THE GAME
A pair of nationally ranked foes will face off Saturday, when No. 22 Illinois State (3-0) hosts No. 9 South Dakota State (3-1) on Homecoming at Hancock Stadium. The game will be the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both squads, with each team looking to stay competitive in the league standings.
THE SERIES
Illinois State and South Dakota State have met four times previously, with the series knotted at two games apiece. The two teams have not met since the 2011 season, when the Redbirds picked up a 20-13 win at Hancock Stadium against the Jackrabbits. The Jacks won the first two games in the series, but the Redbirds have won the previous two match ups.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his sixth season as the head coach at Illinois State (36-24). 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.
South Dakota State: John Stiegelmeier (South Dakota State, 1979) is in his 18th season as the head coach at South Dakota State (114-82) and is the all-time wins leader at his alma mater. He has led the Jacks to the FCS playoffs three times (2009, 2012, 2013) and eight winning seasons at the FCS level.
REDBIRD PLAYER TO WATCH
Junior running back Marshaun Coprich is off to a great start to the 2014 season. The Victorville, California, native has recorded three-straight 100-plus yard rushing performances in the three wins for ISU, including a 156-yard and two touchdown effort last week against Austin Peay. Coprich has rushed for 430 yards and six touchdowns so far and currently ranks second in the MVFC with 143.3 rushing yards per game, behind SDSU's Zach Zenner.
THE #REDBIRDFOOTBALL PROGRAM
- Four FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012)
- Three-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012)
- The team is 25-6 at home under Spack's guidance.
- The Redbirds are 47-40-6 in Homecoming games all-time and have defeated ranked teams six times during Homecoming games since the rankings began in the mid-1980's.
- The team set a program-record cumulative GPA of 2.94 in the Spring 2014 semester.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- South Dakota State University is located in Brookings, South Dakota, and has an enrollment of 12,557 students. The Jackrabbits are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium (15,000).
- The Jacks finished the 2013 season with a 9-5 overall record, which tied them for second place in the MVFC. They would go on to beat Northern Arizona in the FCS playoffs, before eventually falling to national champion North Dakota State.
- SDSU is off to a 3-1 start to the season, with the only loss coming in the season opener against FBS foe Missouri. The Jacks have since defeated Cal Poly (44-18), Southern Utah (26-6) and Wisconsin-Oshkosh (41-3).
- The Jackrabbits are led by senior running back and All-American, Zach Zenner. One of only two players in FCS history to record two 2,000-yard seasons, Zenner topped the 5,000-yard mark for his career in the win against Wisconsin-Oshkosh and he holds Missouri Valley Football Conference career rushing (5,174) and all-purpose (6.547) yards records.
- Defensively, junior linebacker T.J. Lally leads the way for the Jacks. The team captain leads the group with 26 total tackles on the season and has recorded a pair of TFLs.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET (SEPT. 24, 2011)
Junior wide Tyrone Walker set a career-high with 10 catches for 143 yards and one touchdown, as Illinois State held off South Dakota State for a 20-13 victory at Hancock Stadium. Senior tailback Ashton Leggett led the Redbird rushing attack with 29 carries for 98 yards and two touchdowns, as the ISU defense took advantage of six SDSU fumbles and recovered three to secure the win.
LOVING THE LONG BALL
Lechein Neblett was the deep threat the Redbirds were missing in 2013, but his return combined with the addition of quarterback Tre Roberson has resulted in several long touchdown connections. Neblett and Roberson combined on a 66-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to extend ISU's lead to 41-6 against Austin Peay (Sept. 27). It marked duo's fifth touchdown connection of 20 yards or more this season (66, 61, 39, 26, and 24) and Neblett is now averaging 26 yards-per-catch and 104 yards-per-game for the Redbirds.
UNDEFEATED THROUGH THE FIRST THREE
After struggling to a 5-6 record in 2013, the Redbirds have rallied to a 3-0 start and a national ranking to start the 2014 season. ISU improved to 3-0 with a dominant 55-6 win over Austin Peay (Sept. 27), marking the first time the Redbirds have started a season 3-0 since 2012. The Redbirds finished that season 9-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. Through three games, the Redbirds are out-scoring opponents 151-21 and are allowing under 250 yards of total offense per game.
BABY BULL RUNNING TOUGH
Junior running back Marshaun Coprich has earned the nickname of 'Baby Bull' for his strong and tough running style combined with his smaller stature. Much like a young calf, it took Coprich a while to get his feet under him, before he eventually rushed for 100-plus yards in four consecutive games. Coprich has not had that same problem this season, as he has started the year with three-consecutive 100-plus yard rushing performances while helping ISU to a 3-0 record. Coprich rushed for 156 yards and two scores against Austin Peay (Sept. 27) to extend his streak to three in a row and is averaging 143 yards and two touchdowns per game for the Redbirds in 2014. He also Ranked in the top 15 in the country in rushing yards per carry (6.83), rushing touchdowns (6), rushing yards per game (143.3) and points scored per game (12.0).
BIRDS REMAIN STEADY IN TOP 25
Coming off a 55-6 defeat of Austin Peay (Sept. 27), the Redbirds moved up one spot in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 to No. 22 and remained at No. 22 in the FCS Coaches Poll.
ISU garnered 600 points in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 and moved up a spot from their previous No. 23 ranking. The Redbirds also earned 122 points to stay steady in the FCS Coaches Poll at No. 22, thanks to their dominant defeat of the Governors.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
Over the past six seasons, the Redbirds have had success in their regular-season non-conference match ups. In 18 contests, ISU has recorded an 12-6 record, with three of those losses coming at the hands of FBS programs (Illinois, Northwestern, Ball State). The only other three losses came against Eastern Illinois, who has gone 3-3 against the Redbirds in the six seasons under head coach Brock Spack. In addition, the Redbirds are 9-0 in non-conference home games at Hancock Stadium following the team's win over Austin Peay (Sept. 27).
AMMONS NAMED MVFC OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE WEEK
After helping Illinois State improve to 3-0 with a win against Austin Peay (Sept. 27), senior offensive lineman Rocco Ammons was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week by the league office. Ammons graded out at 96 percent and did not allow a sack or any quarterback pressures against the Governors. The Warrenville, Illinois, native and the rest of the Redbird offensive line led the way for running back Marshaun Coprich, who recorded his third-consecutive 100-plus yard rushing performance with 156 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against APSU. The Redbirds rushed for 256 yards on the ground (6.6 yards per carry) and racked up 496 yards of total offense in the dominant victory.
DEFENDING THEIR TURF
Hancock Stadium has been very friendly to the Redbirds dating back to the 2013 season, as the Redbirds have won eight-consecutive games in their home stadium. ISU was a perfect 5-0 at home last season and ISU has started the 2014 campaign 3-0. The streak is the longest for the Redbirds since the team won nine in a row from Nov. 14, 1998, to Aug. 31, 2000. The Redbirds are also 25-6 at home under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack.
SUPER TRE
Redbird junior quarterback Tre Roberson has worn a Superman shirt under his pads in all three of ISU's win this season, and one could say it has given him special powers. The transfer from Indiana accounted for four touchdowns (two pass, two rush) and 245 yards of total offense in the 62-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State (Sept. 6) and helped ISU amass 622 yards of total offense against the Delta Devils. He followed that up with a pair of touchdown throws in a win over No. 24 Eastern Illinois (Sept. 13) and set season bests with four touchdown passes and 222 yards through the air in a dominant 55-6 win over Austin Peay (Sept. 27).
PICKS ARE PLENTIFUL
The Illinois State defense recorded a total of six interceptions during the 2013 season. Through just three games in 2014, the Redbirds have already surpassed that mark with a league-leading seven. ISU intercepted a pair of passes in the season-opening win against Mississippi Valley State (Sept. 6) and recorded four INTs in last week's win against No. 24 Eastern Illinois (Sept. 13). Linebacker Oshay Dunmore added an interception in the win over Austin Peay (Sept. 27).
