PLAYER TO WATCH
Illinois State amassed 152 yards on the ground in the season opener against Eastern Illinois, thanks to a strong performance from senior running back Ashton Leggett. The Muskegon, Mich., native recorded 97 yards on the ground and scored the only two offensive touchdowns for the Redbirds in the loss to the Panthers. He also caught three passes for 31 yards, while showing his versatility in the passing game as well. Last season, Leggett led the team with eight rushing touchdowns and amassed 599 rushing yards while splitting carries with fellow Big Ten transfer Erik Smith.
THE GAME
Illinois State will open the home portion of its 2011 football schedule against Pioneer Football League foe Morehead State. Illinois State will hope to put tally in the winners column, after a season-opening loss at Eastern Illinois last week.
THE SERIES
The Redbirds and Eagles have not met on the gridiron since 1972 and have only played each other twice overall. The series is tied at 1-1, with Morehead State winning a 28-12 decision at Hancock Stadium in 1971 and the Redbirds picking up a 20-0 win on the road in 1972.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his third season as the head coach of the Illinois State Redbirds (12-11). With ISU's 27-23 win over Eastern Illinois in the 2010 season finale, the Redbird coaching staff led by head coach Spack became the first staff at ISU to post back-to-back winning seasons in its first two seasons at the helm in over 60 years.
Head Coach Brock Spack | ISU Coaching Staff
Morehead State: Matt Ballard (Gardner-Webb, 1979) is in his 18th season on the sidelines as the head coach at Morehead State (96-90) and his 23rd overall. A finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award for two of the past three seasons, Ballard is a four-time Pioneer Football League South Division Coach of the Year, having led the Eagles to four consecutive division crowns from 2002 through the end of divisional play in 2005.
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 five years, ISU student-athletes have contributed more than 2,000 hours of community service to the Bloomington-Normal area, including a school-record 3,500 hours in 2009-10.
- Redbird student-athletes matched a record with a department-wide 3.13 grade-point average during the fall 2009 semester, while posting a 3.0 mark in six of the last seven semesters.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Morehead State University is located in Morehead, Ky., and has an enrollment of 8,842 students. The Eagles are members of the Pioneer Football League and play their home games at Jayne Stadium (10,000).
- The Eagles return 27 letterwinners and 20 starters from last year's team that finished with an 5-6 overall record and a 4-4 mark in PFL play.
- Morehead State junior kicker Rainer Duzan and senior defensive end Jerome Raymond were both named Pioneer Football League Players of the Week for their strong performances in the season-opening win against Kentucky Christian. Duzan was named Special Teams Player of the Week, and Raymond earned Defensive Player of the Week.
- The Eagles opened the 2011 season by rolling up 753 yards of total offense, including 474 passing yards, in shutting out visiting Kentucky Christian 67-0. Along with the passing totals, seven Eagle rushers combined to generate 279 yards on the ground. The 753 total yards shattered the former MSU mark of 728 yards set against Valpo in 1997 and also eclipsed the former PFL mark of 734 yards set by Drake in 2000.
- Junior quarterback Zach Lewis leads the way for the Eagles' offense and had an outstanding game in the season opener. He threw for 385 yards (27-of-46) and four touchdowns, his fourth career four-touchdown game, in the season-opening win over Kentucky Christian.
- Senior defensive end Jerome Raymond has been a force on the defensive line for the Eagles and showed that once again against Kentucky Christian in the season opener. He continued his streak of games with a tackle-for-loss to 13 with 2.5 sacks for 16 yards in losses and also forced a fumble.
TIES WITH THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Pete Cary and Morehead State's Shade Whitfield were high school teammates at Turpin High School in Cincinnati. Morehead State's Sean Blair, Brandon Bornhauser, Michael Jackson, Nehemiah Phillips, Greg Lewis and Devante Hunter are also from Cincinnati, although they went to different high schools.
- Matt Goldsmith and Morehead State's Marcus Williams were high school teammates at Bishop McNamara High School in Clinton, Md.
- Jake Schoonover was a defensive line assistant coach when Morehead State's offensive line assistant coach Patrick St. Louis was also an assistant.
- James Marrishow and Morehead State's Morris Henry are both from Orlando, although they went to different high schools.
- Brandon Newbern, Tyrone Walker and Morehead State's Andrew Lee and Kygh Murff are all from Indianapolis, although they went to different high schools.
Safety patrol
Teams usually score their first points of the game on a touchdown or field goal, but in the season opener at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 1), both the Redbirds and the Panthers scored their first points of the game off safeties. The Panthers' safety in the first quarter was the first against the Redbirds since Oct. 30, 2010, when Western Illinois secured a safety in a win in Macomb. ISU's safety by Shelby Harris on EIU quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the second quarter was its first since Nov. 14, 2009, at Youngstown State.
Spreading the red
Illinois State's offense was a perfect 3-for-3 in the red zone at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 1). The Redbirds scored two touchdowns on two short carries by Ashton Lggett, and Nick Aussieker converted on the team's third red zone change with a 25-yard field goal in the third quarter. Last season, the Redbirds wen 28-for-37 (76 percent) in the red zone and scored touchdowns only 49 percent of the time.
Newcomer attack
Transfers Evan Frierson and Nate Palmer each made immediate impacts in their first game as Redbirds Thursday night at Eastern Illinois. The pair of Illinois transfers combined for 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles-for-loss in their debut at the FCS level. Frierson led the Redbird defense with 11 tackles, including six solo stops, one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss and Palmer registered four tackles, including a half sack and half tackle-for-loss.
Establishing the run
The Redbirds averaged just over 130 yards-per-game on the ground in 2010 and head coach Brock Spack made it a priority to bolster and improve the running attack in 2011. Based on the results from the season-opener, he may have succeeded. The Redbirds amassed 152 yards on the ground against the Panthers (Sept. 1) and scored a pair of rushing touchdowns. Senior running back Ashton Leggett led the way with 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but Erik Smith provided a big spark with 52 yards on just six carries, including a 36 yards run late in the game that helped set up a score.
Home sweet home
Hancock Stadium has been kind to the Redbirds over the past two seasons and Redbird fans have been treated to high-scoring games and a log of wins. Under head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds have posted an 9-2 record at Hancock Stadium, including a 5-1 record at home in 2010. The Redbirds averaged 36 points, 279 passing yards, 155 rushing yards and 435 yards of total offense at home in 2010. Spack has also won both of his home openers in his two seasons with the Redbirds and has not lost at home to a non-conference opponent.
Like Running into a brick wall
The Illinois State offensive line was talked about all season as a potential area of strength for the Redbirds and after its performance against Eastern Illinois (Sept. 1), one could see why. The offensive line unit of Cody White, Nick Bledsoe, Cal McCarthy, Rocco Ammons and Keenan Wimbley led the way for a rushing attack that recorded 152 yards and two touchdowns on the ground and 395 total yard of offense. The unit also kept quarterback Matt Brown upright for the entire game and did not surrender a sack and only allowed one tackle-for-loss.
In the backfield all night
Redbird defenders struggled to get pressure and make plays in the opposing backfield in 2010, but may have found a way to be very disruptive in 2011. The Redbirds recorded seven tackles-for-loss and recorded two sacks in the season opener against Eastern Illinois (Sept. 1). If the team stays on that pace, it will shatter the marks of 45 TFLs and 12 sacks set all of last year.
Scooping and scoring
Most defenders wait an entire career for the opportunity to scoop up a fumble and return it for a touchdown to give their team the lead. Illinois State junior safety Ben Ericksen achieved the feat in just his first game as a defender, when he scooped up a Jimmy Garoppolo fumble and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown in the season opener at Eastern Illinois (Sept. 1). The touchdown was just the second of Ericksen's career at ISU (the other was a kickoff return) and the first defensive score since teammate Marcus Harris returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown in the 2010 season-opener against Central Missouri.
It's been a while
With ISU's 27-23 win over Eastern Illinois in the 2010 season finale, the Redbird coaching staff led by head coach Brock Spack, became the first staff to post back-to-back winning seasons in its first two years in over 60 years. The last new regime to achieve that feat at ISU was led by Edwin Struck, whose staff posted winning campaigns in their first six seasons at ISU from 1945-50.
Smile, you're on camera
Illinois State will have five of its 11 regular-season games distributed by national and regional television outlets, the most in the history of the program. The Mid-America Classic on Sept. 1 at Eastern Illinois not only opened the regular-season schedule, but also the Redbirds' television exposure. The 6:30 p.m. was broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The Oct. 1 game at North Dakota State will be produced by the North Dakota NBC Network, but because of an agreement with NDSU and Illinois State's partnership with Comcast SportsNet Chicago the game will be aired live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago Plus. The Redbirds will be back on Comcast SportsNet Chicago for the Oct. 29 game at Southern Illinois, which was moved to a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. As part of an agreement with the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the Oct. 22 matchup between the Redbirds and Indiana State at Hancock Stadium will be available on ESPN3.com, as will the regular-season finale on Nov. 19 against Northern Iowa.
The Dynamic duo
Matt Brown and Tyrone Walker are both putting their marks on the ISU record books in short time. In just two seasons, the duo has become one of the most prolific passing tandems in school history and will continue to move up lists in 2011. Brown currently holds school records for career completion percentage (64.2) and passing yards per game (228.8) and ranks fifth in career passing yards (5,277) and passing touchdowns (33). Not to be outdone, Walker is sixth on the career touchdown receptions list (15), seventh in receiving yards (1,485) and 11th in receptions (100).
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