Game Notes vs. Illinois College

RIPON, Wis. - On a day in which Ripon College takes part in its annual Homecoming celebration, the Ripon College football team also returns home to Ingalls Field, where they haven't played a game since their season opener, nearly one month ago.

The Red Hawks enter today's game with a 2-1 record and the number two ranked defense in the MWC, allowing just 17 points per game. They will face an Illinois College team that holds a 1-2 record, but ranks third in the league in scoring with 29.3 ppg.

"We have to make sure we're ready for all the different things they do offensively with formations and motions," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "We need to go out there Saturday and execute what we've practiced all week."

All three of Ripon's games this season have been decided by five points or less. Six of the team's seven touchdowns have come on the ground, and the team has scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of the last 10 games, dating back to last year's 21-6 at Illinois College, which is the last time Ripon failed to score a TD.

We're just a couple points from being 3-0 this season, but we're also a couple points from being 0-3," Ernst said. "I'm really proud of how our players have competed and they strive to improve each day, which is something that we'll continue to do as the season progresses."

The only passing touchdown Ripon has scored this season came with under two minutes remaining in last week's game on a 62-yard strike from Stephen Covalt to Zach Rinehart, which proved to be the winning score.

"Our offense has always had that ability, but right now we're starting to feel more confident with what we're doing," Ernst said.,

"It's just a matter of continuing to improve each week and that's what our offense has done. We can be pretty good if we continue that improvement."

Ripon also boasts one of the most opportunistic defensive units in the conference, as they are tied for second in the MWC in turnover margin (+8). Not only are they forcing turnovers, but they're forcing them during the most critical times in the game. Ripon's Red-Zone defense is tops in the conference, allowing opponents to score just 33 percent of the time when they get inside the 20-yard line. Last week, Ripon forced five Cornell turnovers, with three of them coming in the Red Zone, and two of those occurring on the goal line.

"We're playing well defensively and our players all have a positive attitude and believe in what we're trying to do," Ernst said. "We have some good experience on that side of the ball and they take a lot of pride in what they've been able to accomplish."

Illinois College has won the last five meetings with the Red Hawks, and have averaged 37 points per game during the last three. Ripon is hoping to secure a win to improve their record to 3-1 for the first time since 2011. A victory would also inch Coach Ernst closer to the MWC's career record for coaching victories. With seven games to play this season, Ernst's 155 wins is four shy of the conference record.

"We really played hard last week and gained a lot of confidence in that win at Cornell, with our players responding well to the things that we've been teaching," Ernst said. "We're certainly nowhere close to where we should be, but we have another tough opponent this weekend in Illinois College and we need to be ready."

Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. at Ingalls Field in Ripon and can be seen live at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.