GAME DAY LINKS --
McKENDREE at DRAKE -- Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016, 1 p.m. -- Drake Stadium, Des Moines, Iowa
LISTEN LIVE (Bearcat Sports Network)
WATCH LIVE (Drake Broadcast)
LIVE STATS

McKENDREE/DRAKE VIDEO PREVIEW WITH COACH BABCOCK
McKENDREE GAME NOTES
McKENDREE SEASON STATISTICS
DRAKE GAME NOTES
DRAKE SEASON STATISTICS

(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 15)--The McKendree University football team will hit the road for the first time in 2016, traveling to Des Moines, Iowa, for a non-conference battle against FCS member Drake University. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa. The game can be heard live on the Bearcat Sports Network (www.glvcsn.com/mckendree), with the pre-game show set for 12:45 p.m.

The Bearcats will be looking to keep their perfect record intact in the final non-conference game of the year. McKendree improved to 2-0 on the year last Saturday with a 16-15, double-overtime victory at Leemon Field against West Liberty University. It was the Bearcats' first overtime game since 2004 -- and the first home overtime contest since 2001 -- as the team remained perfect in games that need at least one extra period. McKendree is now 5-0 in overtime tilts since returning to the gridiron in 1996. 

Saturday's contest will mark the first for McKendree against a Football Championship Subdivision (former Division I-AA) program since 2000. Ironically, Drake provided the opposition in that last such instance for the Bearcats. The host Bulldogs overcame an early McKendree lead to register a 28-11 win over the Bearcats on Sept. 2, 2000, which was also played at Drake Stadium. McKendree is 2-2 all-time against teams from the FCS, with victories coming against Evansville (1997) and Dayton (1999). 

McKendree will be looking for its fifth straight win against a non-conference opponent. That would give the Bearcats their longest win streak versus non-conference foes since a seven-game tear spanning the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Following the Drake game, McKendree will return home to prepare for its 2016 Great Lakes Valley Conference opener next Saturday (Sept. 24) at Leemon Field against William Jewell College. 

INSIDE THE McKENDREE/DRAKE GAME
THE HEAD COACHES
McKENDREE: Mike Babcock is in his fourth season as the head coach of the McKendree Bearcats (19-14 at McKendree and overall).

DRAKE: Rick Fox is in his third season as the head coach of the Drake Bulldogs (12-12 at Drake and overall).

THE SERIES (Since 1996)
Drake won the only other meeting on the gridiron between the two programs, which came in the 2000 season opener played in Des Moines, Iowa:
     2000 -- Drake 28, McKENDREE 11 (at Des Moines, Iowa)

McKENDREE -- LAST TIME OUT
The Bearcats outlasted West Liberty University in double overtime last Saturday at Leemon Field, 16-15. Playing in its first overtime game in 12 years, McKendree took a 16-9 lead on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Elcee Burke to Sean Dowling (Chatham, IL/Glenwood) in the second extra period, and Steven O'Block (Libertyville, IL/Carmel Catholic)'s added the point after. The Hilltoppers answered with a touchdown to pull within a point, but elected to go for the two-point coversion and the win. West Liberty fumbled the snap, and Tobias Cook (Chicago, IL/Westinghouse College Prep) recovered the loose ball to give McKendree the win. A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) led a strong defensive effort with a game-high 16 tackles along with a sack, pass break-up and fumble recovery. Wentland also became the Bearcats' career leader in tackles with a first-quarter stop. Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) matched a career-high with 12 tackles and added three more sacks, giving him six on the young season. Austin Weltha (Bloomington, IL/Bloomington) finished the day with 10 tackles and a pair of interceptions for McKendree. Shayeen Edwards (East St. Louis, IL/Cahokia) rushed for a game-high 98 yards on 32 attempts to pace the rushing attack for McKendree. Burke threw for 129 yards on the day, with Dustin Walls (Champaign, IL/Centennial) catching six passes for 51 yards. Dowling added four receptions for 55 yards. O'Block booted three field goals in the contest, while Monte Wolke (Sigel, IL/Cumberland) set a new team record with a 78-yard punt in the fourth quarter.

DRAKE -- LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs dropped a 56-28 decision last Saturday on the road at South Dakota State University. Quarterbacks Grant Kraemer and Cody Thibault combined to throw for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns against the Jackrabbits. Eric Saubert and Keegan Gallery each had six receptions in the effort, with Saubert hauling in a touchdown pass. Conley Wilkins led the ground attack with 67 yards on 18 carries. Drew Lauer registered an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter for Drake. On defense, Jabari Butler had a team-leading 11 tackles at SDSU, including seven solos. Taylor Coleman chipped in with eight stops, while Mike Maize had the Bulldogs' lone quarterback sack in the outing.

LAST MEETING -- McKENDREE vs. DRAKE
On Sept. 2, 2000 in Des Moines, Iowa, McKendree kicked off its 2000 season with a 28-11 loss to Drake. The Bearcats grabbed an early 7-0 lead thanks to a 28-yard touchdown strike from Billy Gray to Kolin Peterson. After the Bulldogs knotted the contest at 7-7, McKendree took its final lead of the day on the first of two safeties against Drake. Just five seconds into the second quarter, a high snap on a punt saw the football sail through the back of the end zone, giving the Bearcats a 9-7 cushion. Oku Satcher and Ricardo Harris combined for a sack of the Bulldogs' quarterback in the end zone midway through the fourth quarter to give McKendree its final points of the day. Allen Walter led a balanced rushing attack for the Bearcats with 52 yards on 10 carries. Kyle Roach added 42 yards on 10 rushes. Gray threw for 70 yards, hitting Clyde Brown, Jr., twice for 16 yards. Defensively, Darius Green paced McKendree with eight tackles, while Harris and Chucky Davis each had seven stops. Playing in his first game for the Bearcats. Cory Wilson came up with six tackles in the contest.

BEARCAT TRACKS
BEARCATS vs. THE HAWKEYE STATE: McKendree enters today's game with an overall record of 32-12 against teams from the state of Iowa. The Bearcats have won 11 of their last 14 contests against schools from Iowa. This will be McKendree's first game versus an opponent from the Hawkeye State since dropping a 14-0 decision at Grand View University back on Oct. 15, 2011.

ROAD OPENERS: The Bearcats are 9-11 (.450) in their first road game of the season since returning to the gridiron back in 1996. McKendree snapped a five-game losing streak in road openers last year with a 50-27 triumph at West Liberty University.

BEARCATS TO FACE FAMILIAR FCS FOE: McKendree will be playing its first Football Championship Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-AA) opponent since the 2000 season this afternoon against Drake University. The last FCS team that the Bearcats faced was...Drake University. In that meeting, the host Bulldogs posted a 28-11 victory over McKendree in the Bearcats' 2000 season opener.

McKENDREE vs. THE FCS: Today's contest will mark the fifth for McKendree against a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) -- formerly Division I-AA -- opponent. The Bearcats are 2-2 all-time against such programs:
**1996 -- Evansville 21, McKENDREE 8 (at Evansville, Ind.)
**1997 -- McKENDREE 30, Evansville 26 (at Leemon Field)
**1999 -- McKENDREE 38, Dayton 31 (2 OT) (at Dayton, Ohio)
**2000 -- Drake 28, McKENDREE 11 (at Des Moines, Iowa)

EXTRA EFFORT: McKendree's 16-15 double-overtime victory against West Liberty University marked the first time in 12 years that the Bearcats have played in an overtime contest. The last time McKendree needed more than 60 minutes to decide the outcome of a game was in 2004, when the Bearcats edged past Saint Ambrose University 38-31 in double overtime. McKendree has now played five overtime games since 1996, and is a perfect 5-0 in those contests.

RALLY 'CATS: The Bearcats' come-from-behind victory over Angelo State on Sept. 1 marked the fourth time in the Mike Babcock Era that the McKendree football team overcame a double-digit deficit to rally for a win. The last time it happened came against Northwood University early in 2015 campaign. The Bearcats trailed the Timberwolves 24-13 before scoring the final 14 points to post a 27-24 triumph at Leemon Field.

PILING UP THE POINTS: In its last 17 regular-season games, McKendree has posted a 14-2 record. The Bearcats have scored in double figures in each of those games, and are averaging 37.7 points per contest during that span. McKendree has hit the 50-point mark five times in that stretch.

78-YARD MONTE: Making his first collegiate start, Monte Wolke (Sigel, IL/Cumberland) set a new McKendree record for longest punt when he boomed a 78-yard effort in the fourth quarter against West Liberty. That broke the previous long punt of 74 yards, which came off the foot of Mark Albertini in a 1999 game at the University of Saint Francis (Ind.).

ELITE 11: McKendree have 11 seniors on its 2016 roster: Lucky Baar (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park), Tyler Brewer (Arnold, MO/Fox), Sean Dowling (Chatham, IL/Glenwood), Tyler House (Los Angeles, CA/Glenelg), Brandon Moody (La Habra, CA/Sonora), Steven O'Block (Libertyville, IL/Carmel Catholic), Clint Ratermann (Breese, IL/Mater Dei), A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem), Jeremiah Wilkins (St. Louis, MO/Pattonville), Jabaree Winston (Chicago, IL/Simeon) and Brandon Zehr (Pontiac, IL/Pontiac).

UNI-TRACKER: McKendree made history of sorts against Angelo State by wearing purple uniform pants for the first time in program history. The purple pants give the Bearcats multiple uniform combinations as they can also be worn with the new white road jerseys. We will track the McKendree football record in 2016 while wearing certain combinations.
**Graphite Jersey/Purple Pants: 1-0
**Graphite Jersey/Graphite Pants: 1-0
**White Jersey/White Pants: 0-0
**White Jersey/Purple Pants: 0-0
**White Jersey/Graphite Pants: 0-0

THAT'S A FIRST: McKendree and West Liberty played to a 0-0 halftime tie at Leemon Field last Saturday. That is the first time since the Bearcat football program was revived in 1996 that a McKendree contest was scoreless heading into the intermission, marking a span of 211 games.

RECORDS WATCH: A.J. Wentland (Machesney Park, IL/Harlem) surpassed Brandon Nigro as the career leader in tackles during the Bearcats' victory at home against West Liberty. Three other McKendree players on the 2016 roster have a chance to become the Bearcats' career leader in at least one statistical category. Listed below are those players, with their current rank and the statistics needed to become the all-time leader in the respective categories:

LUCKY BAAR
• Tackles for Loss -- Second all-time with 51. Oku Satcher holds the Bearcats' career record with 59.
• Quarterback Sacks: Second all-time with 35. Oku Satcher is the program's all-time leader with 38.
• Forced Fumbles: Tied for third with six. Zach Carter and Deveon Moss lead the way with eight.

STEVEN O'BLOCK
• Kick Scoring -- Third all-time with 215 points. Stephen Webb set the Bearcats' career mark with 253.

SEAN DOWLING
• Receiving Yards -- Fifth all-time with 1,001. Cameron James (Edwardsville, IL/Edwardsville) closed his McKendree last year with a program-record 1,614 yards.

SIX THOUSAND AND COUNTING: With its 33-point outburst in the 2016 season opener against Angelo State, the McKendree football program has now scored more than 6,000 points since returning to the gridiron in 1996. The Bearcats have scored 6,037 points entering today's game.

THIS DATE IN BEARCAT FOOTBALL HISTORY
Sept. 17, 2005
A touchdown pass in the final 34 seconds lifted host Saint Francis (Ind.) to a 28-21 victory over McKendree in a battle of NAIA top-six teams in in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Bearcats built a 21-7 lead on the first play of the second half when Dominique Jones raced 62 yards for a touchdown. But the host Cougars clamped down and rallied with 21 unanswered points to steal the victory. Jones finished with a team-high 99 yards on the ground, while Mike Harrison paced the Bearcats' defensive effort with a season-high 13 tackles.

Sept. 17, 2011
McKendree lost its 2011 road opener at the University of Saint Francis (Ind.), 33-7. Stephen Wallace accounted for the Bearcats' lone touchdown of the afternoon when he scored from a yard out to cap a 16-play, 71-yard drive late in the third quarter. Myron Hicks etched his name into the McKendree reccord book when he hauled in his 71st career pass to move past Byron Gettis for the team's all-time record. Chris Montgomery gained a team-high 58 yards on 18 carries. Brandon Nigro paced the Bearcats' defense with 13 tackles.