Southeast Missouri (1-3, 1-0 OVC) vs. #13 Eastern Illinois (3-1, 1-0 OVC)

Date: Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016
Kickoff: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Stadium: Houck Stadium (10,000)
Surface: FieldTurf
Weather Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 72 degrees
Series History: Eastern Illinois leads, 17-6
Last Meeting: EIU 33, SEMO 28 (Oct. 10, 2015 / Charleston, Ill.)
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (11-17 overall; 10-17 at SEMO; 7-9 OVC). Kim Dameron (15-13 overall, 15-13 at EIU; 10-2 OVC).

Media Coverage
Radio: SEMO ESPN 92.9 FM Erik Sean (play-by-play), Rick Wieser (analyst), Todd Bonacki (sideline) / Real Rock 99.3 FM
TV/Video: OVC Digital Network
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMOFootball
Southeast Missouri Notes

Redhawks Host #16 Eastern Illinois
Southeast Missouri (1-3, 1-0) hosts #13 Eastern Illinois (3-1, 1-0) Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., CT, at Houck Stadium.

Military Appreciation/Take a Kid to the Game
Saturday is Military Appreciation and Take a Kid to the Game night. All active and veteran military members are FREE with a ID. Admission is FREE for kids grade eight and under (must be accompanied by an adult).

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Saturday's game on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean, Rick Wieser and Todd Bonacki will call the action. Video can be accessed online at the OVC Digital Network. Live stats are available at GoSoutheast.com. Twitter updates provided @SEMOFootball.

Brickyard Game
Southeast faces its first ranked opponent this season when #13 Eastern Illinois comes to town this weekend. The Redhawks are 4-24 all-time against ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponents. Southeast has two of those wins under head coach Tom Matukewicz. The Redhawks last beat a ranked opponent when they knocked off then-#20 Tennessee State, 26-21, on Oct. 4, 2014.

Series History
The Redhawks and Panthers meet for the 24th time this season. Eastern Illinois owns a 17-6 lead in the all-time series which began in 1956. The Panthers won each of the last four matchups between these teams. Southeast is 4-7 against EIU at Houck Stadium.

OVC Home-Openers
Southeast is 11-14 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference home-openers. The Redhawks are 2-0 in such games under head coach Tom Matukewicz. Southeast beat Murray State, 27-10, on Oct. 3, 2015 and Tennessee State, 28-21, on Oct. 14, 2014 in OVC home-openers with Matukewicz at the helm.

Last Time vs. Eastern Illinois
The Redhawks scored 21 points in the second half, but came up short in a 33-28 loss to Eastern Illinois at O'Brien Field on Oct. 10, 2015. Southeast trailed by 20 points with 6:34 left to play in the third quarter before mounting its comeback. Time, however, simply ran out. Dante Vandeven had a hand in three touchdowns, completing 20-of-32 passes for 217 yards and two TDs, and rushed for 55 yards and another score on nine carries.

Red Zone Defense
Southeast leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks 17th in the nation in red zone defense through four games this season. Opponents have scored on 11-of-16 (68.8 pct.) of its chances inside the red zone against the Redhawks. Southeast has one takeaway in the red zone, as well.

Matukewicz at Houck Stadium
The Redhawks, who play at home for the second time this season, are 5-6 at Houck Stadium under head coach Tom Matukewicz. Southeast is looking to end a two-game losing skid on its home field. The Redhawks lost their last two home games by a combined 11 points, falling to UT Martin, 28-25, on Nov. 21, 2015 and Indiana State, 30-22, on Sept. 17, 2016.

Redhawks Get First Win
Southeast picked up its first win of the season when it edged Murray State, 17-16, on Sept. 24. The Redhawks pulled ahead by one when Adrian Davis caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jesse Hosket with 1:05 left to play. Southeast then escaped when Connor Mitchell's 38-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right with two seconds on the clock. The Redhawks ended a five-game losing streak dating back to last year.

One To Go
The Redhawks are one win away from reaching 100 victories at the NCAA Division I level. Southeast is 99-187 all-time since joining the FCS in 1991.

Road to 300
Inside linebacker Roper Garrett, who is ranked among Southeast's top 10 all-time career leaders in tackles, needs just one more to reach 300 in his career. Garrett, who leads the team and stands 10th in the Ohio Valley Conference with 32 tackles, finished as Southeast's top tackler each of the previous two seasons. A total of seven players have turned in more than 300 tackles during their Southeast careers.

Tough Defense
Southeast allowed a season-low 352 total yards in its road win at Murray State (Sept. 24). The Redhawks held the Racers to only 11 yards rushing, the second-lowest amount of rushing yards in a game during Southeast's NCAA Division I era. Southeast held MSU to just 50 yards in the second quarter alone.

McCullough Hits Career Best
Tremane McCullough, who started his first game of the season at running back against Murray State (Sept. 24), finished with a career-high 94 receiving yards and a touchdown on nine catches in that game. McCullough scored his first career receiving TD on an 11-yard pass from Jesse Hosket to grab Southeast a 7-0 lead with 8:35 left to play in the first quarter. He leads the team and ranks fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference with 56.5 receiving yards per game. McCullough is also second in the league with six receptions per contest.

Time of Possession
The Redhawks lead the Ohio Valley Conference and rank seventh in the Football Championship Subdivision in time of possession. Southeast held a +11:00 margin in that category during its latest win at Murray State (Sept. 24). The Redhawks are averaging 33:51 per game in time of possession this season.

McCrum Joins Top-Five in Scoring
Ryan McCrum, who leads Southeast and stands third in the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring with 26 points, is fifth among the school's career leaders in that category. McCrum was 1-of-2 in field goals and 2-of-2 in PATs against Murray State (Sept. 24). He kicked a season-long 44-yard field goal with 39 seconds remaining in the third quarter. For the year, McCrum is 6-of-8 in field goals and a perfect 8-of-8 in extra points. His six field goals lead the OVC and he has 190 points in his career.

Lots of Plays
Southeast ran a total of 91 plays at Murray State (Sept. 24), its fourth-most amount of plays in a game during its NCAA Division I era. The last time the Redhawks finished game with over 90 plays was also in Murray, Kentucky on Oct. 11, 2014.

Injury Note
Starting outside linebacker Chad Meredith and nose tackle Marlon Hampton each suffered injuries in last week's game at Murray State (Sept. 24). Meredith sustained a shoulder injury and Hampton left the game with an injured knee. Meredith will play against Eastern Illinois Saturday and Hampton's status is undetermined at this time.

Wilkerson Emerges
Redshirt-freshman wide receiver Kristian Wilkerson is second on the team and seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference in receiving yards per game (53.8) through the first month of the season. Wilkerson had multiple catches in each of his first four games with a season-best five receptions at Memphis (Sept. 3) and a season-high 85 receiving yards at Southern Illinois (Sept. 10). He also scored one touchdown this year.

Good Start
First-year starting quarterback has thrown for over 200 yards in three consecutive starts. Hosket most recently completed 19-of-44 passes for a season-high 257 yards and two touchdowns at Murray State (Sept. 24). He has thrown a touchdown pass in three of his four starts this season. Hosket ranks fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference in passing (213.2 ypg) and fifth in total offense (214 ypg). He also threw one interception.

Scoring Streak
The Redhawks presently have the third-longest scoring streak in the Ohio Valley Conference. Southeast has scored in 59-consecutive games and ranks behind Murray State (125) and UT Martin (72) in that category. The last time the Redhawks went scoreless in a game was at Purdue (59-0) on Sept. 17, 2011.

Sack Attack
Southeast registered multiple sacks in each of its first four games this season. The Redhawks are second in the Ohio Valley Conference with 11 sacks for a loss of 58 yards. Southeast led the OVC and ranked 15th in the Football Championship Subdivision with 2.82 sacks per game in 2015. The Redhawks had a sack in 16 of their last 19 games dating back to 2014. Southeast is also 20th in the FCS in sacks this week.

Knight Leads OVC
Senior punter Alex Knight enters the week ranked first in the Ohio Valley Conference and third in the nation in punting with 45.4 yards per punt. He punted a total of 26 times for 1,181 yards in his first four contests this season. Knight had eight punts of 50 or more yards and was named OVC Specialist of the Week once over that span. He is now third all-time in career punting yards at Southeast with 7,476.