No. 12 Redbirds Return Home To Host No. 10 Youngstown State

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Nov. 8, 2014
Location: Normal, Ill.
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. CT
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Stadium Capacity: 13,391
Series: YSU leads 12-11
Watch: ESPN3

THE GAME
After suffering its first loss of the 2014 season, No. 12 Illinois State (7-1, 4-1 MVFC) will look to get back to its winning ways when it hosts No. 10 Youngstown State (7-2, 4-1) on Saturday at Hancock Stadium in a battle for sole possession of second place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference standings at 1 p.m.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Penguins will meet for the 24th time on the gridiron on Saturday.  The two teams have split the last six games in the series overall, with each squad winning on its home turf.  The Redbirds have won the last three games against the Penguins at Hancock Stadium but the three games have been decided by just a total of 19 points, with wins of seven and two points, respectively, in the last two wins.

PLAYER TO WATCH
Walter Payton Award Watch List member Marshaun Coprich showed why he has earned a spot on the prestigious list with his performance at UNI.  The junior from Victorville, California, rushed for 166 yards and scored three touchdowns against the Panthers.  He recorded a career-long rushing touchdown of 76 yards and set a school record with his eighth-consecutive game with over 100 yards rushing versus UNI.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his sixth season as the head coach at Illinois State (40-25). Spack led the Redbirds to their first playoff victory since 2006, just the third nine-win season in school history and was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award during the 2012 season.
Youngstown State: Eric Wolford (Kansas Sate, 1994) is 31-23 in his fifth season as the head coach at Youngstown State.  The Penguins won eight games in 2013 for the first time since 2006, while producing their most Division I wins since that year as well, and also had its first six-game winning streak since 2000.

THE #REDBIRDFOOTBALL PROGRAM

• Four FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012).
• Three-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012).
• The team is 26-6 at home under Spack's guidance.
• The Redbirds start the season 7-0; first time since 1932.
• ISU has won 10 games in a row at home dating back to 2013.
• The team set a program-record cumulative GPA of 2.94 in the Spring 2014 semester.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Youngstown State University is located in Youngstown, Ohio, and has an enrollment of 13,813 students.  The Penguins are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Stambaugh Stadium (20,630). The Penguins finished the 2013 season with an 8-4 overall record, including a 5-3 record in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which tied the Penguins for second place.  YSU returns 15 starters for the 2014 season.
•  Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel returns to Youngstown State, where he once served as the head football coach and led the Penguins to 10 playoff appearances and four national championships.  From 2001-10, he was the head coach at Ohio State and  guided the Buckeyes to the 2002 National Championship, six Big Ten Championships and nine bowl appearances.
• The Penguins are tied with the Redbirds for second place in the MVFC standings, with a 4-1 record.   The lone loss was a 30-24 defeat at the hands of Western Illinois and YSU has won three-straight games since that point.  
• Youngstown State scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns to overcome a 10-point deficit and knock off South Dakota, 28-17, last Saturday at home.  The comeback was fueled by a strong running attack, which saw tailback Martin Ruiz rush for a career-best 185 yards and a touchdown and Jody Webb run for 128 yards and two scores.
• The Youngstown State offense is headed by quarterback Hunter Wells, who was recently added to the Jerry Rice Watch List, which signifies the top freshman in FCS football.  Wells has started four games for the Penguins and thrown for 1,295 yards and nine touchdowns in helping the team to wins over a pair of ranked opponents in Southern Illinois and South Dakota State.
• Junior linebacker Dubem Nwadiogbu paces the YSU defense and leads the team with 75 tackles on the season.  Nwadiogbu has added a sack, 7.5 tackles-for-loss, six pass breakups and recovered a fumble in nine starts for YSU.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET (OCT. 12, 2013)
Youngstown State scored 31 second-quarter points en route to a 59-21 victory over Illinois State at Stambaugh Stadium. The 59 points surrendered by the Redbirds were the most Illinois State had allowed since falling 65-38, at Western Illinois (Oct. 30, 2010).  YSU quarterback Kurt Hess threw for a career-high 311 yards, completing 17-of-21 passes with four touchdowns.

RUSHING UP THE LIST
Running back Marshaun Coprich moved into a tie with Quincy Washington (2002) for sixth place on the ISU's single-season rushing yards list with a total of 1,158 yards, after rushing for 166 yards at UNI (Nov. 1). The Walter Payton Award Watch List member also became the 13th Redbird to top 1,000 rushing yards in a season, and the 11th player to go over 2,000 career rushing yards. He also set a school record for most-consecutive 100-plus yard rushing performances with his eighth-straight to start the 2014 season. Coprich scored three touchdowns against Northern Iowa, and is now third in school history for single-season rushing touchdowns (15) and is tied for fourth on the career rushing touchdowns list (24).

HOME SWEET HOME
When the Redbirds opened the newly-renovated Hancock Stadium last September, they knew they had a great new stadium to call home.  Since that renovation, the Redbirds have shown their appreciation for the upgrade and ripped off 10 straight wins.  The streak ties the longest home winning streak in school history, which was previously set from 1998-2000.  That streak started with a 48-14 win over Youngstown State (Nov. 14, 1998) and came to an end after a 14-12 defeat at the hands of the Penguins (Oct. 7, 2000).

REDBIRDS NO. 12 IN BOTH NATIONAL FCS POLLS
Despite suffering its first loss of the season at UNI (Nov. 1), Illinois State llinois has maintained a spot in the national rankings for eight-consecutive weeks. The Redbirds dropped six spots to No. 12 in the FCS Coaches Poll and dropped five spots to No. 12 in The Sports Network FCS Top 25, but still remain as one of 12 teams in FCS football with one loss or less. The MVFC led all conferences once again with seven teams in the Top 25.

82 YEARS FOR PERFECTION
In 1932, Illinois State Normal University head coach Howard Hancock led his team to a 7-0 record to start the season before finishing with losses in the final two contests of the year.  Fast forward 82 years, and the 2014 Redbirds matched that school record-setting start with a 21-7 win over Missouri State (Oct. 25) in their home stadium named in honor of the former Redbird mentor.

COPRICH CONTINUES STREAK
With his 166 yards on 27 carries against UNI (Nov. 1), Marshaun Coprich extended his streak of 100-plus yard rushing performances to eighth in a row to start the 2014 season. With his eighth 100-plus yard performances, Coprich broke Pierre Rembert's school record of seven-straight to start the 2006 season.  The Walter Payton Award Watch List selection has now rushed for 1,158 yards and 15 touchdowns on the season, and is just 17 yards away from moving into eighth place in ISU history in career rushing yards.  

TAKE YOUR PICK
The Redbird defense came up big with two interceptions that led to touchdowns at UNI (Nov. 1). Junior outside linebacker Alex Donnelly returned his second interception of the season 56 yards to the Panther's 13-yard line after senior defensive tackle Bradon Prate tipped the Panthers' pass attempt. Junior defensive end Teddy Corwin came up with his second interception on the season after tipping a pass in the air, and hauling the ball in while lying on his back. Donnelly's interception led to an 8-yard rushing touchdown by junior running back Marshaun Coprich, and Corwin's led to Coprich's 76-yard rushing touchdown that tied the game in the fourth quarter. It is the third game this season that the Redbirds have recorded multiple interceptions, and the team's total of 11 interceptions is its highest since 2012, when it recorded 17.

COMING OUT FIRING
For the fourth time this season, the Redbirds scored a touchdown on their first series of the game when junior running back Marshaun Coprich scored a 28-yard rushing touchdown on the team's first play from scrimmage against UNI (Nov. 1). It was the second-consecutive week that ISU scored a touchdown on its opening drive, and fifth time it has come away with points on its opening drive (4 TD, 1 FG).