Mid-America Classic Trophy Up For Grabs Again Saturday at EIU

DETAILS
Date: Sept. 16, 2017
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Charleston, Ill.
Stadium: O'Brien Field
Capacity: 10,000
Series: ISU leads 54-42-9
Streak: Lost 1
Last: L, 24-21 at Illinois State on Sept. 24, 2016
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM
Streaming Audio: GoRedbirds.com and TuneIn App

THE GAME
Coming off a bye week following a dominant 45-0 win in the season-opener against Butler, No. 14/18 Illinois State travels to Charleston, Illinois, to face longtime in-state rival Eastern Illinois in the 106th Mid-America Classic at O'Brien Field.

THE SERIES
The game renews the oldest FCS football rivalry in the state of Illinois and the 13th-oldest at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.  ISU and EIU have played 105 times, with the first game being played in 1901. The Redbirds have won 10 of the last 15 games against the Panthers and lead the series, 54-42-9. The last time ISU played at EIU in 2015, Sean Slattery booted a game-winning field in overtime, as the Redbirds sealed a 34-31 win over the Panthers.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Illinois State: Markel Smith, RB, 5-11, 225, So., St. Louis (Central Missouri)
Transfer running back Markel Smith made an immediate impact for the Redbirds in his first game in an ISU uniform. The St. Louis native carried the ball 10 times for 88 yards and scored his first touchdown for the Redbirds in the 45-0 rout over Butler. Smith and the rest of the stable of running backs combined to amass 320 yards on the ground and his score came from 16 yards out late in the third quarter. 

Eastern Illinois: Mitch Kimble, QB, 6-3, 215, Sr., Jerseyville, Illinois (Syracuse)
Mitch Kimble hit six straight passes during the Panthers final drive including a 15-yard touchdown to Dennis Turner with three seconds remaining that gave EIU the 22-20 win at Indiana State. Last
season in the win at Miami (Ohio), Kimble drove the Panthers 51 yards for the game winning
touchdown hitting 3-of-5 passes during the drive that began with 2:35 left on the clock. 

THE @REDBIRDFB PROGRAM
- 7 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016)
- 5-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015)
- 2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
- The team is 41-9 at home under Spack's guidance and 24-3 at Hancock Stadium since 2013
- The team tied a program-record cumulative GPA of 2.94 in the Spring 2017 semester

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Eastern Illinois University is located in Charleston, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 7,876 students. The Panthers are members of the Ohio Valley Conference and play their home games at O'Brien Field (10,000).
- The Panthers finished the 2016 season with a 6-5 record overall and 4-4 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Panthers return 42 letterwinners and 14 starters from that team in 2017.
- EIU is led by fourth-year head coach Kim Dameron (Arkansas, 1983). Dameron is 19-18 overall with the Panthers and has posted a 16-8 mark in OVC play. In 2016, the Panthers knocked off FBS member Miami (Ohio) and No. 5 ranked Illinois State in the Mid-America Classic, however several key injuries late in the season resulted in a 6-5 overall record following a 24-0 win at Eastern Kentucky to end the season. EIU was 4-4 in the OVC. 
- The Panthers are off to a 1-1 start to the 2017 season. EIU picked up a 22-20 season-opening win over Missouri Valley Football Conference foe Indiana State on the road and last weekend dropped a 38-10 decision to FBS foe Northern Illinois. 
- Quarterback Mitch Kimble returns for the Panthers behind center and has played well through the first two games. He's completed 56.2 percent of his passes for 329 yards with one touchdown and he is flanked by five receivers who have nearly 50 yards or more receiving.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET (SEPT. 17, 2016)
Two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter by Jake Kolbe and Spencer Schnell were not enough to push Illinois State (2-1) past Eastern Illinois (2-1) in a 24-21 loss in front of a sell-out crowd of 13,391 on Family Day at Hancock Stadium. Despite the loss, the Redbirds outgained the Panthers in total yards, 443 to 263, and controlled the throwing game, led by Kolbe throwing for 275 yards and two touchdowns. 

DEFENSE BEFUDDLES THE BULLDOGS
The veteran Redbird defense made things very difficult for the Butler Bulldogs in the season opener. ISU held Butler to just 41 yards of total offense in the game and did not allow a single rushing yard. The 41 total yards allowed were the second fewest for the Redbirds in program history and set a Hancock Stadium record, topping the previous mark of 86 given up to Eastern Illinois in 1963. The Bulldogs ran just 44 plays during the game and picked up just three first downs against the Redbirds, who earned their second shutout in their last three games.

FOUR-HEADED MONSTER
For the majority of the offseason, ISU head coach Brock Spack has lauded his stable of running backs. The young group showed they all deserve to play as they helped the Redbirds rush for 320 yards in a 45-0 win over Butler. Sophomore transfer Markel Smith led the with 88 yards and a touchdown and redshirt freshman Artiss Henderson had the long run of the night at 28 yards while finishing with 56 yards total. Sophomore James Robinson scored the first touchdown of the game and finished with 39 yards and redshirt freshman Jordan Birch added 37 yards and a highlight-reel 26-yard touchdown of his own to cap off the stellar effort from the Redbird ball-carriers.

PICK 6 FOR MITCH
For the second-consecutive season, the Redbird defense put points on the scoreboard in the season opener via a pick six. Midway through the third quarter, safety Mitchell Brees stepped in front of Butler's Will Marty's pass and ran nearly untouched 35 yards for the score to extend the ISU lead to 31-0 on way to a 45-0 shutout victory. In the 2016 lid lifter, linebacker Alejandro Rivera scored the first touchdown of the season on a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown. The interception was the second of Brees' career at ISU and the first for the Redbirds, who totaled 13 last season including a pair of pick sixes.

GETTING PETKO INVOLVED
The Illinois State tight ends are vital components to the Redbird rushing game and in pass protection, but they were not utilized heavily in the past few seasons. However, that trend might be changing as Jake Kolbe connected with junior tight end Tylor Petkovich four times in the season opener against Butler. To put that in perspective, Petkovich had just five total receptions in 2016 and nine total in his career at ISU. He averaged 9.5 yards per catch against the Bulldogs and could prove to be a valuable weapon in the passing game this season for the Redbirds.

BALANCED TACKLING EFFORT
The Redbird defense didn't have a lot of opportunities to rack up tackles in the season opener against Butler, as the Bulldogs just 44 total plays in the game and had just three first downs. However, the defensive effort from a tackle standpoint was extremely balanced in the win for the Redbirds as eight different players recorded at least three tackles. Transfer linebacker Tyree Horton led the way with just four stops and nine different players accounted for eight tackles for loss for the Redbirds.

GOOD START FOR GIBBS
Time is starting to tick away on senior wide receiver Christian Gibbs, but his performance in the season opener against Butler shows he's not ready to go away quietly. The Aurora, Illinois, native caught five passes for 79 yards and found the end zone twice for the Redbirds in the opening win at Hancock Stadium. Gibbs only caught two touchdowns passes his entire sophomore season and finished last year with five total, so hopefully his quick start is a bright sign of things to come for Gibbs in his final season in a Redbird uniform. 

KEENE TOUGH UP FRONT
Dalton Keene has proven himself as one of the best interior defensive linemen in the MVFC in throughout his career with his impressive statistics. However, one aspect to his game that gets overlooked is his proficiency in deflecting passes at the line of scrimmage for pass breakups. In the past two seasons, Keene has got his big hands into the air to knock down seven pass attempts and in the season opener against Butler, he deflected two attempts to lead the defense with two passes defended. Keene has also been credited with three blocked kicks during his career, showing he has an affinity for re-directing footballs at the line of scrimmage.

UNBLEMISHED IN OPENERS
For the past nine seasons, Illinois State fans have been welcomed with a win by the Redbirds in their home openers. Since ISU head coach Brock Spack took over, the Redbirds are a perfect 9-0 in their opening contests at Hancock Stadium. That streak continued with the dominant 45-0 shutout win over Butler in the 2017 season opener and the Redbirds are now 24-3 in their home nest since the stadium was renovated in 2013.

GO FOR FOUR
When Illinois State heard its name called on the NCAA FCS selection show in 2016, the Redbirds punched their third-straight ticket to the FCS playoffs for the first time in program history. ISU made its seventh playoff appearance overall, and had previously advanced to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons in 1998-99. The four playoff appearances in the last five years for the Redbirds is also unprecedented for the ISU football program, but one streak the team hopes to continue in the future.

REDBIRDS FLYING HIGH IN NATIONAL POLLS
Despite some key losses due to graduation and a tough Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule on the docket, media, coaches and FCS pundits still believe in the Redbirds and their chance at success in 2017. Illinois State is currently ranked No. 14 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 18 in the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25.