DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University football team takes to the road for the first time this season to face Western Illinois in the final non-conference game of the season on Saturday, Sept. 13. Kickoff at WIU's Hanson Field is set for 3 p.m. with the contest being carried over the airwaves in Des Moines on KRNT 1350-AM.

Both teams are 1-1 on the young season with the Bulldogs picking up their first win last Saturday via a 13-7 overtime victory against visiting Truman State.

“What we did better was play for 60 minutes, actually a little bit more than 60 minutes,” said Drake head coach Rick Fox of his team's improvement in the second week of the season. “We did that and came out with a win and we need to continue doing that to be successful.”

Heading into the final week of non-conference action, Fox also wants continued improvement across the board, including winning the turnover battle.

“This is a really big week because it's  the last week before we hit the conference run,” Fox said “It's important for us to be working on and perfecting those little things. Our focus is on getting better and setting the stage for the conference run.”

The Bulldogs will have the challenge of going that against a squad, led by running back J.C. Baker's 98.5 yards per game, that is averaging 163.5 yards per game on the ground following a 37-3 loss at Wisconsin last week. In the Leathernecks' opener, they handily defeated Valparaiso, 45-6, with quarterback Trenton Norvell throwing for a career-high 320 yards.

“They're a very sound, disciplined and tough football team,” Fox said. “They came out of halftime against Wisconsin down, 9-3, so they played very good defense and that's the kind of team they are.”

Drake and WIU have met 11 times with WIU holding a narrow 6-5 advantage in the series thanks to a current 4-game win streak. WIU is the third opponent from the Missouri Valley Football Conference that Drake has played in as many seasons. The Bulldogs have faced UNI and Indiana State in 2013 and 2012, respectively.

“The MVC is the class of the FCS so anytime we get a chance to play those teams, that's big for us,” Fox said. “We plan to continue playing MVC teams and those are the types of programs we want to be associated with.”

Following Saturday's contest, the Bulldogs return home to open up Pioneer Football League action on Sept. 20 against Marist. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.