GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Oct. 10 • 1 pm CT
 Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium
Joliet, Illinois

Series History
Overall: This is the first meeting between the two schools.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 74-75 (15th year)
at USF: 74-75 (15th year)

DC: Bill Nickell
Alma Mater: Urbana, OH 2011
Career: 18-29 (5th year)
At Defiance: 18-29 (5th season)

TOP STORYLINES
• This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
 
• Defiance is off to its best start (3-2) since 2007, while the Saints are off to their worst start (0-5) since the same year.

• This marks just the second road game for Defiance, while the Saints are home for the first time in one month.
 
• Opposing teams have rushed for over 200 yards in four of USF's five games this season.  Defiance has accomplished the feat three times in five tries this year against its opponents.

• Connor Engstrom (8 catches) and Jaden Boe (three) each had career-high reception numbers last week.
 
• The Saints have been held under 50 yards rushing three times this year.


GAME NOTES

THE HEAD COACHES
Joe Curry (St. Francis) is in his 15th season as the Saints' head coach, which makes him the longest-serving coach in school history.  He is also the winningest coach in the history of the program with 74 victories and second in winning percentage (.497, 74-75).  Program founder Gordie Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

Bill Nickell (Defiance) is in his fifth season as the head coach of Defiance, which is the alma mater of his parents, Walt and Angela.  Nickell is a 2011 graduate of Urbana University himself and was an NCAA II All-American offensive lineman for the Blue Knights.  In his five seasons with the program, Nickell has gone 18-29.    

ABOUT DEFIANCE (Ohio)
The Yellow Jackets are off to their best start since 2007 when they went 4-2 to begin the campaign.  That has primarily been due to a strong running presence.  Despite four of five starters along the offensive line being underclassmen, Defiance is averaging nearly 200 yards per game on the ground with numbers exceeding that in three of the team's first five games.  The Yellow Jackets pair that 195.8 average with a very similar 198.4 yards through the air.  Combined, the nearly 400 yards per contest and 46 percent conversion rate on third down have resulted in a scoring average of 29.8 points per game.  Defiance does not rely on any one player at any of the offensive skill positions, either, starting with the signal-caller responsibilities.  Chris Cotton and Jordan Southall have shared the duties with both having thrown for at least six touchdowns.  Cotton is the more accurate passer at 62.5 pct. (30-of-48, 411 yards), but Southall has the higher totals (40-of-72, 55.6 pct., 576 yards).  Southall has thrown one more touchdown pass (7-6), but has also accounted for all three of the team's interceptions.  Cotton is the more mobile quarterback, rushing for the second-most yards per game (63.6) on the team.  Cameron Turner headlines the running game with his 6.2 yards-per-carry average and 90.0 yards per outing.  The Yellow Jackets also have a treasure trove of receivers with no less than four having caught at least 10 passes.  Headlining the group is freshman Jadynn Martin with his 20 catches (five for TDs) and 350 yards.  Mar'kel Wade, meanwhile, has turned four of his 11 receptions into scores.  The only blemish on the offense is that it has turned the ball over six times through the first five games.  Defensively, the numbers have not been as impressive for Defiance.  The Yellow Jackets are allowing 35.4 points per game and 360.2 yards per contest, including 242.6 through the air.  The latter could be due to an all-underclassmen backfield.  Defiance also starts two freshmen upfront.  In the backfield, safety Janaris Foster had a huge game last weekend in a 35-30 shootout win over Saint Xavier University, finishing with 17 tackles and knocking down a pair of passes.  That led to him being named the MSFA Mideast Defensive Player of the Week.  Junior linebacker Damon McCracken leads the group with his 38 tackles, including six for loss.  Foster and outside linebacker Hunter Coltrain are right behind with 32 stops each.  As for the special teams units, Carson Marroquin handles the placekicking duties.  He is a perfect 43-for-43 on PATs since the middle of last season, but has missed both of his field goal attempts this fall.  Freshman Owen Catanese takes care of punting chores and is averaging 31.1 yards per boot.  Teon Hill and Marshawn Taylor average no less than 16.0 yards per kickoff return, while Taylor and Daylen Lewis have each returned three punts.  Despite its high scoring numbers, the Yellow Jackets have gotten off to slow starts, being out-scored 53-14 in the first quarter.  On the opposite end, they have out-scored their opponents 51-35 in the fourth quarter.  Saturday's contest will mark just the second one on the road for the team.  This is the 112th season of football at Defiance, which started its program in 1900.  It is also the only NAIA football school in the state of Ohio.              

ABOUT THE SERIES
This is the first meeting between the two schools.
 
LOOKING BACK AT LAST WEEK
University of Saint Francis (Ind.) took advantage of every opportunity its counterpart, University of St. Francis, gave it last Saturday, resulting in a 47-14 Mid-States Football Association crossover game victory.  The host Cougars (2-3) scored on all six of their possessions in the first half to build what would turn out to be an insurmountable 37-0 lead.  They also were a perfect 5-for-5 scoring when starting possessions inside Fighting Saints territory.

PUT A BOE ON IT
Redshirt freshman Jaden Boe came into the Saint Francis (Ind.) contest with just two receptions for 52 yards.  On Saturday, he left Fort Wayne with another three catches for 60 yards, including two clutch plays.  He set up USF's two touchdowns with a 33-yard reception on fourth-and 23 and a 24-yard grab on third-and-16.

DOUBLING UP
Sophomore wide receiver Connor Engstrom also better than doubled up on his numbers Saturday.  He came into the affair with seven catches and left town with a career-high eight, good for 40 yards.  For the season, he now sits just one reception behind team leader Mason Hackman, who has 16 grabs for 230 yards.  Engstrom has 15 for 112.

FINDING HIS MARK
Senior Jalen Webb-Starkey became the first Saint quarterback this season to complete at least 50 percent of his pass attempts in a single game.  He went 20-for-34 for 188 yards, all of which are season-high outputs for USF QBs.  The .588 completion mark inched Webb-Starkey closer to 50 percent for the season.  He is now at 49.5 percent.

TWO-FER
Webb-Starkey's two touchdown runs last week gave him three for the season.  He is the only Saint with multiple touchdowns this year.

KEEP GOING
Aaron Larkins' 39-yard kickoff return last week was the longest of the season for the Saints.

A BATTLE FOR THE TOP SPOT
Aided by his team-high 13 stops last week, senior linebacker Matthew Perry has taken over the team lead in tackles for the season.  He boasts 39, two more than Daniel Rouse, who had nine stops last week.  Gavin Day is third with 35 tackles.

AIR BALL
A 62-yard punt last week enabled Adrian Guerrero to average better than 40 yards per boot (40.6) for the second straight week.  For the season, Guerrero is just below that mark at 39.5 yards.

SETTING UP THE OFFENSE  
USF's defense had its best goal-line stand of the season when it stopped Saint Francis (Ind.) three straight times inside the one-yard line.  That resulted in the Saints holding the opposition to zero points for just the third time in 21 attempts inside the red zone this season.

AIDED BY THE DEFENSE
Inspired by the series, USF's offense followed with its longest drive of the campaign, going 99 yards in 12 plays for its second touchdown of the game.

GROUNDED
USF's rushing game has been slow to come by this season with its numbers last Saturday being the worst of its five contests.  Hurt by a season-high five sacks and a botched punt snap, the Saints finished with a minus-15 yards on 21 carries.  It marked the third time this season that USF has been held below 50 yards rushing in a contest.

LOW FIVE I
The Saints' 0-5 start is their first since the 2007 season.

LOW FIVE II
Saint Francis (Ind.) started five drives inside USF territory last week and scored all five times, coming away with three touchdowns and a pair of field goals for 26 total points.

A NEED TO BE BALL HOGS
For the fourth straight time, the Saints were at a sizeable disadvantage from a time of possession perspective as they had the ball for just under 26 minutes to Saint Francis' (Ind.) 34:19.  The Illinois State contest is the only time this season that the Saints have led in time of possession (34-26).

A NEED TO STOP THE RUN
Opponents have rushed for better than 200 yards per game in four of USF's five contests.

FOR THE RECORD
The Saints are 182-243 all time, 153-183 in day games and 95-109 at home.