Redbirds and Panthers Set To Square Off in 105th Mid-America Classic

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Sept. 17, 2016
Location: Normal, Illinois
Kickoff: 2 p.m. CT
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Stadium Capacity: 13,391
Series: ILS leads 54-41-9
Watch: CSN Chicago/ESPN3

THE GAME
Fresh off a thrilling 9-7 win over Big Ten Conference foe Northwestern last Saturday at Ryan Field, Illinois State must now turn the page to face longtime in-state rival Eastern Illinois in the 105th Mid-America Classic. The Panthers (1-1) are coming off a win over a FBS foe themselves, following a 21-17 win over Miami (Ohio), and face a Redbird team that is off to a 2-0 start for the third time in the past six seasons.

TELEVISION BROADCAST
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, as part of the Illinois State Television Network.  Below are channel listings where the game can be found:

• Comcast Cable – Channel 56/522
• ATT Uverse – Channel 740/1740    
• Comcast Xfinity – 37/200    
• DIRECTV – Channel 665    
• DISH Network – Channel 429/5429
• DISH Network Hopper Channel – 412-19    
• MEDIACOM – Channel 25/732

THE SERIES
The game renews the oldest FCS football rivalry in the state of Illinois and the 13th-oldest at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.  ISU and EIU have played 104 times, with the first game being played in 1901.  The Redbirds have won 10 of the last 14 games against the Panthers and lead the series, 54-41-9.  The Redbirds have also won the last three contests against the Panthers at Hancock Stadium.

PLAYER TO WATCH 
When the Redbird offense needed a score late in the game against Northwestern, redshirt sophomore Jake Kolbe took control and led his team downfield to put kicker Sean Slattery in position for the game winner. Kolbe went 7-for-7 for 63 yards on the drive that ultimately resulted in Slattery's 33 yard field goal to win it.  The Naperville, Illinois, native set career-highs with 30 completions for 287 yards against the Wildcats in the victory.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his eighth season as the head coach at Illinois State (58-29). Spack, the 2014 MVFC Coach of the Year, has led the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title the past two seasons and FCS playoff appearances three times in the past four years.
Eastern Illinois: Kim Dameron (Arkansas, 1983) is in his third season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois (13-13).  An experienced defensive coach with more than 15 years as a defensive coordinator, Dameron spent 2013 as the defensive coordinator at Louisiana Tech.

THE @REDBIRDFB PROGRAM

• 6 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015)
• 5-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015)
• 2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
• The team is 37-7 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 20-1 at Hancock Stadium since 2013

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Eastern Illinois University is located in Charleston, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 7,876 students. The Panthers are members of the Ohio Valley Conference and play their home games at O'Brien Field (10,000).
• The Panthers posted a 7-5 overall record in 2015, which included a 7-1 mark in OVC play, to advance to the first round of the FCS playoffs. The team returns 14 starters (nine on offense) and 41 letterwinners from last year's team.
• Following a two hour, forty-five minute weather delay in last Saturday's game between EIU and Miami (Ohio), the outcome came down to the final 56 seconds as Mitch Kimble hit Devin Church for a 7-yard touchdown pass as EIU won 21-17.
• It was the sixth win over an FBS program for Eastern Illinois, with the last coming during the 2013 season in a 40-19 win over San Diego State. 
• For his effort in the win over Miami (Ohio), Kimble was named the Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week and also took home OVC Newcomer of the Week honors.  Kimble completed 19-of-32 passes for 150 yards and three touchdowns, rushed for a team-high 49 yards and also caught a pass for 23 yards in the victory for the Panthers.
• Leading the way for the Panther defense is safety Pono Choy, who has recorded 21 tackles, including 12 solo stops.  Linebacker Nick Horne has also been a nuisance, with 13 tackles, three TFLs and one interception.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET (SEPT. 19, 2015)
Illinois State placekicker Sean Slattery hit a 32-yard game-winning field in overtime, as the Redbirds sealed a 34-31 win over Eastern Illinois in the 104th Mid-America Classic. A five-yard touchdown run from Jalen Whitlow on a quarterback keeper tied the game, 31-31, with under two minutes remaining. The Redbirds then were able to breathe a sigh of relief when EIU kicker Nick Bruno missed a potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation that gave ISU the chance to win in overtime.

THAT'S A FIRST
The Redbirds were 0-for-8 in previous tries against Big Ten Conference opponents heading into Saturday's game against Northwestern at Ryan Field.   ISU had recorded a pair of losses each to Illinois, Minnesota and Purdue and a lone loss each to Iowa (in 2015) and the Wildcats (in 2010).  However, that all changed when Sean Slattery connected on a 33-yard field goal as time expired to give the Redbirds a 9-7 win over the Wildcats and their first win over a Big Ten team in school history.  The win was the second for the Redbirds against a FBS foe in the past five seasons, with the last win coming at Eastern Washington in 2012.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
With only six starters returning from last season, the Redbird defense headed into 2016 as talented but unproven unit. Through two games, the group affectionately called "The Mutts" by their coaches has proven to be dominant in stopping opposing offenses.  Through eight quarters of play, the Redbird defense has allowed just one touchdown and just over one point per quarter.  In a pair of wins, opponents have averaged just over 200 yards per game of total offense and have only managed to run for 54 yards per game on the ground.  The defense has also been opportunistic with two interceptions, seven sacks and 13 TFLs through two contests.

WARRUM RETURNS TO FORM
Senior wide receiver Anthony Warrum headed into his final season with All-America accolades and school records already on his resume, but he still wanted to prove he is one of the best receivers in FCS football.  After a quiet debut in a win over Valparaiso in the season opener, Warrum returned to his All-American form and had a fantastic game against Northwestern in a huge victory for the Redbirds.  The Fishers, Indiana, native was quarterback Jake Kolbe's favorite target against the Wildcats, tying a career-high with nine receptions and finishing the game with 116 yards overall.  The 100-plus yard effort was the seventh of Warrum's career at Illinois State and hopefully the first of many in 2016.

WINNING WHEN IT COUNTS
Under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds have found a way to win late in games when it counted the most.  ISU has played a total of 15 games decided by three points or less and put together a staggering 14-1 record in those contests, with the lone loss coming at the hand of North Dakota State in the 2015 FCS National Championship game by a score of 29-27.

OFF TO A QUICK START
After the 9-7 win over Northwestern Saturday at Ryan Field, the Redbirds became one of four MVFC teams to start 2-0, including Missouri State, North Dakota State and Western Illinois. The Redbirds have jumped out to a 2-0 start for the third time in the past six seasons, also getting off to good starts in 2012 and 2014.  In both of those seasons, the team won at least five games before suffering its first defeat, with the 2014 squad putting together a 7-0 start before suffering its first loss. Before 2012, the last 2-0 start for the Redbirds came in 1999.

CLIFFHANGERS IN THE MVFC
Not counting overtimes, 19 MVFC games have been decided with a score on the game's final play, which includes Illinois State's 9-7 win at Northwestern this year. The league is 5-1 in non-league such-games and 2-0 against teams from FBS conferences. Here is how the Redbirds have fared in those contests:

• 10-18-14 -- Illinois State 37, Western Illinois 34 (FG)
• 9-10-16 -- Illinois State 9, Northwestern 7 (FG)

FLIPPING THE FIELD 
The hidden yardage battle on special teams is often a crucial component to winning a football game, and head coach Brock Spack constantly reminds his team of that fact. Thanks to senior punter Reece Attard, the Redbirds have been winning that secret battle through the first two games of the season. Last weekend against Northwestern, Attard flipped the field four different times and pinned the Wildcats inside their own 20 yard line three times, twice inside the 10 yard line. The Aussie booted six punts for an average of 48.5 yards, with a long of 57 yards, and currently ranks No. 6 in all of FCS football with a season average of 45.8 yards per punt.

STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE
Illinois State's 9-7 win at Northwestern marked the 40th all-time win for the MVFC against an FBS school. The league has at least one FBS victory in each of the past seven seasons (including this year). The win was the first for the Redbirds against a Big Ten opponent, but the second for the team in the last five years after defeating Eastern Michigan on the road in 2012.

PROTECTING HANCOCK STADIUM
The Redbirds have played extremely well at home under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, amassing a 37-7 record at Hancock Stadium over the past eight seasons. Perhaps even more impressive is the team's unblemished record in home-openers, which improved to 8-0 with this year's 50-13 win over Valparaiso in the first home game of the season. In those contests, the Redbirds have out-scored their opponents 411-140, averaging 51 points per game with an average margin of defeat at 34 points.