Redbirds Set To Host The Penguins For Senior Day

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Nov. 17, 2018
Time: Noon CT
Site: Normal, Illinois
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 13,391
Series: Illinois State leads 14-13
Watch: NBC Sports Chicago / ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 93.7 FM / TuneIn

THE GAME
Illinois State will look to end its season on a winning note and send its seniors off the right way, as the Redbirds host the Youngstown State Penguins in the regular-season finale on Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day at Hancock Stadium. A win would secure the team's ninth season in the last ten with a .500 record or better.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Penguins will meet for the 18th time, with ISU holding a slight 14-13 advantage in the series. Illinois State has won four of the last six contests overall against Youngstown State, including a 35-0 win over the No. 19 ranked Penguins last season in Youngstown, Ohio. 

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Illinois State (73-45). 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 FCS National Championship game, the first in the program's history.

Youngstown State: Bo Pelini (Ohio State, 1990) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Youngstown State (27-21) and his 12th season as a collegiate head coach (94-48). Pelini guided the program to the FCS National Championship game in just his second season in 2016. Prior to taking over at YSU, Pelini spent seven years as the head coach at Nebraska where he guided the program to nine wins or more in each campaign, including 10 victories on three occasions. 

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Youngstown State University is located in Youngstown, Ohio and has an enrollment of 12,756 students. The Penguins are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• The Penguins head into the game with a 4-6 overall record and a 3-4 mark in conference play.  
• YSU's defense forced two turnovers and held the UNI offense to 192 total yards, as the Penguins defeated the Panthers, 31-10, last week to weaken UNI's playoff hopes. Running back Tevin McCaster rushed for 136 yards on 35 carries with three touchdowns, while quarterback Montgomery VanGorder completed 13-of-22 for 209 yards and a touchdown for an offense that piled up 401 total yards on the afternoon.
• Senior offensive lineman Gavin Wiggins was named the MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week for his performance against UNI this past Saturday. Wiggins made his first career start at left tackle in the Penguins' impressive win. It was the first time in an MVFC game this year that the Penguins did not allow a sack. 
• Linebacker Armand Dellovade leads the way for the Youngstown State defense with a team-high 91 total tackles, including 45 solo stops. Against North Dakota State,  he had a career-high 16 tackles, the most by a Penguin since 2004.

LAST TIME VS. THE PENGUINS (10/28/2017)
The 16th-ranked Redbirds defeated No. 19 Youngstown State (3-5, 1-4 MVFC) in commanding 35-0 fashion at Stambaugh Stadium in rainy Youngstown, Ohio. ISU controlled the game on the ground, rushing for 299 yards as Markel Smith (124) and James Robinson (117) each ran for over 100 yards to become the first ISU duo to achieve that feat since 2015. Robinson scored three times and went over 100 yards for the second-straight week and Smith picked up his first career 100-plus yard effort in the win for the Redbirds.

SCHNELL SECURES A MILESTONE
With his 155 yards receiving against Indiana State, senior wide receiver Spencer Schnell upped his career total to 2,005 yards to become just the ninth receiver in school history to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark. His two touchdowns also increased his career total to 14, tying him for eighth on the career list with a couple of current NFL Redbirds in James O'Shaughnessy and Cameron Meredith. The Elkhart, Indiana, native also heads into his final regular-season game with 173 receptions, good for fifth on the school's career list just four behind Rickey Garrett in fourth place with 177. The slot specialist also ranks third on the ISU career list with 5.24 receptions per game, cementing his place as one of the top receivers in school history.

A LOT TO PLAY FOR
Even though Illinois State's playoffs aspirations may have dissipated with its loss to Indiana State, the Redbirds still have a lot to play for in the season finale against Youngstown State. With a victory, ISU would secure its ninth .500 or better finish in the last ten seasons under head coach Brock Spack and also send its seniors out on a high note with a win at Hancock Stadium on Senior Day. With a young roster and 16 starters expected to return in 2019, a victory to end the year could be a good springboard for the Redbirds into the offseason.

A DANGEROUS DUO
The wide receiver tandem of Spencer Schnell and Andrew Edgar has been difficult to defend this season, and the duo showed that once again with their performances at Indiana State. Schnell hauled in 11 catches for 155 yards with a pair of scores and Edgar caught eight passes for 104 yards. The pair became the first two Redbird receivers to record over 100 yards in the same game since Dec. 6, 2014, when James O'Shaughnessy and Cameron Meredith each recorded triple digit receiving yard performances in a second-round playoff win over UNI. Schnell and Edgar have combined for 67 percent of the receiving yards on the season with 1,551 total and have tallied 13 of the team's 23 receiving touchdowns on the year.

1000 YARD MAN
Since rushing for 128 yards against No. 1 North Dakota State, running back James Robinson has found it tough to get over the 1,000 yard mark for the season against tough defenses. However, with 73 yards rushing, Robinson pushed past that plateau and now has 1,034 on the season to rank fourth in the MVFC. Robinson, a member of the Walter Payton Award Watch List, is the first Redbird back since 2015 to surpass the 1,000 yard plateau and now ranks No. 16 in the FCS with those 1,034 rush yards and also sits in the top 20 in rushing yards per game (103.4).

FLIPPING THE FIELD
Special teams play is vital to a team's success, and thanks to some strong punting by sophomore JT Bohlken, the Redbirds have been successful in the punting game. The Jefferson City, Missouri, native has been impressive in his first full season as the team's primary punter, averaging 43.2 yards per punt. That mark is second in Valley Football and is No. 11 in the FCS, and Bohlken also leads the league in punts over 50 yards (19).

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 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. He added another at Indiana State to give him a team-leading fourth of the season, which also ties him for the league lead in that category.

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 81 total tackles with 5.5 TFLs this season and ranks ninth in the MVFC with 8.1 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.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
One look at the team's record through ten games and it certainly seems like the Redbirds are a different team in wins and losses between the first and second halves. In its wins (excluding the opener against St. Xavier), Illinois State outscored its opponents 85-19 in the first half. However, ISU has trailed 99-20 prior to half in its five losses so far this season. In its four-game losing skid, the Redbirds have been bested 89-20 in the first half, but the Redbirds topped NDSU, SDSU, UNI and INS by a total of 48-10 in the fourth quarter. Overall, Illinois State has posted a 120-23 margin over opponents in the final quarter this season.

RICE AWARD WATCH LIST ADDS EDGAR
Freshman wide receiver Andrew Edgar is having one of the best freshmen seasons for the Redbirds in recent history, and for his efforts he was named to the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award Watch List, which honors the top freshman player in FCS football. Against No. 7 South Dakota State, the Chicago native set career highs in receptions (9), yards (202) and touchdowns (2). With 104 yards at Indiana State, he now has a trio of 100-plus yard games in his time at Illinois State and is second in the league among league first-year players with 704 yards receiving. He leads all freshman in yards per catch (17.2) and yards (704) and is tied with Dante Hendrix of Indiana State with four receiving touchdowns. Edgar is the first Redbird freshman to be named to the prestigious list, and his 704 receiving yards have set a new single-season standard for a freshman at Illinois State.