecks (0-3) for an 11 a.m. contest at Hancock Stadium.

The Redbirds and the Leathernecks will meet for the 103rd time on the gridiron, with WIU leading the all-time series 51-48-3 which dates back to 1904. The Redbirds have won nine out of the last 10 meetings overall, including a 28-14 last October in Macomb. 

The one thing coaches had commented about redshirt freshman tailback Nigel White was his speed, and that was on full display against North Dakota State. The Florida product rushed for a career-high 87 yards against the vaunted Bison defense and put together chunk runs of 20, 17 and 32 yards. White averaged 5.8 yards per carry on 15 attempts and showed why the coaching staff is so high on the freshmen duo of White and Pha'leak Brown. 

Week three of the spring season saw the Western Illinois football team suffer a 38-21 setback to North Dakota to drop to 0-3 on the season. Freshman Iosefa Pua'auli was the standout for the Leathernecks, as he posted a two-touchdown performance in the loss to the Fighting Hawks.