Eastern Illinois and Illinois State will meet for the 110th time in the Mid-America Classic on Saturday night. 

Jonah O'Brien passed for two touchdowns in Saturday's 29-10 loss to No. 10 Chattanooga as he passed for 183 yards.  He has connected with five different receivers for touchdown passes.  Last season EIU's offense had just eight touchdown passes for the entire season with four different players scoring with touchdown receptions. 

When Redbird starting running back Cole Mueller was lost to injury early in the Wisconsin game, the rest of the ISU running back room knew it would need to step up to fill the void of the team's leading rusher from a year ago. 

Redshirt freshman Wenkers Wright got the message and took the lead against Valparaiso, as he recorded the first 100-plus yard rushing effort of his career in the victory over the Beacons. After a slow start with only 16 yards in the first half, Wright rallied for 85 yards in the game's final two quarters to finish with 101 yards on 21 carries. 

Those crucial yards helped the Redbirds chew up clock and hold on for a big win in the home opener.

Game time is 6:30 pm from Hancock Stadium in Normal. Hear the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM/106.5 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.