The start of a challenging two-game road swing begins this weekend for Illinois State, which travels to Terre Haute, Indiana, for a critical contest against Indiana State. 

The Redbirds (4-2, 2-1 MVFC) will look to hold onto recent momentum that has seen them win four out of five games, while the Sycamores (1-5, 0-3 MVFC) look to try to pick up their first conference victory.

The Redbird secondary has become one of the best in the MVFC and country. The Redbirds rank No. 8 in the country in passing yards allowed with 171.7, which also ranks second in the MVFC behind North Dakota State. That group has also aided in ISU ranking No. 18 in the country in first down defense, allowing just 101 so far on the season. 

The Illinois State defense currently ranks No. 14 in the country in total defense (and third in the MVFC) and much of that is do to the amount of success the Redbirds have had getting to the quarterback. ISU ranks No. 11 in the country in team sacks per game at 3.33 per contest, and have a total of 20 on the year.

Game time from Terre Haute, Indiana is noon on Saturday.