In-State Rival Leathernecks Up Next For The Redbirds

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Nov. 5, 2016
Location: Macomb, Ill.
Kickoff: 1 p.m. CT
Stadium: Hanson Field
Stadium Capacity: 16,368
Series: WIU leads 50-45-3
Watch: ESPN3

THE GAME
After knocking of the No. 7-ranked team in the nation last week at home, the Redbirds (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) will hit the road this week to face another nationally-ranked foe in the No. 11-ranked Western Illinois Leathernecks (6-2, 3-2 MVFC) at Hanson Field in Macomb. The game will be streamed live on ESPN3.

ESPN3 LIVE BROADCAST
ESPN3 will carry the telecast on WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN mobile app through participating Internet service providers. Redrick Terry (play-by-play), Danny Frey (analyst) and Sam Ralphs (sidelines) will call the action from Hanson Field in Macomb.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Western Illinois will face off for the 99th time on Saturday, with the Leathernecks owning a 50-45-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools.  The Redbirds have won the last six meetings between the two squads overall, including two wins over the Leathernecks in 2015.  The Redbirds picked up a 48-28 win over WIU in the regular season and then earned a 36-19 win over the Leathernecks in the second round of the FCS playoffs to advance in the tournament. 

PLAYER TO WATCH 
Senior tailback Jamal Towns had to put his team on his back against No. 7 South Dakota State. The Harvey, Illinois, native set a career-high with 136 yards rushing on a career-best 17 carries and scored his first touchdown of the season to help the Redbirds topple the MVFC-leading Jacks.  Towns averaged eight yards per carry and posted nine runs of seven yards or more, as the Redbirds out-rushed the Jackrabbits 209-83 in the contest. Towns now leads the Redbirds with 353 yards rushing this season on 61 attempts.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his eighth season as the head coach at Illinois State (60-34). 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.
Western Illinois: Charlie Fisher (Springfield College, 1981) is in his first season as the head coach at his Western Illinois (6-2), after previously serving as the offensive coordinator at Richmond. From 1993-97, he was the head coach at West Georgia and posted a 36-17 record with a share of the 1997 Gulf South Conference championship.

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 39-9 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 22-3 at Hancock Stadium since 2013

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Western Illinois University is located in Macomb, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 11,091 students. The Fighting Leathernecks are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Hanson Field (16,368).
• The Leathernecks are 6-2 on the season, and got off to a great 3-0 start with wins at Eastern Illinois, vs. No. 17 Northern Arizona and against FBS foe Northern Illinois. WIU has since gone 3-2 in MVFC play, both losses coming at the hand of nationally-ranked opponents in South Dakota State and North Dakota State.
• Sean McGuire's two-yard touchdown pass to Joey Borsellino with 32 seconds left, Nathan Knuffman's extra point and a missed 54-yard field goal as time expired lifted Western Illinois to a 35-34 Missouri Valley Football Conference win at South Dakota last weekend. 
• Wide receiver Lance Lenoir had six catches this past weekend, giving him 255 for his career, establishing a league all-time record, surpassing Tyrone Walker of Illinois State (250). Lenoir has a catch in 38-straight games, and only two in league history have bettered that including Walker, who holds the league record with 45 straight games with a catch.  He also moved into fourth place all-time in MVFC history with 3,634 yards.
• Linebacker Brett Taylor continues his impressive junior year for the Leathernecks, recording 11 solo tackles last week at South Dakota (season-high 15 in the game). For the third time this year, he recorded double-digits in solo tackles as the 11 were the third-most for him in 2016. Taylor jumped to eighth all-time in WIU history with 169 solos.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET (DEC. 5, 2015)
After falling behind 12-7 early in the third quarter, the Illinois State football team bounced back for a 36-19 win over Western Illinois in the second round of the FCS Playoffs at Hancock Stadium. The Redbirds used 217 yards rushing from FCS Offensive Player of the Year finalist and Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Year Marshaun Coprich to edge out the Leathernecks. It was the senior's third straight 200-yard game and his sixth career 200-plus yard performance. Quarterback Tre Roberson also contributed a solid game on the ground with 111 yards and two scores. The pair helped the 'Birds outlast a solid performance from WIU quarterback Sean Maguire, who finished with 341 yards passing with two touchdowns.

QUICK START REDBIRDS
For the second time in as many weeks, the Redbirds scored a touchdown on their first possession of the game when Jake Kolbe ran into the end zone untouched against South Dakota State. However, unlike the previous week, ISU followed up the touchdown on the first drive with another on the second drive of the game to take a 14-0 lead over the Jackrabbits. It marked the first time all season the Redbirds had scored more than one touchdown in the opening quarter of play and the 14 points were the most for the Redbirds through the first 15 minutes of action in a game this season. 

TAKE IT TO THE HOUSE
For the second time this season, a Redbird defender took an interception the other way for a touchdown when La'Darius Newbold put his name on the scoresheet against the Jackrabbits. Newbold snagged the Taryn Christion pass and ran 92 yards up the sideline to ice the game for the Redbirds and give them the win over the No. 7 ranked Jackrabbits. Newbold was one of three Redbirds to intercept Christion on the day, who had just three interceptions all season prior to the game, and joined teammate Alejandro Rivera as Redbirds to score off an interception return this season.

KOLBE CONNECTS
The passing yardage numbers may not have been gaudy for Illinois State quarterback Jake Kolbe against No. 7 South Dakota State, however his performance was crucial to the Redbirds' success against the Jackrabbits. Kolbe completed 15 of his 25 pass attempts for 138 yards and threw a pair of touchdowns to senior Anthony Warrum. Kolbe also scored the first touchdown of the game, an 18-yard run, to account for three scores for the Redbirds. Even more important, he did not commit a turnover as the Redbird rushing attack sealed the victory against the Jacks.  

SPELMAN EARNS VALLEY HONORS
Illinois State senior center Mark Spelman and his teammates took charge of the running game and helped the Redbirds take a 14-0 lead and never look back in a victory over No. 7 South Dakota State. For his efforts, Spelman was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week by the league office. The Brookfield, Wisconsin, native graded out at 95 percent and was credited with six knockdowns, while not allowing a sack against the Jacks. Spelman routinely opened holes for senior running back Jamal Towns, who set a career-high with 136 yards rushing on a career-best 17 carries and scored his first rushing touchdown of the season. 

MIGHTY MOUSE SAVES THE DAY
Though small in stature, senior running back Jamal Towns has proved in his four years at Illinois State that he can be extremely quick and powerful, just like the cartoon character his nickname from head coach Brock Spack used as inspiration. On a day when his team needed him the most, Towns certainly saved the day and to his team on his back against No. 7 South Dakota State and came away with a memorable performance against the Jackrabbits. The Harvey, Illinois, native set a career-high with 136 yards rushing on a career-best 17 carries and scored his first touchdown of the season to help the Redbirds topple the MVFC-leading Jacks.  Towns averaged eight yards per carry and posted nine runs of seven yards or more, as the Redbirds out-rushed the Jackrabbits 209-83 in the contest.  On three-consecutive plays in the fourth quarter, Towns ran for 10, 7, and 34 yards to eventually set up a field goal and give the Redbirds a two-score lead at the time.

GETTING THE GROUND GAME GOING
Passing yards were hard to come by for the Redbirds early against South Dakota, but luckily the running game was moving forward at full speed for Illinois State against the Coyotes. Led by freshman DeMarco Corbin's career-best 108 yards rushing, ISU ball carriers ran for 233 yards and scored twice on the ground against USD. Jamal Towns also rushed for season-best
57 yards on nine carries and true freshman James Robinson scored for the second game in a row on an 17-yard touchdown run to finish with 44 yards on the day. The 233 yards marked the second-best rushing effort of the season for the Redbirds, behind their 271-yard effort in the season-opener against Valparaiso.

WE'LL TAKE THAT
For the fourth game in a row, the Redbirds managed to pick off an opposing quarterback when they recorded three against South Dakota State quarterback Taryn Christion. DraShane Glass, Willie Edwards and La'Darrius Newbold each got into the act continued the takeaway streak for the Redbirds. Glass leads the way with three on the season, and Newbold is right behind with two. Alejandro Rivera, Alec Kocour, Davontae Harris and Edwards each have one on the season for the Redbirds, who rank third in the conference behind Northern Iowa (11) and North Dakota State (9) with the seven picks.

AN EARLY TRICK
Even though Halloween was over a week away, the Redbirds had a trick up their sleeves for the Coyotes last Saturday. At a crucial point in the game, Redbird punter Reece Attard faked a punt and ran 15 yards for a first down on a perfectly executed fake punt that set up the final ISU touchdown of the game to bring the score within 3 points with just under eight minutes left.

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.