No. 8 Redbirds Return Home For Contest Against The Sycamores

DETAILS
Date: Sept. 30, 2017
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Illinois
Stadium: Hancock Stadium (13,391)
Series: ISU leads 36-30-2
Streak: Lost 1
Last: L, 34-31 at Indiana State on Sept. 24, 2016
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM
Streaming Audio: GoRedbirds.com and TuneIn App
Watch: Valley Football on ESPN3

THE GAME
After coming away with a pair of tough road wins, No. 8 ranked Illinois State (3-0) returns home to face MVFC foe Indiana State (0-3) Saturday as part of CommUniversity Day and Reggie's Kids Club Day at Hancock Stadium. The Redbirds will be looking to bounce back after last year's tough loss on the road to the Sycamores in their league home opener.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Indiana State will face off for the 69th time on Saturday, with the series dating back to 1936. The Redbirds have won 16 of the last 19 games in the series overall against the Sycamores, but were defeated by Indiana State last season in Terre Haute by a score of 34-31. That snapped a five-game winning streak for the Redbirds in the series and Illinois State has not lost to Indiana State at Hancock Stadium for 20 years dating back to a 16-13 loss in 1997.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Illinois State: Jake Kolbe, QB, 6-3, 220, Jr., Naperville, Illinois (Naperville Central HS)
Junior quarterback Jake Kolbe led the Redbirds with a career-best effort in the 34-9 MVFC opening win over Missouri State last Saturday. The Naperville, Illinois, native went 24-for-32 with a career-high of 312 yards passing for his first 300-yard game. Kolbe threw a touchdown pass, while also rushing for a seven-yard touchdown in the victory over the Bears. 

Indiana State: Bob Pugh, WR, 5-11, 190, Sr., Foley, Alabama (Foley HS)
Senior wide receiver Bob Pugh was named the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week and also earned MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, after recording the second-best receiving game in school history (and fifth-best in the history of the Valley) with 260 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches against Liberty two weeks ago. 

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
>> Indiana State University is located in Springfield, Missouri, and has an enrollment of 13,565 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 2016 season with a 4-7 record overall and 2-6 mark in MVFC play. Indiana State returns 37 letterwinners and 11 starters from that team in 2017.
>> The Trees are led by Curt Mallory, who is in his first season at Indiana State (0-3). Mallory, a 22-year veteran as an assistant coach in the college ranks, is the son of Indiana's all-time winningest head coach Bill Mallory, who coached the Hoosiers from 1984-96. Most recently, Mallory has been the pass defense coordinator and secondary coach under former North Dakota State head coach Craig Bohl at Wyoming in 2015 and 2016.
>> The Sycamores are off to a 0-3 start to the 2017 season and are coming off a bye week. They lost a heartbreaker to Eastern Illinois in the season opener 22-20 and then suffered a 42-7 defeat at the hands of the nationally-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The Sycamores then lost another tight contest at nationally-ranked Liberty, falling by a score of 42-41.
>> After rewriting the Indiana State record book at No. 19 Liberty two weeks ago, wide receiver Bob Pugh was named the STATS FCS National Offensive Player of the Week. Pugh, who was also named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week alongside Indiana State quarterback and Newcomer of the Week Cade Sparks, recorded the second-best receiving game in school history (and fifth-best in the history of the Valley) with 260 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches against the Flames. 

THE LAST TIME THEY MET (SEPT. 24, 2016)
Seventeen fourth-quarter points were not enough to push No. 9 ranked Illinois State past Indiana State, as the Redbirds fell to the Sycamores, 34-31, at Memorial Stadium. Senior wide receiver Anthony Warrum finished the game with 151 yards on 10 grabs to mark his second 100-plus yard receiving performance of the season and eighth of his career at ISU. After not starting the game due to injury, quarterback Jake Kolbe allied the team in the second half and threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns but it was not enough to move past the Trees.

THIRD QUARTER DOMINANCE
With the game tied to start the second half at Missouri State, the Redbirds quickly set the tone for the remainder of the game to secure the 34-9 win. Not only did Illinois State tie a school record of 28 points in the third quarter while scoring a touchdown on every possession, but the Redbirds did not allow a single first down or any yardage to the Bears in the stanza. Markel Smith and James Robinson rushed for touchdowns before quarterback Jake Kolbe called his own number and rushed for his own. With seven seconds on the clock, Kolbe found Anthony Fowler in the end zone for a 28-yard score to tie the program record for points in the third quarter.
 
BLOCKING THE BEARS
Despite giving up an early touchdown, the Redbird defense held the Bears to a mere nine points in the Valley opener, thanks to a blocked PAT and field goal in the match up. Senior Matt McCown cut the Bears' opening drive short by stopping the extra point early in the first quarter. Fellow senior Adam Conley kept the momentum in favor of the Redbirds by blocking a 26-yard field goal attempt in the second quarter. The Redbirds had just three blocked kicks all of last season, and are well on their way to passing that total this season.
 
RUSHING TOUCHDOWN TRIFECTA
For the third time this season, the Redbirds' offense scored at least three rushing touchdowns. In Illinois State's previous two games, the scoring was spread among all quarters. However, the Redbirds' controlled the third quarter against Missouri State, rushing for three touchdowns consecutively. Markel Smith scored from six yards before James Robinson ran for an eight-yard touchdown. Jake Kolbe completed the trifecta with a seven-yard touchdown run, solidifying the win. Robinson and Smith have each rushed for at least one touchdown in each of the Redbirds' wins this season, further solidifying the two-headed rushing attack for ISU.

SLATTERY NAMED SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior placekicker Sean Slattery was a key factor in the Redbirds' win over Missouri State, and for his efforts, he was named the MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 24. Slattery was a game-changer in the first half for the Redbirds, evening up the score at 6-all at the half. The Rockford, Illinois, native began the game with a season-long 48-yard make in the first quarter, before knocking a 28-yard field goal through the uprights late in the second quarter. Slattery was also 4-for-4 on extra point attempts to finish the day with 10 points scored and he also kept dangerous Missouri State kick returner Deion Holliman at bay with four touchbacks on kickoffs in the victory for the Redbirds. On the season, Slattery is 6-for-8 on field goal attempts with a pair of makes from 40 yards or more, and is a perfect 14-for-14 on PAT attempts. He currently ranks third in the MVFC in scoring with 32 points this season and is among the top 10 players in the FCS in scoring at 10.7 points per game.

KEENE TOUGH UP FRONT
Dalton Keene has proven himself as one of the best interior defensive linemen in the MVFC in throughout his career with his impressive statistics. However, one aspect to his game that gets overlooked is his proficiency in deflecting passes at the line of scrimmage for pass breakups. In the past two seasons, Keene has got his big hands into the air to knock down eight pass attempts and so far this season, he deflected four attempts to lead the defense in passes defended. Keene has also been credited with three blocked kicks during his career, showing he has an affinity for re-directing footballs at the line of scrimmage.

CAREER HIGHS IN SPRINGFIELD
In the Redbirds first MVFC match up of the season, several Redbirds set career bests on the gridiron against the Bears. On the defensive side of the ball, linebackers Tuvone Clark and Ty DeForest each recorded their first career sack against Missouri State. Offensively, the pair of quarter Jake Kolbe and wide receiver Spencer Schnell upped their career highs. Kolbe set a career-best with 312 yards passing in the win, while also rushing for his first touchdown of the season. The game marked Kolbe's first career 300-yard passing performance at ISU. Schnell tied a career-high with nine receptions and set a career-best with 135 receiving yards in the victory for the Redbirds.

SPACK ECLIPSES NO. 100
When the Redbirds took the field against Missouri State, head coach Brock Spack led the team for the 100th time in his career at ISU on way to a decisive win. Spack became just the fourth coach in Redbird history to surpass the century mark of games coached at Illinois State, joining Edwin Struck (178), Howard Hancock (122) and Denver Johnson (102). Spack's 65 wins during his tenure are second-most to Struck's 86 victories and his winning percentage of .650 is the best in school history for a coach with multiple seasons.