PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior wide receiver Eyad Salem is quickly cementing himself as one of the best receivers in the country and in Illinois State history. The Elgin, Ill., native is second in the country with 8.71 receptions/game and currently ranks first all-time at ISU in receptions per game (5.34), third in receptions (155), fourth in touchdown receptions (17) and fifth in receiving yards (1,961). He heads into today's game with three-straight 100+ yard receiving performances and 37 catches in that span.
THE GAME
Illinois State returns to the gridiron after a bye week to face a Missouri State team coming off back-to-back wins on the road at Western Illinois and North Dakota State. The Redbirds last played on Oct. 17 and earned a 38-21 win over Indiana State on Homecoming at Hancock Stadium. The Bears will be returning to Plaster Field for their Homecoming contest Saturday, the fourth-straight Homecoming contest for the Redbirds.
THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Bears will be meeting for the 30th time today, with the series tied at 14-14-1. The Bears have won the last two meetings, but Illinois State has won 7 out of the last 10 meetings overall including five straight from 2002-06. ISU is 6-7-1 all-time in games in Springfield, Mo., at Plaster Field.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his first season as the head coach of the Illinois State Redbirds (3-4). Prior to taking over the program at ISU, Spack spent 12 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Purdue, where he guided the Boilermakers to the top-ranked defense in the Big Ten Conference in 2002 and the 13th-best defense in the nation in 2003. He coached in 11 bowl games while at Purdue, including a Rose Bowl appearance in 2001.
Missouri State:Terry Allen (Northern Iowa, 1979) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Missouri State (15-24). In his inaugural season at Missouri State, the team finished 2-9 but he followed that up with a 6-5 campaign in 2007, the biggest improvement for a Missouri State team in 19 years. In 16 years as a collegiate head coach, including stops at Northern Iowa and Kansas, Allen is 112-83.
THE PROGRAM
Illinois State was home to the Missouri Valley Football Conference's Defensive Player of the Year each season from 2002-06. The Redbirds had at least one player selected in the NFL Draft each year from 2005-07. In each of the past four years, ISU student-athletes have contributed more than 2,000 hours of community service to the Bloomington-Normal area. Redbird student-athletes posted a school-record 3.13 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) during the spring 2009 semester.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Missouri State University is located in Springfield, Mo., and has an enrollment of 21,688. The Bears compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
- The Bears return 41 lettermen and 10 starters from last year's team that posted a 4-7 mark overall record and a 3-5 mark in MVFC play (6th).
- Missouri State is led on offense by two-time All-American tight end Clay Harbor. The Dwight, Ill., native is quarterback Cody Kirby's favorite target in the passing game with a team-leading 39 catches for 505 yards and three touchdowns. Thanks to Harbor, Cody is having a solid season with a 61.3 completion percentage and eight touchdowns through the air.
- On defense, junior linebacker Antoine Wilkinson leads the way with 72 tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss and seven pass breakups. He has also forced two fumbles on the season, recovering one.
- The Bears have won two straight heading into today's contest, including a 21-17 win on the road at North Dakota State last Saturday. Mikael Cooper-Falls rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown for MSU in the win and Clay Harbor caught his third touchdown of the season from quarterback Cody Kirby, who also rushed for a TD in the victory over the Bison.
TIES WITH THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Illinois State offensive coordinator Jim Williams will be reuniting with a former coaching colleague today. Missouri State's assistant head coach/defensive coordinator D.J. Vokolek was on the staff at Nebraska-Omaha with Williams during the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
- Missouri State's All-American tight end Clay Harbor is no stranger to the Redbirds and Central Illinois. He's a native of Dwight, Ill., just 55 miles from Normal, Ill., and attended Dwight High School.
- Missouri State head coach Terry Allen was the head coach at league member Northern Iowa from 1989-96. During that time, Illinois State was just 2-6 against the Panthers, with both wins coming against nationally-ranked Northern Iowa teams. Since taking over at Missouri State, Allen is 1-2 gainst the Redbirds.
- Dr. Bill O'Neill, former Missouri State special assistant to the athletics director, was a 1964 graduate of Illinois State.
- Padraic McMeel, Missouri State's assistant athletics director for external affairs, previously served in the Illinois State Athletics Department as the assistant director for development.
THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM
Illinois State wide receiver Eyad Salem continues to leave his mark on the school record books. Salem, who tied the school record with 14 catches in back-to-back games at North Dakota State and Southern Illinois, surpassed 100 yards for the third consecutive game to tie Laurent Robinson's 2005 tally. Salem, a native of Elgin, Ill., had more than 100 yards receiving against the Bison and Salukis and caught nine passes for 133 yards and a score against the Sycamores on homecoming (Oct. 17). Salem leads the Redbirds with 61 catches for 658 yards and five touchdowns.
BLOCK PARTY
Redbird defensive lineman Bert Whigham blocked a punt to set up a short field and touchdown for Illinois State during Saturday's win over Indiana State at Hancock Stadium, but it was old hat for the senior. The block marked the third of Whigham's career, as Sanford, Fla. native has reached out and got his hands on a punt in each of the past two seasons. Whigham has 22 tackles on the season.
A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
It took Illinois State just seven games to reach the win total of the 2008 squad. The Redbirds moved to 3-4 overall and 2-2 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play with a 38-21 win over Indiana State at Hancock Stadium Saturday. The 2008 Redbirds won just three of 11 games and mustered just two wins in the Valley. The 2009 Redbirds have four more games left, ample opportunity to surpass last season's total.
A TON OF YARDS
Seniors Geno Blow and Eyad Salem have both piled up a lot of yards throughout their careers at Illinois State. This week, both have the chance to eclipse big milestones by going over 2,000 yards rushing and receiving, respectively, in their time in a Redbird uniform. Blow has been a consistent gainer on the ground for the Redbirds in his four seasons and sits just 28 rushing yards away from going over 2,000 yards rushing. Likewise, the sure-handed Salem sits just 39 receiving yards away from going over 2,000 in his three-year career, with 658 of those yards coming this season.
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