Redbirds Host In-State Rival Salukis Saturday At Hancock Stadium

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Oct. 15, 2016
Location: Normal, Ill.
Kickoff: 6 p.m. CT
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Stadium Capacity: 13,397
Series: SIU leads 40-35-3
Watch: CSN Chicago Plus/ESPN3

THE GAME
The Redbirds (2-4, 0-3 MVFC) will complete a two-game home stand, when they host the Salukis (2-3, 0-2) on CommUniversity Day, as both teams look for their first win in Missouri Valley Football Conference play. The game will be broadcast live on CSN Chicago and streamed live on ESPN3 as part of the MVFC on ESPN3 package.

WATCH ON CSN CHICAGO and ESPN3
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus, as part of the Illinois State Television Network. ESPN3 will also carry the telecast on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN mobile app through participating Internet service providers. Kurt Pegler (play-by-play) and Chris Highland (color analyst) will call the action from Hancock Stadium. 

PLAYER TO WATCH 
In his first real chance to shine as the primary running back, freshman James Robinson did not disappoint. The Rockford, Illinois, native rushed for a career-high 103 yard against Youngstown State last week and also factored heavily into the Redbird passing and return games. Robinson hauled in a career-best five passes for a 50 yards and also returned three kickoffs for 65 yards, to finish the day with a career-high 218 all-purpose yards for the Redbirds against the Penguins.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Southern Illinois will meet for the 79th time, when the Salukis visit Hancock Stadium. SIU leads the all-time series 40-35-3 and have won six of the past nine games against the Redbirds overall. ISU has won the last two games, however, and will look to win three in a row against SIU for the first time since winning three-straight contests from 1998-2000.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his eighth season as the head coach at Illinois State (58-33). Spack, the 2014 MVFC Coach of the Year, has led the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title the past two seasons and FCS playoff appearances three times in the past four years.
Southern Illinois: Nick Hill (Southern Illinois, 2008) is in his first season as the head coach at Southern Illinois (2-3). Hill joined Southern's staff in 2014 as the program's quarterbacks coach, following a prolific playing career with the Salukis that saw him post a 21-6 record as a starter.

THE @REDBIRDFB PROGRAM

• 6 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015)
• 5-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015)
• 2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
• The team is 37-9 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 20-3 at Hancock Stadium since 2013

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Southern Illinois University is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 17,292 students.  The Salukis are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at the Saluki Stadium (15,000).
• The Salukis return 14 starters and 48 lettermen from last year's team that finished 3-8 overall with a 2-6 record in MVFC play. SIU is off to a 2-3 start this season, with back-to-back wins over Southeast Missouri State and Murray State serving as their only victories of the season.
• Southern Illinois battled back from a 17-point deficit, but ultimately fell to No. 12 South Dakota State by a score of 45-39 last week at Saluki Stadium. SDSU quarterback Taryn Christion completed 32-of-51 pass attempts in the game en route to a school-record 466 passsing yards and threw a career-high five touchdown passes to lead the Jackrabbits past the Salukis in a hard-fought contest.
• SIU put up 520 yards against South Dakota State last Saturday, the third time in five games that the Salukis have surpassed 500 yards of total offense. Since head coach Nick Hill started calling plays for SIU last season, Southern has surpassed 200 yards of offense in 27 of 32 halves and scored at least 21 points in all 16 games.
• Saluki quarterback Josh Straughan has more than 1,600 yards passing after only five games, becoming the first player in SIU history to accomplish that. He's on pace to break head coach Nick Hill's single-season program record, which he set in 14 games in 2007. He's also on pace to break the MVFC single-season passing record, but so is Christion, who leads the league in passing so far this season.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET (NOV. 14, 2015)
An explosive second-half rushing attack avoided a potential upset, as Illinois State defeated Southern Illinois, 42-21, in Carbondale. After trailing 21-14 at halftime, the Redbirds stormed back against the Salukis with 28 unanswered points in the second half behind the two-headed rushing attack of Marshaun Coprich and Tre Roberson, who combined for five touchdowns, while Jamal Towns added another rushing score. Coprich was the workhorse once again for ISU, sprinting his way to 254 yards on 29 carries and three touchdowns.

HE CAN DO IT ALL
When James Robinson was recruited to Illinois State, the coaching staff knew he could carry the football.  As the all-time leading rusher in IHSA history, his running prowess was without doubt but in his short time with the Redbirds he has shown that he can do a lot more on the football field. Against Youngstown State, Robinson not only recorded the first 100-yard rushing performance of his career, but he also caught passes and returned kickoffs for the Redbirds against the Penguins.  The Rockford, Illinois, native caught three passes for 50 yards and added 65 yards on three kickoff returns.  Overall, he averaged 7.4 yards per carry and 21.6 yards per return in his first game as the primary back for the Redbirds.

HARRIS BREAKS OUT
The revamped Redbird defense has seen key performances from several newcomers throughout the year. Against Youngstown State, it was redshirt freshman defensive end Jason Harris' turn to make a name for himself. Harris, the son of former NFL standout Al Harris, set a career-high with six tackles, including his first career tackle-for-loss.  Harris was also credited with a quarterback hurry against the Penguins to put a cap on the first of many solid efforts in his Redbird career. 

THE LOOKING GLASS
The best weapon for a defensive back can be his eyesight, and defensive back DraShane Glass has been spying quarterbacks and receivers well all season.  Against Youngstown State, Glass intercepted his second pass of the season, on an out route by Ricky Davis, and tallied a crucial turnover for the Redbird defense.  Glass now has half of the team's interceptions on the season and has five in his career at Illinois State.  He has also been credited with three pass breakups on the season and helped the Redbirds hold the Penguins to just 89 passing yards.

FOWLER FINDING HIS WAY
A rash of injuries at the wide receiver position thrust newcomer Anthony Fowler into a prominent role for the Redbirds in 2015.  Despite playing in 13 games and starting in three of those contests, Fowler only caught 14 passes for 192 yards during the year for the Redbirds.  Heading into the 2016 season, Fowler needed to become a bigger part of the Redbird passing attack and his performances over the past two weeks have shown he can do just that. After catching his first career touchdown at Indiana State, Fowler came back and set career-highs with six catches for 119 yards and scored for the second time in as many weeks against NDSU.  Through six games, Fowler has already bested last year's stats and has 16 catches for 213 yards.

RUNNING WITH THE MUTTS
The Redbird defense affectionately refers to itself as "The Mutts", partly because of the way they run together and attack opposing defenses. The group also likes to share in the dirty work, as evidenced by five different players with at least 30 tackles or more this season and seven players with multiple tackles-for-loss. Senior linebacker Alejandro Rivera leads the way with 50 tackles, but junior safety Alec Kocour is right behind with 49 and seniors B.J. Bello (40) and Brent Spack (38) are not far behind.  Defensive tackle Dalton Keene is the other tough dog with 38 stops, and ranks second only to Bello's 5.5 TFLs with five of his own.

KOLBE PLAYS WELL IN RELIEF
Starting quarterback Jake Kolbe was limited with shoulder soreness all week and the plan was for him to rest against Indiana State, however the standout sophomore was ready when called and nearly led the Redbirds to an epic comeback in the second half against the Sycamores.  Kolbe came into the contest with the Redbirds trailing by 17 points and proceeded to complete 25 of his 32 pass attempts for 258 yards.  He also threw a career-best three touchdowns against the Sycamores, two to Anthony Warrum and one to Anthony Fowler.  Kolbe has been solid in six games for ISU this season, completing 65 percent of his passes, throwing seven touchdown passes and throwing for 1405 yards with an efficiency rating of 135.33.

A LITTLE HOME COOKING
Playing back in his home state for perhaps the final time in his career, senior All-American wide receiver Anthony Warrum made sure he went out on a high note.  The Fishers, Indiana, native had his best performance of the season in front of the fans in Terre Haute and was crucial to the Redbird comeback effort in the second half.  Warrum set a season high with 151 yards on 10 receptions and caught a pair of touchdown passes. He hauled in a 30-yard pass late in the third quarter to cut the deficit to 10 points and later added a 21-yard score with 3:07 left in the game to trim the Sycamore lead to three points.  With his two touchdowns, Warrum moved into a tie for third place on the ISU all-time list with 22 career receiving touchdowns.

BELLO BRINGS THE BOOM
When B.J. Bello transferred to Illinois State, head coach Brock Spack told him that his new role on the team would be as a pass rusher. Bello was apprehensive, having never had to fill that role in his previous time at Illinois, however it looks like Spack knows best. The senior has recorded a sack in each of the first four games of the season for the Redbirds and leads the team with 5.5 tackles-for-loss. He has also forced a pair of fumbles, as he took the opposing quarterback down for a sack, and has been credited with two quarterback hurries and one pass breakup. 

A MILESTONE DAY FOR WARRUM
Senior wide receiver Anthony Warrum has piled up awards and accolades over the past two seasons at Illinois State.  With his performance against in-state rival Eastern Illinois, Warrum reached a pair of new milestones and continued to cement his name in the ISU record books. Warrum caught five passes for 96, which moved him over the 100 catch plateau and the 2,000 yard receiving mark in his time in a Redbird uniform.  Warrum currently ranks No. 5 all-time with 2,344 yards and No. 8 with 119 receptions and is tied for No. 3 on the career touchdown list with 22, seven behind Laurent Robinson in second with 29.