THE SERIES: Heading into the 15th meeting all-time between Western Illinois and South Dakota State, the Jackrabbits lead the series 9-5. The Leathernecks won four of the first five games between the squads from 1976-2007, South Dakota State has dominated the all-time series since the schools started competing in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Jackrabbits have taken eight of the nine meetings from the Leathernecks in Valley play, with Western's lone MVFC victory over South Dakota State coming in double overtime (30-24) at Hanson Field in 2015.

THE RANKINGS: Western Illinois ranks 12th in the STATS FCS 'Top 25' poll and 14th in the FCS Coaches poll. South Dakota State is ranked 11th and eighth, respectively.

PEAKS AND VALLEYS: A 24-12 loss at North Dakota State foiled Western Illinois' bid to start a season 6-1 for the first time since beginning 11-1 in 2002. However, the Leathernecks still own their second consecutive 5-2 start, and are looking to jump out to a 6-2 record for the second straight year. Western Illinois is in the midst of playing three consecutive ranked teams (NDSU, SDSU, Illinois State), combining for records of 17-4. The first three opponents (USD, UNI, Missouri State) for WIU in conference play are a combined 11-10.

SCOUTING THE JACKRABBITS: After a 3-0 start to the season, South Dakota State has split the last four games. The Jackrabbits boast an explosive offense that ranks ninth in the nation at 38.4 points per game. Their 448.7 yards per contest places them 26th. Part of the reason for the Jacks' success offensively is a 55.0 percent third down conversion rate that leads the FCS. Quarterback Taryn Christion has thrown for 16 touchdowns against three interceptions this season, compiling 1,668 yards thus far. Brady Mengarelli is averaging a sterling 7.4 yards per carry, totaling 483 yards and six touchdowns on the campaign. South Dakota State also has a potent receiver tandem in Dallas Goedert, who has 33 catches for 587 yards and three touchdowns, and Jake Wieneke, who has 29 receptions for 382 yards and eight scores. Christian Rozeboom's 67 tackles lead the Jacks.

WESTERN ILLINOIS CAREER RANKINGS: Brett Taylor is one of four Leatherneck players all-time with 400 career tackles (411). The Macomb native ranks third all-time in school history in career stops, 69 from tying Lee Russell (2000-03) for second. His 41 solo tackles are fourth all-time in WIU history. Pat Bayers (1979-82) ranks third with 261 career solo tackles.

TAKE IT AWAY: Western Illinois forced two more turnovers at North Dakota State, pushing their turnover margin on the season to +12, the best mark in the MVFC and the third-best in the nation. The Leathernecks' 17 takeaways are 13th-highest nationally, and Western's five giveaways are the sixth-lowest in the FCS. In fact, the Leathernecks are outscoring opponents 61-3 in points off turnovers. Western Illinois has now forced at least one turnover in 47 of their last 54 games. They have multiple takeaways in 15 of the last 25 contests, including 20 total over the past eight games.

ON THE OFFENSIVE: Western Illinois racked up 49 points in their victory over Missouri State, marking the third time this season that the Leathernecks have tallied 40 or more points. It also represented the fifth occasion with at least 38 points. The last time Western scored 40 or more points in a game that many times in a season was during the 2010 campaign, when the Leathernecks had five outbursts of 40-plus points.

RACK UP THE YAC: Through the first three contests of the year, Western Illinois registered 19 plays of at least 20 yards, a rate of 63 per game. However, over their last four contests, the Leathernecks have compiled 46 plays of 20-plus yards, an average of 11.5 per game. Wide receiver Jaelon Acklin has been responsible for 24 plays of 20 or more yards, with 20 of those coming on passing plays. He has nine touchdowns of at least 20 yards.

McGUIRE'S ON FIRE: With 5,869 career passing yards, Western Illinois quarterback Sean McGuire is just 131 yards away from becoming the sixth Leatherneck quarterback to 6,000 career passing yards. He is currently into seventh place in school history in that category, while his 220.7 yards of total offense per game is the best in program history. On the season, McGuire ranks 10th in the nation in passing efficiency (162.2), 11th in completion percentage (66.9), 13th in yards per attempt (8.98), 19th in passing touchdowns (15), passing yards per game (256.6) and 20th in passing yards (1,796). Over the last 22 quarters of play, McGuire is 119-for-174 (68.4 percent) for 1,587 yards, 15 touchdowns and two interceptions. He was named MVFC co-Offensive and Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 24 and Oct. 8, respectively. Additionally, against South Dakota, McGuire's 441 passing yards were the third-most in a single game in program history, with his 31 completions one away from tying the record.

SACK LUNCH: After compiling just 13 sacks through 11 games last season, Western Illinois head coach Charlie Fisher hired Tony Grantham as the Leathernecks' defensive coordinator, and the pair established a new 3-4 scheme designed to attack the quarterback. Western Illinois has registered 19 sacks in just seven games during the 2017 campaign. The Leathernecks' 2.7 sacks per game is 23rd nationally. Western Illinois also is second in the conference and eighth nationally with 8.4 tackles for a loss per game.

CATCH A STAR: Wide receiver Jaelon Acklin entered 2017 with 21 career catches for 364 yards and two touchdowns. However, the senior has blown up in 2017, catching 52 balls for 943 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. The Mountain View, Mo., native is second in the nation in total touchdowns (11), third in all-purpose yards per game (162.57), fourth in both receiving yards (943) and receiving yards per game (134.7), sixth in receiving touchdowns (eight) and eighth in receptions per game (7.4). Acklin is 57 yards away from recording the eighth 1,000-yard receiving season in Western Illinois history. With four contests of at least 100 yards receiving this year, he's also one more 100-yard game away from tying for the most 100-yard contests in a single season in program history.

STONEWALL DEFENSE: Western Illinois yielded just 35 rushing yards to Northern Iowa, marking the second time this season the Leathernecks allowed fewer than 50 rushing yards in a game. In their 2017 opener, Western Illinois held Tennessee Tech to zero net rushing yards. Prior to this campaign, the last time the Leathernecks surrendered no more than 50 rushing yards in a game was against Indiana State in 2014. Western Illinois' rushing defense is 26th nationally by surrendering 121.1 yards per game.

ALL-TIME AT HANSON FIELD: On September 23, 1950, Hanson Field was dedicated and became the home of Leatherneck Football. In the last 67 years, Western has compiled a 236-121-7 record at home. In 51 of those years Western finished at least .500 at home, including a perfect 6-0 record in 2010.

LEATHERNECK QUICK HITTERS:

• Western Illinois is 42-77-1 (.350) all-time against ranked opponents, including 28-58 (.326) in conference play. This season, the Leathernecks earned a win at then-No. 21 Northern Iowa. Western Illinois has lost to then-No. 10 South Dakota and No. 2 North Dakota State.

• The Leathernecks have dominated opponents this year when it comes to time of possession. Western has won the time of possession battle three times this year, holding the ball for 37:20 against Tennessee Tech, 39:03 at Northern Arizona, 33:03 at Coastal Carolina and 31:38 at Northern Iowa. Last year's season-best was 36:50 at Missouri State. The Leathernecks rank 19th nationally in time of possession with their 32:06 average. This year, Western has held the ball for more than 10 minutes in a quarter three times (11:09 4Q at Tech; 11:18 2Q at NAU, 10:14 4Q at NAU). The team did that seven times all last year.

• No team in the Missouri Valley Football Conference has been more effective at scoring in the red zone than Western Illinois. The Leathernecks rank first in the MVFC and ninth nationally by scoring on 92.0 percent off their red zone possessions. Western's only misses in the red zone this year have come when they got inside the 20 and ran out the clock during their final drive at Northern Arizona and when they turned the ball over on downs from inside the 5 at North Dakota State. The best red zone performance of the season for the Leathernecks came at Coastal Carolina, where they finished 7-for-7 in the red zone.

• Western Illinois has excelled on both sides of the ball on third downs. The Leathernecks rank 35th in the nation by converting 41.1 percent of their third downs. Meanwhile, their defense ranks 19th nationally by holding opponents to a 31.6 percent success clip on third downs this year.

• Related to their success on third down offensively, Western Illinois ranks in the top 30 in scoring offense (12th, 37.6 points per game), passing offense (25th, 260.0 yards per game) and total offense (26th, 432.9 per game). On defense, helping their success on third down has been a strong rush defense that ranks 26th nationally by yielding 121.1 yards per game on the ground. The Leatherneck defense is second in the conference and eighth nationally with 8.4 tackles for a loss per game. Their 2.71 sacks per contest places 19th in the nation.

• In 28 career games (22 career starts), Sean McGuire has registered 10 career 300-yard passing games. The Franklin, Wisconsin native's 41 career passing touchdowns are tied for sixth in school history, just one away from tying for fifth. McGuire is four away from tying for third. He is also tied for third place in program history for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (eight), four away from Steve LaFalce in second place in school history.

• On his first career field goal attempt, Western Illinois kickoff specialist Nathan Erickson blasted a 52-yarder at North Dakota State, becoming the first Leatherneck to boot a 50-plus yarder since Taylor Rowan connected from 54 yards in the FargoDome in 2008. Erickson, normally the kickoff specialist for the Leathernecks, has recorded 26 touchbacks this season, second-best in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and third-most in the nation.