RIPON, Wis. - For the second consecutive week, the Red Hawks came away victorious in a Midwest Conference game, getting them out to a 2-0 start to conference play. What was different about last week's 35-14 victory at Knox College was that they found a few different ways to win, scoring on a touchdown pass, three TD runs, and fumble return.

"The defense played pretty well for four quarters and made big plays when we had to, getting an interception, and two fumble recoveries," head coach Ron Ernst said.

Another big reason Ripon walked away with a win was due to their special teams, which up to that point, had been nearly non-existent. Josh Kraemer returned three punts for 102 yards, a 34.0 average, including a 56-yard return, which set up the Red Hawk's final score.

"We've been working very hard at special teams in practice this season," Ernst said. "We've been trying to be more proactive with it this year and it certainly has paid off in field position and momentum."

This week will offer a new and much different challenge than they've faced during the first three games of the year. Illinois College pays Ripon a visit, along with their pass happy offensive system. The Blueboys is averaging 242 passing yards, while rushing the ball for only 25 yards per game.

"This week is completely different from the previous week. Knox was a very run oriented team, but Illinois College is going to spread you out. They've got very good skill people and have many different ways to get the ball to their playmakers," said Ernst.

The guy getting the ball into their playmaker's hands will be quarterback Pete Jennings, who has done a good job of doing that so far. Jennings has thrown nine touchdowns and just one interception in three games, while also throwing for 676 yards and completing nearly 71% of his passes.

"We haven't faced a team yet that wants to throw the ball as much as Illinois College does," Ernst said. "They want to throw the ball first and run second, and when they do run, it's only to keep the defense honest."

The Red Hawk defense will still keep an eye on that running game, although they won't be putting nearly as many people in the box as they have in weeks past.

"We can't forget about the running game completely, but a lot of time will be spent this week on how we're going to defend the pass and stop their playmakers," said Ernst.

This week's game, as well as every game after this will be the biggest game of the year. Illinois College enters Saturday's game with an identical 2-0 conference record, which means when the day is over, one of these two teams won't be in first place anymore.

"A win will be huge because in the game of football, every game counts. If you slip up once, you're still in the hunt. If you slip up twice, you're pretty much done. Every game is important because you only play ten of them, so you can't afford to slip up," said Ernst.