SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Oct. 31, 2015
Location: Normal, Illinois
Kickoff: 12:07 p.m. CT
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Stadium Capacity: 13,391
Series: ILS leads 35-29-2
Watch: CSN Chicago/ESPN3
PLAYER TO WATCH
Junior wideout Anthony Warrum continued his streak of eye-popping performances with another fantastic effort against No. 20 Western Illinois last week. Warrum averaged 42.5 yards per catch on seven receptions for 170 yards and connected twice with Tre Roberson for scores through the air against the Leathernecks. He also added a fumble recovery for a touchdown, and his performance earned him Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors.
THE GAME
For the fourth time in the last five weeks, No. 3 Illinois State (6-1, 4-0 MVFC) will face off against a ranked FCS opponent, this time when it hosts No. 21 Indiana State (4-3, 2-2 MVFC) at Hancock Stadium for a Halloween battle. The game will kick off at noon, and will be broadcast live on CSN Chicago and ESPN3.
THE SERIES
This will be the 67th meeting all-time between the Redbirds and the Sycamores in a series dating back to 1936. Illinois State leads the series 35-29-2, with wins in the last four games and nine out of the last 10 contests overall against Indiana State. The Redbirds have not lost to the Sycamores at Hancock Stadium in their last eight tries, with the last home loss to Indiana State coming in 1997.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his seventh season as the head coach at Illinois State (52-27). Spack led the Redbirds to their first Missouri Valley Football Conference title in 15 years in 2014, and set the school record for wins with 13 while being named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award.
Indiana State: Mike Sanford (Southern California, 1978) is in his third season as the head coach at Indiana State (13-20) and his eighth as a collegiate head coach (29-63). In 2014, Sanford led the Sycamores 8-6 overall record, their first trip to the NCAA FCS Playoffs since 1984 and their first postseason victory since
1983.
THE @REDBIRDFB PROGRAM
- Five FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014)
- Four-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014)
- Two-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
- The team is 33-6 at home under Spack's guidance
- ISU's current 16-game home winning streak is the longest in the FCS
- The team tied a program-record cumulative GPA of 2.94 in the Spring 2015 semester
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Indiana State University is located in Terre Haute, Indiana, and has an enrollment of 11,458 students. The Sycamores are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Memorial Stadium (12,764).
- The Sycamores finished the 2014 season with an 8-6 overall record and a 4-4 mark in MVFC play. They return 48 letterwinners and 18 starters from last year's team that advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs.
- Indiana State is off to a 4-3 start in 2015 and are 2-2 in MVFC play, with wins over Missouri State and Southern Illinois. The Sycamores' two losses in Valley Football action are to nationally-ranked South Dakota State, and North Dakota State last week.
- The Sycamores head into the game against the No. 3 Redbirds ranked No. 21 in the STATS FCS Top-25 and No. 23 in the FCS Coaches Poll. Indiana State is one of seven Valley teams ranked this week, and has made an appearance in the polls for a school-record 19 weeks straight.
- Indiana State is led on offense by quarterback Matt Adam, who earned his first-career start last season in a tight 20-18 loss to Illinois State. Adam averages 245 yards of total offense per game and has scored a combined 17 touchdowns through seven games.
- A name many Redbird fans may be familiar with is Indiana State linebacker Connor Underwood, the younger brother of former Illinois State All-American Colton Underwood and son of former Redbird standout Scott Underwood. The All-American has been limited due to a hamstring injury, but is Indiana State's all-time sack leader with 30.5 career sacks. Earlier this year he also broke the all-time Indiana State record for tackles-for-loss, currently at 57.0 in his career. In four games played this season, Underwood has 20 total tackles (14 solo), 4.5 TFL and 2.0 sacks.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET (OCT. 11, 2014)
A game that proved to be a defensive battle throughout was decided on a last-second field goal, as Nick Aussieker connected on a 20-yard field goal with three seconds left on the clock to give No. 15 Illinois State a 20-18 come-from-behind win over No. 20 Indiana State at Memorial Stadium. The Sycamores took an 18-17 late in the contest, however a squib kick on the ensuing kickoff hit Redbird linebacker Jalen Battle and he fell on it at the Indiana State 49-yard line to give the Redbirds great field position. A 27-yard run by Marshaun Coprich would then set up the game-winning field goal for Aussieker to win the game.
QUICK STRIKE REDBIRDS
The Redbirds started the game against No. 20 Western Illinois (Oct. 24) with a quick, two-play scoring drive to take an early lead and kept that up for the rest of the contest, scoring four different times against Leathernecks in three plays or less. Tre Roberson's 65-yard run capped the first drive in the first quarter and a 65-yard pass from Roberson to Anthony Warrum capped off a three-play, 77-yard drive in the third quarter. On ISU's next drive, Marshaun Coprich ripped off a 19-yard touchdown run to put an end to a three-play drive and he later added an 83-yard scoring run to put an end to the scoring and cap off a three-play, 92-yard drive late in the fourth quarter.
ISU EXTENDS HOME WIN STREAK
In 2013, a newly-renovated Hancock Stadium was opened to the public and the Redbirds treated the fans in attendance to a 31-17 win over Abilene Christian. Little did those in attendance realize that win would be the first of many for the Redbirds, who increased their home winning streak to 16 games in a row with a 48-28 win over No. 20 Western Illinois (Oct. 24). The 16-game home winning streak is the longest in FCS football and the Redbirds have an opportunity to extend that streak to 17 games next week when they host nationally-ranked Indiana State for a Halloween contest today. In three wins at home in 2015, ISU has outscored its opponents by a margin of 136-55.
WARRUM, SPELMAN EARN WEEKLY VALLEY HONORS
Illinois State needed a great offensive performance against No. 20 Western Illinois to come away with a 48-28 victory. Wide receiver Anthony Warrum and center Mark Spelman each had a big part in that success and each was honored by the league office for their contributions to the win. Warrum averaged 42.5 yards per catch and was responsible for three touchdowns against the Leathernecks. Spelman and the rest of the offensive line blocked the way, as the Redbirds amassed 517 yards of total offense, averaged 7.0 yards per carry and totaled 306 rushing yards.
TOPPING THE CENTURY MARK ON A CONSISTENT BASIS
A stout Iowa Hawkeyes defense kept ISU All-American running back Marshaun Coprich corralled in the season-opening loss (Sept. 5). Since that time, however, the "Young Bull" has run wild against opposing defenses and once again ranks among the best running backs in FCS football. With his 206 yards and two touchdowns against No. 20 Western Illinois (Oct. 24), Coprich rushed for over 100 yards for the sixth-consecutive game and for the 20th time in the last 22 games. His career rushing total now sits at 4,213, which is No. 1 among all active FCS players and ranks him No. 10 on the all-time MVFC list. He is just one yard shy of tying former Indiana State All-American Shakir Bell for ninth place and just 96 yards away from tying former NDSU back John Crockett (4,309) for sixth place on the list.
BIG PLAY REDBIRDS
The Redbird offense was explosive in 2014, and it has shown that it still has that ability in 2015. Through seven games, the Redbirds have posted 52 plays of over 20 yards or more and have turned 17 of those plays into six points. ISU quarterbacks have completed 25 throws of 20 yards or more and have converted 11 of those into scores, and runners have 15 long runs that have turned into five touchdowns. Wide receiver Anthony Warrum has been the biggest playmaker, with 16 long grabs that he has turned into nine touchdowns.
LONGEST HOME WINNING STREAK IN FCS FOOTBALL
Four-time defending national champion North Dakota State held the longest home winning streak in the FCS, until the Bison fell to South Dakota (Oct. 17). With 16 home wins in a row, Illinois State now owns the longest home winning streak in FCS football. ISU's streak at Hancock Stadium is the third-longest win streak in MVFC history, trailing NDSU (26) and UNI (25). Harvard and Cornell are next at 10 wins in a row each, and Jacksonville is next with nine-straight wins each.
WARRUM IN THE ZONE
With the graduation of the team's top-three receivers from 2014, the Redbird offense was looking at junior wideout Anthony Warrum to become the team's top threat in the passing game. Through seven games, he has not disappointed, as he leads the team with 30 receptions for 743 yards and he has scored 10 touchdowns on the season. He has been particularly dangerous of late, with 364 yards and five touchdowns in just the last two games. Against Missouri State (Oct. 17), Warrum put together a 194-yard, three touchdown performance, and he followed that up with a 170-yard, two-score performance against No. 20 Western Illinois (Oct. 24).
TOUGH AS SUPERMAN
Quarterback Tre Roberson has been outstanding in 2015 despite battling a hand injury, and he saved his best performance of the year for Missouri State (Oct. 17). Roberson threw for 304 yards with three touchdowns, while leading the Redbirds to a 38-2 win over the Bears. It marked his first 300-yard passing game of the season and his third during his time with the Redbirds. The preseason All-American and STATS Offensive Player of the Year Watch List member has thrown for 1,157 yards and 11 touchdowns, while adding 296 yards on the ground with four rushing scores for ISU during its 6-1 start to the season.
WELCOME BACK ALUMNI
Illinois State hosted its annual Homecoming game on Oct. 24 and welcomed back alumni, family and friends for the big game against in-state rival No. 20 Western Illinois. With the team's impressive 48-28 win over the Leathernecks, the Redbirds have won six of the last seven Homecoming contests, and are 49-40-6 overall in those games.
OFFENSIVE DUO AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Marshaun Coprich and Anthony Warrum have put up numbers through six games that rank them among some of the top performers in all of FCS football. Coprich, who led the FCS last season in rushing yards and touchdowns, ranks No. 3 in the country in rushing yards per game (140.7), rushing touchdowns (12) and rushing yards (985), and is No. 4 in scoring, with 10.3 points per game. Warrum ranks No. 2 in receiving touchdowns (10), is No. 4 in yards per reception (24.77), No. 5 in receiving yards (743) and No. 8 receiving yards per game (106.1).
MINIMIZING MISTAKES AND PENALTIES KEY TO SUCCESS
Illinois State head coach Brock Spack has preached focus and attention to detail in his seven seasons as head coach and stressed the importance of not beating yourself to his teams. The 2015 Redbirds seemed to have embraced this concept, as they rank among the FCS leaders in fewest penalties and turnovers. ISU ranks No. 9 in the country in fewest penalties with just 33 total and No. 23 in turnovers lost with just eight total (four fumbles, four interceptions).
