One week after clinching the Midwest Conference South Division, Monmouth (7-1, 4-0) will host longtime rival Knox (4-4, 1-3) Saturday for a special 2 p.m. Homecoming kickoff at April Zorn Memorial Stadium.

The Scots prevailed 42-7 at previously unbeaten Lake Forest last week, holding the potent Forester offense to just 168 yards – 20 yards less than Monmouth running back DeAndre Wright's 188-yard total. Knox is coming off a heartbreaking 52-51 double overtime loss to Cornell in the Prairie Fire's Homecoming game last week in which quarterback Matt McCaffrey totaled 488 of the Fire's 546 yards.

"The Knox game comes at a good time for us," said Chad Braun. "Some teams might have a letdown after clinching the division, but playing our rivals – at Homecoming – only helps to get us pumped up even more. If we played someone else this week, then maybe the focus wouldn't quite be there. That's not the case this week. I won't have to say much to get the guys ready to play. They know what this game means. It's a rivalry game and that's all that needs to be said."

Knox has proven to be a dangerous team in 2017, opening with three straight wins and giving Lake Forest a scare in a 28-21 loss in early October. The Fire followed with a 56-14 win over Grinnell before a narrow 10-point loss to Illinois College. McCaffrey has been the main event for the Fire with his arm and legs. The senior leads the team with nearly 600 yards rushing and has thrown for more than 1,400 yards with 14 TDs – eight to junior wideout Malik Hamilton.

"He's a special quarterback," said Braun of McCaffrey. "There's not much you can throw at him that he hasn't seen before. He's very experienced and that makes him extremely dangerous. He doesn't make mistakes and is a great leader. Look at his 337 yards passing with four touchdowns and zero interceptions last week. He's a dual-threat kid who can run and throw, plus he's a winner. He's definitely been a key ingredient to Knox raising their level of play this year."

Monmouth has also steadily raised their level of play this season. Allowing just under 11 points per game, the Scots are not quite at their national-leading scoring defense mark of a year ago, but they have recorded three straight shutouts this season and have limited league schools to just over five points per game.

"We have to go out and get better each week," said Braun, emphasizing the need to maintain focus on the upcoming opponent and not the MWC championship game with St. Norbert next weekend. "Our focus this week is on Knox and getting better. We'll worry about St. Norbert next week. This week it's all about Knox. What I like about his team is their focus and how they work hard at getting better. We're still not a finished product. Knox will be ready to play and they'll be great challenge for us."