Road Trip To Northern Arizona Awaits No. 7 Ranked Redbirds

Date: Oct. 7, 2017
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Site: Flagstaff, Arizona
Stadium: J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome (10,000)
Series: First meeting
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM
Streaming Audio: GoRedbirds.com and TuneIn App
Watch: NAU TV / Pluto.TV / Fox College Sports Pacific

THE GAME
Four games have resulted in four wins for No. 7 Illinois State to start the 2017 season, however the Redbirds face a tough non-conference road challenge against Big Sky Conference foe Northern Arizona in the final game of the inaugural Big Sky/MVFC Challenge Series.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Northern Arizona have not previously met on the gridiron. This game will be the first of a home-and-home series between the two programs, with NAU set to return the favor at Hancock Stadium Sept. 21, 2019.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Illinois State: Christian Gibbs, WR, 6-1, 190, Sr., Aurora, Illinois
Senior wide receiver Christian Gibbs had a career night in Illinois State's 24-13 win over Indiana State last Saturday night. The Aurora, Illinois, native recorded his first 100-yard receiving effort tallying a career-high 189 yards receiving on just five receptions with a pair of long touchdowns. The first score came on a 54-yard toss from quarterback Jake Kolbe midway through the second quarter and the second resulted in a career-long 77-yard touchdown catch to stake the Redbirds to a 24-0 lead at halftime.

Northern Arizona: Case Cookus, QB, 6-4, 200, So., Thousand Oaks, California 
Sophomore quarterback Case Cookus tossed all three of his touchdown passes in the first half  and also rushed for a touchdown, as NAU posted a convincing 48-20 win over Northern Colorado last Saturday. The Thousand Oaks, California, native has now has tallied a total of nine through the first four games this season. In 2015, Cookus was named the STATS FCS National Freshman of the Year and an Associated Press FCS All-America Third Team selection.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
>> Northern Arizona University is located in Flagstaff, Arizona, and has an enrollment of 29,031 students. The Lumberjacks are members of the Big Sky Conference and play their home games at J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome (10,000).
>> The Lumberjacks finished the 2016 season with a 5-6 record overall and 4-4 mark in Big Sky Conference play. NAU returns 32 letterwinners and 10 starters from that team in 2017.
>> NAU is led by head coach Jerome Souers, who is tied for seventh in the FCS in longest-tenured coaches in his 20th year in 2017. He is the winningest coach in the Big Sky history, with a career mark of 114-105 overall.
>> After dropping the first two games of the season to FBS foe Arizona and to MVFC standout Western Illinois, NAU has rallied to win its first two Big Sky Conference games to start the campaign and even their season record at 2-2. 
>> Senior Elijah Marks rang up 106 yards receiving with a touchdown while adding a 100-yard kickoff return for another score, as NAU posted a convincing 48-20 win over Northern Colorado last Saturday in Big Sky Conference action at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome. For his efforts, Marks was honored as the ROOT SPORTS Big Sky Conference Special Teams Player of the Week.
>> The NAU defense forced three turnovers in the victory over Northern Colorado, including sophomore linebacker Taylor Powell's 85-yard interception return for a score.

BIRDS AND THE BIG SKY
Illinois State and Northern Arizona will meet for the first time Saturday, but the Redbirds are no stranger to playing current members of the Big Sky Conference. ISU has compiled a 3-3 record against Big Sky foes with the most recent opponent being Eastern Washington in the 2014 FCS playoff quarterfinals. The Redbirds are 2-1 all-time against EWU, but have also faced Southern Utah twice (1-1) and North Dakota (0-1) in years past. This year's game between the Redbirds and the Lumberjacks will be the final in the Big Sky/MVFC Challenge Series, with the MVFC already securing the series win at 5-2 with just the one game left.

GO BIG OR GO HOME
Through the first three games of the season, the majority of the scoring came on the ground with at least three rushing touchdowns scored in each contest. Against Indiana State, the big-play passing offense stole the show and eventually resulted in a Redbird victory. Quarterback Jake Kolbe connected twice with senior wide receiver Christian Gibbs for long touchdown strikes, with the first going for 54 yards and the second resulting in a 77-yard score. The 77-yard connection was the longest for both Kolbe and Gibbs in their careers, and each set career-highs as Kolbe finished with 345 passing yards and Gibbs tallied 189 receiving yards against the Sycamores.

CLARK STEPS UP
Defensive end Tuvone Clark has certainly made the most of his opportunity the last two weeks starting in the place of a banged-up Jason Harris. Through the first two games of the season, Clark recorded three tackles and a TFL in a reserve role in a pair of wins for the Redbirds. However, in the last two contests he has tallied 11 tackles, two sacks and 3.0 TFLs in a pair of starts at defensive end. Clark set a career-best with 1.5 sacks against the Sycamores and now ranks third on the team in sacks and TFLs on the season.
 
FOUR TO START
After securing a 24-13 win over Indiana State, the Redbirds improved to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 to start Valley Football play. The 4-0 start is the best for the Redbirds since 2014, when they started the season 7-0 on way to a 13-2 record and a berth in the FCS National Championship game. Whether or not the 2017 season has the same journey in store is yet to be seen, but the start is promising for the team, which is looking to earn a berth in the playoffs for the fourth time in as many seasons.

AMONG THE UNBEATENS
The MVFC has three unbeaten teams in Illinois State, North Dakota State and South Dakota, and there are only nine total FCS teams without a loss in 2017. For just the second time in league history, those three league teams have started a season 4-0 or better, with the other coming in 2012 (Illinois State, North Dakota State and Youngstown State).

SATURDAY SELLOUT
After a home-opener crowd well over 10,000, Illinois State fans came out in droves to sell out Hancock Stadium for the first time this season in last Saturday's MVFC contest against Indiana State. The crowd of 13,391 marks the third consecutive season with at least one sold out game. 

FOURTH QUARTER HEROICS
With Illinois State clinging to an 11-point lead with 4:47 remaining in the fourth quarter, Indiana State had no choice but to go for a fourth-down conversion after an Adam Conley sack put Indiana State 17 yards back. Coming out of a timeout, the Sycamores' Isaac Hunter launched the ball down field to the 40-yard line, before Davontae Harris made the driving grab for his third career interception and first of the season. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, the No. 2 defense in the country sealed the game up for the Redbirds on their way to a 4-0 start.