Western Illinois and its slick passer, Steve LaFalce, plays host to a Division I-AA nationally ranked Gateway Conference opponent for the second week in a row Saturday when No. 2 Southern Illinois comes to Macomb.
Western, 41-24 losers to Northern Iowa last weekend, beat Southern 18 times in a row from 1984 to 2001 and leads in the series 33-13-4.
But the Salukis have won the last three games and pounded the Leathernecks 66-13 last year.
LaFalce, a junior finance major from Fremd High School, passed for a career-high 355 yards last week while completing 28 of 44 passes with no interceptions.
Two of LaFalce’s receivers, Travis Glasford and Reggie Gray, shared 20 receptions and exceeded 100 yards apiece.
Glasford caught nine for 141 yards and Gray 11 for 115 yards.
Western (2-3, 0-1) has allowed an average of 39.2 points per game. Southern (3-1, 1-0) has averaged 49.5 points per game.