THE DETAILS
Date: Nov. 11, 2017
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Brookings, South Dakota
Stadium: Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (19,340)
Series: ILS leads 4-3
Streak: ILS won 1
Last: ILS won 38-21 in Normal on Oct. 22, 2016
Listen: Redbird Radio Network (AM 1230)
Streaming Audio: GoRedbirds.com & TuneIn App
Watch: The Valley on ESPN3
THE GAME
Two games remain for No. 17/20 Illinois State to improve its chances to make the FCS playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. The Redbirds most likely need a win in one of the next two contests to secure a playoff berth, and that gauntlet continues Saturday with a road contest at No. 5/6 ranked South Dakota State.
THE SERIES
Illinois State and South Dakota State have met seven times previously on the gridiron, with Illinois State holding a slight 4-3 advantage in the all-time series. The Redbirds knocked off the seventh-ranked Jackrabbits last season at Hancock Stadium, 38-21, winning four out of the last five contests against SDSU. The Jackrabbits have fared well against the Redbirds at home, posting a 2-1 record at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium including a 25-20 over ISU in 2015.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Illinois State: Christian Gibbs, WR, Sr.
After missing a pair of games due to a toe injury, senior wide receiver Christian Gibbs returned to the Redbird lineup and made an immediate impact last week against Western Illinois. Gibbs finished the game with five catches for 113 yards, his second 100-plus yard receiving performance of the season, and caught a 65-yard touchdown pass to open the game for ISU.
South Dakota State: Dallas Goedert, TE, Sr.
Senior tight end Dallas Goedert continues to impress for the Jackrabbits and had a great performance in last week's win over North Dakota State. Goedert caught seven passes for 116 yards with a touchdown against the Bison. He established a new mark for career receiving yards by an MVFC tight end as he finished the day with 2,693, surpassing the previous mark of 2,577 yards by Southern Illinois' MyCole Pruitt from 2011-14.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
>>> South Dakota State University is located in Brookings, South Dakota, and has an enrollment of 12,613 students. The Jackrabbits are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (19,340).
>>> The Jackrabbits are led head coach John Stiegelmeier (South Dakota State, 1979), who is in his 21st season as the head coach at South Dakota State (144-96). Stiegelmeier, the winningest football coach in South Dakota State history, has led the Jacks to the FCS playoffs six times (2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016) and SDSU is one of only four FCS programs to reach the postseason each of the past five seasons.
>>> South Dakota State forced five North Dakota State turnovers, turning the miscues into 17 points, as the Jackrabbits knocked off the second-ranked Bison, 33-21, last weekend at home in the Dakota Marker game. The win was the second in a row for the Jackrabbits against the Bison in the rivalry.
>>> SDSU standout quarterback Taryn Christion completed 23-of-33 passes for 329 yards, with senior tight end Dallas Goedert leading the receiving corps with seven catches for 116 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Brown added career highs of five receptions for 59 yards.
>>> Also in the contest, All-American wide receiver Jake Wieneke passed Jerry Rice (4,693 yards from 1981-84 for Mississippi Valley State) for third place in FCS career receiving yards, ending the day with 4,730.
>>> Sophomore linebacker Christian Rozeboom led the Jackrabbits with six stops in the win over the Bison, and leads the team this year with 83 total tackles to go along with three tackles-for-loss.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET (OCT. 22, 2016)
Illinois State scored 28 first-half points and capitalized on two fourth-quarter turnovers to knock off Missouri Valley Football Conference leader No. 7 South Dakota State by a score of 38-21. ISU's defense had a big day, tallying three interceptions including one by senior La'Darius Newbold that he returned 92 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory. DraShane Glass led the defense with 11 total tackles and a key fourth-quarter interception that robbed the Jackrabbits of a score. The Redbird offense favored the ground game, out-rushing SDSU 209-83 led by senior running back Jamal Towns, who scored his first touchdown of the season and rushed for a career-high 136 yards on a career-best 17 carries.
SCORING QUICK
Recent Redbird teams have had a tough time getting started in games and have had to be late-game winner. However, this year's team seems to be adept at jumping out to early leads, while holding opponents to very few points in the first quarter. ISU has outscored its opponents 58-13 in the first quarter this season and the Redbirds are 5-1 when leading after the first quarter. The 'Birds have also been strong coming out of the locker room, outscoring opponents 83-58 in the third quarter through nine contests this season.
DRASHANE DOES IT AGAIN
For the second week in a row, senior defensive back DraShane Glass came up with a big interception when his team needed it the most. Two weeks ago against Youngstown State, Glass came away with a diving interception in the end zone that led to an 80-yard touchdown drive for the Redbirds. On Saturday against Western Illinois, Glass stepped in front of a WIU receiver and picked off quarterback Sean McGuire at the ISU 33 yard line. The ISU offense proceeded to drive 67 yards on 11 plays to take a 14-0 lead into the locker room at the half. The interception was the second of the season for Glass and the eighth of his career, the most by any active Redbird.
PETKOVICH FINDS PAYDIRT
In his first two seasons at Illinois State, junior tight end Tylor Petkovich recorded just nine total receptions in 25 games for the Redbirds. The 2017 season has already been a career-best for Petkovich, who now has 21 receptions for 219 yards through nine contests for ISU. However, he added another first in ISU's game against WIU as he caught the first touchdown of his career, a four-yard score from Jake Kolbe.
RUNNING PAST THE PENGUINS
For the second-straight week, the Illinois State rushing attack was dominant and rushed for nearly 300 yards. The duo of Markel Smith (124) and James Robinson (117) paced the attack and they became the first duo to both run for over 100 yards since Dec. 5, 2015, when Marshaun Coprich (217) and Tre Roberson (111) achieved the feat in the FCS playoffs against Western Illinois. Robinson has now rushed for over 100 yards in consecutive weeks and Smith recorded the first 100-plus yard effort of his career at ISU in the victory over the Penguins.
MCCOWN MAKES GOOD
It's always good to be in the right place at the right time, and senior defensive lineman Matt McCown was the beneficiary of one such happenstance of luck in the Redbirds' win at Youngstown State. Just six minutes into the game, Tyree Horton sacked YSU quarterback Nathan Mays and forced a fumble that popped in the air landed in the arms of McCown, who rumbled 26 yards for the defensive score to widen the ISU lead to 14-0 at the time. The score was the first of McCown's career and the third defensive score for the Redbirds this season.
RANKING THE WINS
Following victories over then fourth-ranked South Dakota and No. 21 Youngstown State, the Redbirds logged back-to-back top-25 wins for the first time this season, as their only ranked wins of the year. Illinois State's Homecoming win over No. 4 South Dakota was the Redbirds' highest ranked win since their 2014 National Championship run. Illinois State topped then-ranked No. 1 New Hampshire, 21-18 in Durham, New Hampshire. Additionally, the homecoming victory was the first ranked win of the 2017 campaign and the first win over a ranked opponent since Nov. 5, 2016 when ISU topped No. 11 Western Illinois, 31-26 on the road. Illinois State's momentum continued on the road at No. 21 Youngstown State, when the Redbirds blanked the Penguins, 35-0. The shutout was the first Valley shutout of the year and only the second shutout in the series history against Youngstown State with the first coming in 1997.
