PLAYER TO WATCH
Illinois State quarterback Matt Brown became the first freshman to start under center for the Redbirds since 1999 and turned in one of the best performances of the last three seasons. Brown, a redshirt freshman from Marion, Ill., completed 27-of-45 pass attempts for 312 yards and two scores against the Illini in front of more than 62,000 fans at Memorial Stadium (Sept. 12).
THE GAME
After starting the 2009 season with two road games, Illinois State will return home to face Ohio Valley Conference opponent Austin Peay in the home-opener at Hancock Stadium tonight. Head coach Brock Spack and the Redbirds have dropped the first two games of the season to in-state foes Eastern Illinois and Illinois, but they hope to turn things around on their home turf and pick up their first victory of the season.
THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Governors have only met once on the gridiron. ISU defeated APSU 13-9 on Oct. 27, 1990, at Hancock Stadium in front of 11,756 fans. In the victory for the Redbirds, running backs Toby Davis and Ritchie Thompson each ran for touchdowns as ISU racked up 284 yards on the ground. Tony Jones led all ISU defenders with 14 tackles and a sack.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his first season as the head coach of the Illinois State Redbirds (0-2). 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.
Austin Peay: Rick Christophel (Austin Peay, 1975) is in his third season as the head coach at his Austin Peay( 10-14). The former Austin Peay quarterback became returned to his alma mater after spending the previous 11 years at Alabama-Birmingham, where he served as the Blazers' defensive coordinator in 2006.
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
•Austin Peay is located in Clarksville, Tenn., and has an enrollment of 9,401. The Governors compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
•The Governors return 54 lettermen and 18 starters from last year's team that finished the season 2-9 overall record and a 2-6 mark in OVC play. White is averaging 128.5 yards per game in 2009 and Caffey has thrown for 242 yards and two touchdowns in the team's first two games.
•A trio of defenders pace the APSU defense. Amius Smith, Daniel Becker and Kit Hartsfeld have each registered 15 tackles through the first two games of the season.
•Austin Peay jumped out to a 14-3 lead last Saturday against Missouri Valley Football Conference member Youngstown State, but it could not sustain that momentum as the Penguins scored 28 straight points to claim a 38-21 victory at Stambaugh Stadium.
TIES WITH THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
•Illinois State wide receiver Ben Graves and Austin Peay long snapper Nick Newsome played together at Middle Tennessee State in 2007. Newsome redshirted during the 2007 campaign before transferring to Austin Peay and Graves saw limited action as a reserve before transferring to ISU.
•Illinois State Director of Equipment Operations Nicholas Watson was a student manager for the Virginia Tech football team at the same time Austin Peay receivers coach Marcus Gildersleeve was a player for the Hokies. Both earned their bachelors degrees from Virginia Tech in 2000.
•Illinois State track and field head coach Elvis Forde spent 13 years as the leader of Austin Peay's track and field and cross country programs. Forde was named 2001 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year before taking the Illinois State job in 2002.
'BIRDS AND THE OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE
The Redbirds have had great success against members of the Ohio Valley Conference. Illinois State has won 11 of its last 13 games against members of the OVC, including five-straight wins against Murray State and six out the last eight versus Eastern Illinois. The 'Birds have a chance to add to their success against the OVC Saturday in their home opener against Austin Peay.
HAZING THE NEW GUY?
Illinois State head coach Brock Spack is 0-2 after his first two games, but that's no surprise considering the way Redbird coaches have fared in their debuts. Former Illinois State head coach Denver Johnson started with a win but went 1-4 in his first five contests, and Todd Berry and Jim Heacock both went 0-2 to start their ISU coaching careers.
TOUCHDOWN SAVERS
The Illinois State secondary has helped keep points off the board with interceptions in the end zone in back-to-back games to start the season. Junior cornerback EJ Jones saved a touchdown with an interception at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 3) and senior corner back Chris Garrett ran under an errant Eddie McGee pass in the end zone at Illinois (Sept. 12). The interceptions were the first of each player's career.
THE ELMASSIAN EFFECT
Illinois State managed just three interceptions during the entire 2008 campaign, but have picked off two passes in the team's first two games of the new season. This year's Redbirds are coached by an entirely new defensive staff including defensive coordinator Phil Elmassian who combines with defensive backs coach Lamar Conard to lead the secondary. Elmassian brings more than 35 years of coaching experience to the Redbird sidelines.
NOT BAD FOR A FIRST TIMER
Despite being the first Redbird signal caller since 1999 to start as a freshman, Matt Brown completed 27-of-45 pass attempts and threw for 312 yards and a pair of touchdowns in Illinois State's 45-17 loss to Illinois. Brown's mark was the first over 300 for an Illinois State quarterback since Luke Drone threw for 305 yards against Missouri State, Nov. 4, 2006, and the most passing yards since Drone torched Indiana State for 440 yards Nov. 12, 2005.
SALEM'S LOT
With seven catches for 103 yards and two scores, Illinois State senior wide out Eyad Salem did some climbing up the Redbird leader boards. Salem moved into eighth place all-time with 106 career receptions and the two touchdown grabs moved him into fifth all-time with 14 career touchdown catches. It was the sixth time that Salem has gone over 100 yards receiving in his career. Salem is the Redbirds leading receiver through two contests with 12 catches.
HEMPHILL'S SAFETY NET
Kelvyn Hemphill, a 2008 All-Missouri Valley Football Conference Honorable Mention selection, didn't make a tackle in Illinois State's season-opening loss to Eastern Illinois, but the junior safety recorded a team-best 14 tackles against Illinois. Hemphill proved to be a pest to Illinois' Eddie McGee, bringing down the quarterback twice in the backfield for both his tackles-for-loss. Hemphill sacked McGee for an eight-yard loss on third down to force a field goal in the second quarter and dropped McGee behind the line on a run play during the next drive.
SPREADING THE RED
Illinois State continues to spread the ball around with its new spread offense. Illinois State quarterback Matt Brown hit nine different receivers for completions in Saturday's loss to Illinois (Sept. 13) - a week after Brown and Drew Kiel completed passes to seven different receivers at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 2). In each contest the top-three targets each snagged five or more passes. The Redbirds completed passes to seven or more different receivers three times last season, but never had an equal distribution at the top. The last time Illinois State completed five or more passes to three different receivers in a single game was Oct. 29, 2005 against Western Illinois in Hancock Stadium. In that game, Jason Horton and Laurent Robinson each had six catches and Pierre Jackson had five.
BIRDS OWN THE THIRD QUARTER
Anyone opposed to starting the game in the second half? The Redbirds are out-scoring opponents 16-14 in the third quarter through the first two games, including a 10-7 margin in last Saturday's loss to Illinois (Sept. 12). Unfortunately, the Birds have been shutout in the first half of both games this season.
SHINEY SIDE UP
Illinois State captains Doni Phelps and Drew Kiel have been right on the money in their two chances with the coin toss this season. The duo picked right at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 3) and deferred to the second half, then won the toss again with Matt Brown in the pregame meeting and elected to receive at Illinois (Sept. 12).
HOT TICKET
The announced attendance at Memorial Stadium for the Illinois State-Illinois match-up was 62,347, making it the largest crowd the Redbirds have ever played in front of. The previous mark was also set at Memorial Stadium when the Redbirds took on the Illini in front of 56,304 fans Sept. 6, 2003.
KIEL'S COMPLETE EFFORT
Illinois State quarterback Drew Kiel completed his first 15 pass attempts en route to a 20-for-22 effort in the season opening loss at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 3). Kiel's .909 percent completion percentage was the best ever by a Redbird quarterback in a single game with more than 20 attempts. The mark surpassed Dusty Burk's 31-of-37 effort against Hofstra (Dec. 4) in the quarterfinals of the 1999 FCS Playoffs. The 15 consecutive pass completions tied Youngstown State's Tom Zetts (vs. WKU in 2004) for the fifth-longest streak all-time by a Valley quarterback.
KIEL OUT AT LEAST SIX WEEKS AFTER SURGERY
Sophomore quarterback Drew Kiel had surgery to repair a torn ligament on his right thumb Wednesday, Sept. 9. Recovery time will be at least six weeks for the Redbird signal-caller. An MRI done after the Eastern Illinois game revealed a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in the thumb on Kiel's throwing hand. The Columbus, Ind., native suffered the injury in the fourth quarter of ISU's season-opening loss at Eastern Illinois on Sept. 3.
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
The injury to Drew Kiel presents an obvious challenge for the Redbirds, but it also presents a tremendous opportunity for redshirt freshman Matt Brown. Prior to last Saturday's game at Illinois, the Redbirds hadn't started a freshman quarterback since the 1999 season when Dusty Burk took over for injured starter Kevin Glenn. Burk earned Valley freshman of the year honors after leading Illinois State to the conference title, then the Redbirds' first playoff and road playoff wins. Burk's Cinderella story ended in the semi-final round of the playoffs when the Redbirds fell to eventual national champion Georgia Southern. Will the slipper fit for Brown?
RUNNING LOW
The Redbirds were limited to 20 yards rushing in the season-opening loss to Eastern Illinois (Sept. 3). That mark was the team's lowest since being held to minus six yards at Youngstown State Oct. 20, 2001.
GETTING MALCOLM STARTED
Illinois State safety Jermaine Malcolm has made the most of limited starting opportunities as a Redbird. The junior started just his second contest at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 3), but notched a career-high and team-best 10 stops. Malcolm had three solo tackles and seven assists. Malcolm chipped in six more tackles at Illinois (Sept. 12). His previous career high in tackles was eight, set in his previous other career start last season at Western Illinois.
CLINE SHINES
It took two plays for sophomore tight end Casey Cline to go from No. 2 on the depth chart to Drew Kiel's favorite target. When Illinois State starter Cody White went down after a 15-yard catch on the `Birds second play from scrimmage at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 3), Cline entered the contest and caught a team-high six passes for 69 yards. The catches were the first of Cline's career. The Gibson City, Ill., native appeared in six games last season and logged two tackles on special teams.
THE X-FACTOR
Xzavier Stewart didn't take long to make his presence known on the Illinois State defensive line. The junior transfer from Kansas State who joined the Redbirds after fall camp, notched three tackles, including a tackle-for-loss upon entering the Eastern Illinois game (Sept. 2) as a reserve in the third quarter. The 6-foot-1, 315-pounder brought down Eastern Illinois running back Mon Williams for a three-yard loss to record his first tackle at ISU. Stewart had posted three tackles in each of the previous two seasons at Kansas State.
VIVA LAS RIVAS
Junior defensive tackle Dave Rivas collected a career-high with two tackles-for-loss at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 3). Rivas helped shut down the Panthers' first drive by dropping Mon Williams in the back field for a four-yard loss, and stuffed another run in the third quarter. He finished the contest with five total tackles, another career-high. Rivas had six tackles, including two for a loss, during the 2007 campaign before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. He appeared in eight games last season and made six tackles.
FIRST CATCHES, TD FOR GRAVES
The Redbirds found the end zone for the first time in the second half against Eastern Illinois (Sept. 3), partly because of sophomore wide receiver Ben Graves. Graves hauled in the first five passes of his career, all in the second half. He caught two passes on the Redbirds' only scoring drive of the game, including a three-yard strike from Drew Kiel for his first career touchdown reception. Graves added six more catches at Illinois (Sept. 12) and is second on the team with 11 receptions.
WHO ARE THOSE GUYS?
Fans used to seeing ISU player names on the back of the uniforms may have to rely more on their game program this year, as the names were removed from the newly-designed Nike jerseys. Head coach Brock Spack wanted his team to play for the name on the front of the jersey that says "Redbirds" instead of the ones on the back.
THREES COMPANY
Despite being picked eighth in the 2009 Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll, the league's coaches, media and sports information directors thought enough of the Redbirds to place three players on the preseason all-conference team. Senior wide receiver Eyad Salem, senior running back Geno Blow and junior defensive back Kelvyn Hemphill were all honored as first-team selections in the annual vote.
ALL-AMERICA U
ISU has produced at least one all-American player in 22 of its last 26 seasons. Over the last eight seasons, 30 players from 12 different positions have been honored. Former linebacker and current Saskatchewan Roughrider, Kye Stewart, was the last Redbird to earn All-America honors in 2007 when he was honored by The Sports Network and the Walter Camp Foundation. That number may go up this season, as senior wide receiver Eyad Salem received 2009 Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) preseason All-America recognition from Consensus Draft Services.
GIMMIE A I-A ... ER, FBS
With the Sept. 12 trip to Illinois, Illinois State has played a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) opponent in 15-consecutive seasons. The last time the 'Birds didn't schedule an FBS game was in 1994. The game with the Illini also marked the first of two-consecutive games against the Big Ten Conference. ISU will play at Northwestern in 2010.
FBS WOES
Northern Iowa proved it wasn't a slouch on opening weekend with a near upset at Iowa and Illinois State came within a point of knocking off Kansas State to kick off the 2006 season, but FBS opponents have historically given the Redbirds fits. Including this season's 45-17 loss to Illinois (Sept. 12), Illinois State is 3-31 all-time against FBS opponents, with the team's last win coming against Akron (25-3) on Sept. 14, 1991. The Redbirds also have wins against Western Michigan (Sept. 12, 1987) and Eastern Michigan (Sept. 19, 1981). Part of the imbalance is the number of scholarships awarded. FBS schools can give 85 full scholarships, while FCS squads are allowed 63 
scholarships.
IT'S A HARD KNOCK LIFE
Former Illinois State safety Tom Nelson was signed as a non-drafted free agent in the offseason by the Cincinnati Bengals and because of that he is getting some national attention. Nelson and his new teammates were featuredon HBO's annual training camp documentary Hard Knocks. In the third installment of the series, Nelson was featured and interviewed after a couple strong performances in game action for the Bengals. In the team's second preseason game, Nelson recorded a sack, broke up a pass in the secondary and forced a fumble late in the game that sealed the team's win over the New England Patriots. Nelson made the 53-man roster, but did not play in Cincinnati's season-opening loss to Denver.
A QUARTER CENTURY OF GREATNESS
To kick off the league's 25th Year Celebration, the Missouri Valley Football Conference is paying tribute to its all-time greats - those who have had stellar careers or played with distinction in the National Football League. Three former Redbirds were selected to the "All-Select NFL Team" that included former NFL Most Valuable Players, Pro-Bowl selections and Super Bowl participants. Linebacker Boomer Grigsby, offensive lineman Mark Rodenhauser and running back/kick returner Aveion Cason represented Illinois State on the roster of Valley Football greats. During the season, fan voting will also be conducted to help select a "Silver Anniversary Team," recognizing the league's all-time greats. Voting can be accessed at www.valley-football25.org.
WHO'S GOT NEXT?
For six of the last eight seasons, the Missouri Valley Football Conference's top tackler has worn an Illinois State uniform. Three-time league defensive player of the year Boomer Grigsby set the stage by leading the conference in stops in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Former Redbird linebacker Cameron Siskowic followed suit with back-to-back tackle titles in 2005 and 2006, and Kye Stewart led the league in 2007 with 131 stops.
IT'S BEEN 10 YEARS ALREADY?
The 1999 season was the most successful in the history of the Illinois State football program. That team, led by head coach Todd Berry, recorded a school-record 11 wins on way to the school's second playoff berth in two seasons. The Redbirds stormed through the regulars season on way to a conference championship and advanced to the semifinals of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoffs. To honor that season, members of the team will be honored on Nov. 7 at Hancock Stadium in commemoration of its 10-year anniversary.
THE BUCK STOPS HERE
The Buck Buchanan Award is presented annually by The Sports Network to the nation's best NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) defensive player. When acquiring a list of potential candidates, or a watch list, Illinois State is as good of place to start as any. Since 2002, the Redbirds have had one player finish in the top-five of the Buck Buchanan Award voting in all but one season. Even though Illinois State hasn't been able to claim the top honor, a Redbird has finished second twice and third twice. Here is a list of ISU's Buck Buchanan Award finalists:
2002 - Boomer Grigsby (LB) - Third
2003 - Boomer Grigsby (LB) - Second
2004 - Boomer Grigsby (LB) - Third
2005 - Brent Hawkins (DE) - Second; Cameron Siskowic (LB) - 13th
2006 - Cameron Siskowic (LB) - Fifth
2007 - Kye Stewart (LB) - Fourth
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