Redbirds Fly to Face The Coyotes at the DakotaDome

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Oct. 22, 2016
Location: Vermillion, S.D.
Kickoff: 2 p.m. CT
Stadium: DakotaDome
Stadium Capacity: 10,000
Series: ILS leads 5-0
Watch: ESPN3

THE GAME
Coming off a much-needed home win last Saturday, the Redbirds (3-4, 1-3 MVFC) will travel to Vermillion, South Dakota, this weekend to face off against the South Dakota Coyotes (3-3, 2-1 MVFC) in a pivotal league contest for both squads.  Each will be playing to keep their possible FCS playoff hopes alive and stay relevant in the always-tough MVFC conference.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and South Dakota will meet for just the sixth time Saturday. The Redbirds have won all five of the previous meetings, including a pair of road wins at the DakotaDome in 2012 and 2014.  Aside from the close three-point win for the Redbirds on the road in 2012, all of the games have been decided by at least two touchdowns in favor of ISU.

PLAYER TO WATCH 
Senior Anthony Warrum stepped up in a big way for the Redbirds in their win last week against Southern Illinois.  The Fishers, Indiana, native nearly eclipsed the 100-yard mark with a total of 98 yards on just three receptions, and caught a pair of touchdowns to increase his career total to 24 overall, good for third place on the all-time list.  Warrum hauled in touchdown passes of 18 yards and 38 yards from quarterback Jake Kolbe and now has recorded multiple touchdown receptions five times in a game during his career at Illinois State.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his eighth season as the head coach at Illinois State (59-33). 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.
South Dakota: Bob Nielson (Wartburg,1982) is in his first season as the head coach at South Dakota (3-3) and his 24th year as a collegiate head coach 189-83-1. Most recently, Nielson served as head
coach at Western Illinois three seasons from 2013-15. He led the
Leathernecks to the second round of the FCS playoffs last season.

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 38-9 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 21-3 at Hancock Stadium since 2013

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• The University of South Dakota is located in Vermillion, South Dakota, and has an enrollment of 9,971 students. The Coyotes are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at the DakotaDome (10,000).
• The Coyotes are 3-3 to start the season, and have jumped out to a 2-1 start in MVFC play, with back-to-back wins in the last two weeks against Northern Iowa and Indiana State.
• South Dakota needed double overtime to come away with a 33-30 win at Indiana State last Saturday on the road in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was the third double-overtime game in the last five contests overall for the Coyotes, who are 2-1 in those games with the other double OT win coming against Weber State in week two of the season.
• The Coyotes led by as many as 10 points at 27-17 with 2:51 remaining, but the Sycamores rallied for a touchdown and tied the game on a field goal with 12 seconds left to force the first overtime.  Miles Bergner's two 41-yard field goals in overtime, followed by Jacob Warner's interception near the goal line secured the win for South Dakota.
• For his efforts, Bergner was named the STATS FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday. The accolade came in addition to him being named the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week, after he tallied four field goals  and became South Dakota's all-time leading scorer in the win over the Sycamores.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET (NOV. 21, 2015)
With both teams battling the extreme snowy and windy weather conditions, it was Illinois State who came out on top over South Dakota by a score of 46-0 on a blistery, cold Saturday afternoon on Senior Day at Hancock Stadium. Two of the honored seniors, running back Marshaun Coprich and quarterback Tre Roberson, led the Redbirds to a share of the MVFC championship for the second-straight season with a win that dashed the playoff hopes of the Coyotes.  Coprich led the ground-and-pound rushing attack with 251 yards rushing and a career-best four touchdowns, while Roberson tallied two total scores, one through the air and another on the ground, with a career-long 80-yard touchdown, as the senior finished with 121 yards rushing on 11 attempts.

GOING LONG
The big play in the passing game has been elusive at times for the Redbird offense this season, but it showed up in a big way against Southern Illinois for the Redbirds. Through six games, the Redbirds had just 18 passes over 20 yards, with three of those going for touchdowns. Against SIU, Jake Kolbe connected on three passes over 20 yards and two of those throws resulted in touchdowns for ISU. Kolbe connected on touchdown throws of 51 yards to Christian Gibbs and 38 yards to Anthony Warrum, while also finding Warrum for a season-long 42-yard connection in the game as well.  Kolbe would finish the game with 200 yards passing and tied his career-best with three touchdown passes, while showing that he could stretch the field and put points on the board for the Redbirds.

ROBINSON ROLLS TO SECOND 100-YARD EFFORT
In his second game as Illinois State's primary ball-carrier, true freshman tailback James Robinson proved that he is someone to watch in the future for the Redbirds.  After amassing 218 yards of total offense against Youngstown State, including his first career 100-plus yard rushing effort, Robinson followed it up with a career night against the Salukis in a victory for the Redbirds.  The Rockford, Illinois, native carried the ball a career-high 26 times for a career-best 122 yards and scored his first career rushing touchdown for the Redbirds.  His back-to-back 100-yard rushing games are the only two 100-yard efforts of the season for an ISU back this season.

A BETTER START
Heading into the team's game against Southern Illinois, the Illinois State offense had scored just 10 points in the first quarter all season, with the only touchdown coming in the season opener against Valparaiso.  After trailing 10-0 late into the opening quarter against SIU, the Redbirds scored their first touchdown of the game with just 49 seconds remaining in the first stanza on a 14-yard run by freshman James Robinson. ISU is now 2-0 in games when it scores a first quarter touchdown, but have still been outscored by opponents 30-17 in the opening frame.

KEENE EARNS VALLEY WEEKLY HONOR
Playing against one of the highest-scoring offenses in the league, Illinois State junior defensive tackle Dalton Keene stepped up to help the Redbirds hold the Salukis back and record a much-needed win. For his efforts, Keene was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The Jacksonville, Illinois, native finished with nine tackles and was credited with 1.5 sacks against the vaunted Saluki offense. On one of those sacks, Keene forced a fumble by SIU quarterback Josh Straughan, which the SIU quarterback recovered. He also blocked a field goal in the game, the second time he's done that in his career, to help the Redbirds keep the Salukis off the scoreboard at the time and give the Redbirds the advantage.

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 5.3 yards per carry and 21.2 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 seven games, Fowler has already bested last year's stats and has 16 catches for 213 yards.