Homecoming Contest With The Salukis Up Next For No. 12 Redbirds

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Oct. 13, 2018
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Illinois
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 13,391
Series: Southern Illinois leads 41-36-3
Watch: Valley Football On ESPN
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 93.7 FM / TuneIn

THE GAME
Coming off a much-needed bounce back effort at Hancock Stadium last weekend with a win over in-state rival Western Illinois, No. 12 Illinois State (4-1, 1-1 MVFC) will welcome in another longtime Land of Lincoln foe in Southern Illinois (1-4, 0-2 MVFC) for Homecoming Saturday.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Salukis will meet for the 81st time, with SIU leading the all-time series 41-36-3. SIU snapped a three-game losing streak to ISU with 42-7 win over the Redbirds last season in Carbondale. Overall, Illinois State is 4-5 against Southern Illinois since 2009 when Brock Spack took over as head coach of the program, but the Redbirds have won the last two contests against the Salukis at Hancock Stadium.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Illinois State (72-41). Spack has led the Redbirds to four FCS playoff appearances, including three-straight from 2014-16 and guided the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title in 2014-15. His 2014 team advanced to the NCAA FCS National Championship game, the first in the program's history.

Southern Illinois: Nick Hill (Southern Illinois, 2008) is in his third season as the Southern Illinois head coach (9-18).Hill previously served as the Salukis' quarterback coach and offensive coordinator, before taking over as head coach before the 2016 season. In 2016, the Salukis ranked in the top-10 nationally in passing offense, total offense and scoring offense for nearly the entire year.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Southern Illinois University is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 14,554 students. The Salukis are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• SIU returns 51 lettermen and 17 starters from last year's squad that finished 4-7 overall and 2-6 in conference play.
• The Salukis picked up a season-opening 49-10 win over Ohio Valley Conference foe Murray State, but have dropped their last four contests in a row. SIU has been close in the majority of those games, losing the last three by a combined 14 points.
• For the third-straight week, Southern Illinois came up on the short end of a one-score game, falling to Youngstown State, 17-14, last Saturday at Stambaugh Stadium. The Salukis led for most of the contest and appeared to make a game-winning stop on defense with a 14-6 lead and five minutes remaining in the 4th quarter, however the Penguins tied the game, 14-14, with 4:36 remaining before making a 34-yard field goal with 26 seconds to go to win the contest.
• Running back DJ Davis has become SIU's feature back, surpassing 100 yards in the first four games of the season. Also a prolific receiver and return man, Davis is seventh all-time at SIU with 3,424 all-purpose yards.
• Bryce Notree leads the SIU defense with 36 total tackles to go along with an interception and four tackles for loss. Four players have at least 20 or more tackles on the season and Anthony Knighton leads the team with four sacks and 5.5 TFLs.

LAST TIME VS. THE SALUKIS (10/14/17)
Southern Illinois jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, as the Salukis secured a Homecoming victory over Illinois State by a score of 42-7 at Saluki Stadium. Starting quarterback Jake Kolbe connected with Spencer Schnell for a 19-yard score to get the Redbirds on the board with 49 seconds left in the third quarter, but that would be it as ISU turned the ball over three times in the SIU victory.

CAPTAIN KIRK
After sitting out the entire 2017 season, junior safety Luther Kirk returned to the team looking to make an impact in the Redbird secondary in 2018. His actions in the offseason led to his teammates voting him a team captain and his performance through five games in 2018 has shown just how much he was missed. In a big win over Western Illinois, Kirk put the game away with a crucial pick six that he returned 39 yards for a touchdown with 4:28 left to put the Redbirds up by ten points at 26-16. The interception was his second in as many weeks and his team-leading third of the season. He has also set a career-best with 23 tackles on the season, as he and the rest of the Redbird defense have already tied the 2017 team interception total through just five contests.

HOME SWEET HOME
There's just something about playing in front of the Redbird football fans at Hancock Stadium, as ISU improved to 29-5 in games played at home since the stadium was renovated in 2013 following it's in-state victory over Western Illinois. Overall, the Redbirds are 46-11 at home under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack and are 3-0 this season against teams from the state of Illinois on their home turf in 2018, with Southern Illinois coming in for a Homecoming matchup in Normal.

THE FIRST AXIOM OF WINNING
ISU head coach Brock Spack tells his team often that "the first axiom of winning is not beating yourself." Turning the football over is the easiest way to kill a game's momentum and send your team into a spiral in the loss column. So far, the Redbirds have heeded that warning and only turned the ball over once in 2018, while forcing 11 takeaways on defense for a +10 mark in the turnover column. ISU has a +2.00 turnover margin, which ranks No. 2 in the FCS, and is No. 1 in the country in turnovers lost with one, tying with North Carolina Central and Cornell.

REDBIRDS RANK AMONG THE BEST
Illinois State ranks No. 12 in the most recent AFCA Coaches' Poll and STATS FCS Top 25 Poll and sits near the top of the FCS in several categories. ISU boasts second-best turnover margin in the country (2.20), the seventh-best scoring defense (13.8 ppg) and is 16th in the FCS in scoring offense (36.6 ppg). The Redbirds also sit in the top ten in the FCS at No. 3 in passes intercepted (9), No. 6 in team passing efficiency defense (98.01) and No. 8 in fourth down conversion percentage defense (.188).

QUEST FOR A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Four teams from the Land of Lincoln appear on the 2018 Illinois State football schedule, and the Redbirds would like to bring home a 'state championship' with victories against their in-state foes. The Redbirds have already defeated a trio of in-state opponents this year, as they opened with a 46-0 victory of Saint Xavier and then beat Eastern Illinois by a score of 48-10 the following week in the annual Mid-America Classic. Last week's 33-16 win over Western Illinois made it three in a row against teams from the Land of Lincoln, and the Redbirds hope to make it 4-0 this weekend against Southern Illinois. 

RUMBLE ON MR. ROBINSON
Heading into 2018, James Robinson was on many pre-season lists and was expected to be one of the better backs in the FCS. Through five games, he is proving that he deserves that attention. The junior from Rockford, Illinois, ranks in the top 15 in the FCS in four different rushing categories and is No. 4 overall with his eight rushing touchdowns. He also ranks No. 4 in the FCS in total touchdowns with 9 and No. 5 in scoring at 10.8 points per game. His rushing yards per game average of 116.2 ranks third in the MVFC and he is tied for the league lead in rushing touchdowns with eight and scoring. Robinson has run for over 100 yards in three of the last four contests and scored multiple touchdowns in three contests, including a career-best tying three touchdowns in last week's win over Western Illinois.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Redbirds have become accustomed to finding the end zone on the defensive side of the football in recent years, and they kept that streak alive in the win over Western Illinois thanks to an impressive pick six by Luther Kirk. The 39-yard interception return for a score was the first for ISU since Mitchell Brees returned one 35 yards for a score last year in the season-opener vs. Butler. ISU has now scored a defensive touchdown in each of the last ten seasons under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. 

MATHEWS MAKING HIS MARK
After spending the majority of his time as a practice squad member and a special teams contributor for the Redbirds, senior linebacker Zackary Mathews has made the most out of his starting opportunity in 2018. The Rockford, Illinois, native leads the team with 46 total tackles with 4.0 TFLs this season and ranks sixth in the MVFC with 9.2 tackles per game. Against Missouri State, Mathews smashed previous career-bests with 16 total stops and 10 solo tackles against the Bears to lead the way defensively for ISU.