Football | 11/5/2014 3:18:00 PM

GALESBURG, Illinois – One of the oldest rivalries in all of college football is renewed when the Prairie Fire visit Monmouth College to play the 126th Bronze Turkey game Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

The year Knox and Monmouth started facing off on the gridiron isn't entirely agreed upon.  A report in The Knox Student has the teams squaring off as early as 1888, while a 22-4 win by Knox in 1891 is widely cited as the beginning of the rivalry.

The rivalry is the third-longest in NCAA Division III and sixth-longest in the NCAA, regardless of level.

Monmouth leads the all-time series against Knox 65-50-10 following a 37-10 win in the 125th Bronze Turkey game played last year on Stisser Field at the Knosher Bowl.

Knox created a list of 7 things You Might Not Know about the Turkey Bowl in recognition of the 125th game on November 16, 2013.

The Prairie Fire (2-6, 0-4) and the Fighting Scots (6-2, 3-1) are both members of the Midwest Conference South Division this year. The league placed the teams in divisions for the first time since 1997.  Illinois College has a one game lead over Monmouth for first place in the MWC South.  Knox trails Grinnell College and Lake Forest College by one game for fourth place in the division.

The Midwest Conference championship will be played on Saturday, November 15, between the two division leaders.  All of the other teams will play their division counterparts with the same placement in the standings that day as well.  Knox will play at home at 1:00 p.m.

The Prairie Fire offense is led by junior wide receiver Ilir Emini (Yorkville, IL, Yorkville), who has 75 receptions for 702 yards and five touchdowns.  Emini leads the Midwest Conference in receptions and he's fourth in yards per game with 87.8.

Knox first-year quarterback Matt Mc Caffrey (Wilmette, IL, New Trier) is second in the MWC averaging nearly 191 yards passing per game.  He has completed 153-of-257 passes (59.5 percent) for 1,526 yards with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions.  Mc Caffrey also has four rushing touchdowns and he ranks fourth in the conference in total offense averaging 199.8 yards per game.

First-year running back Terry White (Hillsdale, IL, Riverdale) leads the Prairie Fire ground game with 630 yards, five touchdowns, and an average of 4.8 yards per carry.  His 78.8 rushing yards per game ranks seventh in the MWC.

Defensively, Knox senior safety Will Ruzicka (St. Louis, MO, St. Mary's) has 71 tackles for an average of 8.9 per game and an eighth place ranking among the leading tacklers in the conference.  Ruzicka leads the MWC and is among the national leaders in forced fumbles with four, while he and senior cornerback Chaz Benton (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) are tied for sixth in the league with nine passes defended, or an average of 1.12 per game.  Sophomore defensive lineman Jacob Paul (Quincy, IL, Quincy) shares the Midwest Conference lead with three fumble recoveries.

The game at Monmouth's April Zorn Memorial Stadium will be streamed live online Saturday beginning at 12:50 p.m.