PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior wide receiver Eyad Salem needs only four receptions in today's game to become the school's single-season leader in that category. With four catches or more, Salem will break Laurént Robinson's school record of 86 set in 2005. In addition, Salem can move into second place on the career receptions list with one catch today, breaking a tie with Rickey Garrett (177).
THE GAME
There is a lot riding on Saturday's showdown between Illinois State and Northern Iowa at Hancock Stadium. With a win, the Redbirds will secure their first winning season since 2006 and their first win over a ranked opponent since 2007. A win for the Panthers would give them eight wins on the season, all but guaranteeing them spot in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs for the third-straight season.
THE SERIES
Northern Iowa leads the all-time series between the two schools 17-8. The Panthers have won three straight games against the Redbirds, including a 31-7 win at the UNI Dome in 2008. ISU's last win over UNI came in 2005, a 38-3 win at Hancock Stadium on Family Day.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his first season as the head coach of the Illinois State Redbirds (5-5). 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.
Northern Iowa: Mark Farley (Northern Iowa, 1986) is in his ninth season at the helm of the UNI football program (82-31). In Farley's eight years at the helm, UNI has won at least a share of five Missouri Valley Football Conference titles and his team have advanced to the quarterfinals (2003, 2007), semifinals (2001, 2008) and the national title game (2005) in each of those five seasons.
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
- Youngstown State University is located in Youngstown, Ohio, and has an enrollment of 13,712. The Penguins compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
- The Penguins return 43 lettermen and 16 starters from last year's squad that finished with an overall record of 4-8 with a 3-5 mark in MVFC play (T-6th).
- YSU features a solid passing offense led by senior quarterback Brandon Summers, who has throw for 1,724 yards and 12 touchdowns in nine games for the Penguins. Wide receivers Dominique Barnes (5), Donald Jones (4) and Aaron Pitts (2) have been Summers' favorite targets while running back Kevin Smith has controlled the running game with 558 yards and three touchdowns.
- The Penguins defense is led by sophomore transfer Sir Demarco Bledsoe, who has a team-high 57 tackles in just seven games played for YSU. Senior defensive tackle Mychal Savage has also wreaked havoc on opposing defenses with his team-high 3.5 sacks and 7.0 tackles-for-loss.
- Youngstown State is coming off a tough loss at No. 11 Northern Iowa. The Panthers rushed for 230 yards to hand the Penguins a 28-7 setback at the UNI Dome. The loss was the third in a row for YSU, who last won on October 10 at home against Western Illinois (31-21)
LUCKY 13
Illinois State will honor 13 seniors today before the game who will be making their final appearance in a Redbird uniform. Antonio Adams (DB-1L), Geno Blow (RB-3L), Joe Doyle (LS-2L), Chris Garrett (DB-2L), Garin Harcar (FB-3L), Zach Kutch (K-1L), Kevin Mazur (P-2L), Doni Phelps (DL-1L), Eyad Salem (WR-2L), Kyle Siskowic (LB, 3L), Tom Speer (DL-3L), Bert Whigham (DL-2L) and Brandon Wilson (DL-3L) make up the 2009 senior class which has helped ISU win 28 games in its time on campus. With a win today, the group would secure themselves a winning season for the first time since 2006, when ISU finished the year 9-4 after a quarterfinals defeat to Youngstown State in the FCS playoffs.
REDBIRD BLOCK PARTY
The Redbird defense batted down a pair of kicks on Saturday against Youngstown State, moving their season total to four. In the second quarter, senior defensive lineman Bert Whigham blocked his second punt of the season which eventually led to a safety for ISU. Later in the quarter, sophomore defensive lineman Eric Brunner blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by YSU kicker Stephen Blose as time expired to preserve a 15-13 ISU lead at the half. Whigham now has career blocked punts, which is tied for second all time with Warren Calhoun, just two behind the career leader Justin Martindale (6).
NO FIRST-YEAR JITTERS HERE
With his career-high 328 yards passing against Youngstown State (Nov. 14), redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Brown became just the fifth player in school history to throw for over 2,000 yards in a season. Brown has 2,295 yards passing in freshman campaign, which bests Kevin Glenn's previous school record by a Redbird freshman of 2,265 set in 1997. In addition, Brown is already climbing the career charts at ISU in his first season and ranks 12th in career completions (218), 15th in career passing yards (2,295) and 16th in career pass attempts (343).
FIELD GOALS GALORE
After kicking a school and league-record six field goals against Western Illinois (Nov. 7), senior placekicker Zach Kutch added three more against Youngstown State (Nov. 14) to give him nine in the last two games. The Milton, Fla., native booted a pair of field goals in the second quarter, the first from 41 yards and the second a career-long 49-yarder that gave the Redbirds a 15-13 lead headed into halftime. His final boot of the day was a 39-yard effort at the start of the fourth quarter that cut the YSU lead to two at 20-18. Kutch has made 19 field goals on the season, which ties the single-season school record set by Todd Kurz in 1995.
TWO FOR THE WHOW
A pair of Redbird linebackers had career day against Youngstown State (Nov. 14), as sophomore Josh Howe and freshman Mike Zimmer each posted career highs in tackles against the Penguins. Howe led all tacklers in the game with 13 stops, including five solo efforts, and added a half tackle for loss. Zimmer recorded a career-high 11 tackles, with six solo stops, and added a tackle for loss as well.
APPROACHING MILESTONES
A pair of Illinois State single-season records are in jeopardy in today's game against Northern Iowa. With his 83 receptions on the season, senior wide receiver Eyad Salem needs just four receptions to top the single-season record of 86 set in 2005 by All-American Laurént Robinson. Thanks to nine field goals in his last two games, senior placekicker Zach Kutch needs just one field goal against the Panthers to set a new-single season record topping the mark he currently holds with Todd Kurz, who kicked 19 in 1995.
A NEW WEAPON IN THE RETURN GAME
The Redbirds have found a new weapon in the kick return game in the last three games in freshman wide receiver Ben Ericksen. Since becoming a regular on the kick return team against Missouri State (Oct. 31), the Greendale, Wis., native has returned five kickoffs for 154 yards which averages out to nearly 31 yards per return. Ericksen had the best return of his career at Youngstown State (Nov. 14), a 50-yard return that set up a Cliffton Gordon touchdown run that gave ISU a 12-6 lead in the second quarter.
CAN HE HOLD ON?
It would be hard to think that redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Brown can hold onto the record for four years, but he currently holds the school's career record for pass completion percentage at 63.6 (218-343-6). Brown sits just ahead of Luke Drone, who posted a career completion percentage for 60.9 from 2004-2007 as the Redbird signal-caller.
IT'S A WHITE OUT
Heading into Illinois State's game at Youngstown State (Nov. 14), Redbird sophomore tight end Cody White had just 10 career receptions with two being the most he had hauled in against any opponent. However, that all changed against the Penguins as White caught a career-high six passes for a career-high 76 yards. White was quarterback Matt Brown's favorite target early in the game, as the two connected for four times for 69 yards before halftime. White's longest reception of the day was a 35-yard hookup down the middle seam of the field that set up a Cliffton Gordon 4-yard touchdown run that gave ISU a 12-6 lead in the second quarter.
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