Final Road Contest At Indiana State Awaits No. 22 Redbirds

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Nov. 10, 2018
Time: Noon CT
Site: Terre Haute, Indiana
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 12,764
Series: Illinois State leads 37-30-2
Watch: ESPN3
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 93.7 FM / TuneIn

THE GAME
One final regular season road contest awaits No. 22 Illinois State (5-4, 2-4 MVFC), as the Redbirds head to Terre Haute, Indiana, to face Indiana State (5-4, 3-3 MVFC) at Memorial Stadium. The Redbirds will be looking to snap a three-game losing slide, while the Sycamores are hoping to extend their current winning streak to four.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Sycamores meet for the 70th time, with Illinois State holding a 37-30-2 advantage in the all-time series. The 'Birds have won 11 of the last 13 contests overall against the Sycamores and are 7-2 against the Trees under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Indiana State did win the last game at Memorial Stadium in 2016 by a score of 34-31 and also picked up a home win over Illinois State in 2010.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Illinois State (73-44). 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.

Indiana State: Curt Mallory (Michigan, 1992) is in his second season at the head coach at Indiana State (5-15). After going 0-11 in his first season at the helm in 2017, Mallory has led a Sycamore resurgence in 2018 that has seen the team win its last three games in a row and five times overall to get right in the mix of the MVFC conference standings.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Indiana State University is located in Terre Haute, Indiana, and has an enrollment of 11,591 students. The Sycamores are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• Coming off an 0-11 season a year ago, the Sycamores were picked to finish last in the MVFC in 2018. With its victory last week over South Dakota, Indiana State moved to 5-4 overall and 3-3 in MVFC play despite being outgained by nearly 100 yards by the Coyotes.
• Part of the reason for Indiana State's success this season has been the Sycamores not beating themselves, as they have turned the ball over just three times (1 INT, 2 FUM) in 2018, tied for the fewest turnovers in the FCS with Princeton. 
• Facing 3rd-and-3 on the three yard line, Ryan Boyle threw a touchdown pass to Dante Hendrix in the third overtime period, as the Sycamores claimed their third-straight win with a 51-48 victory over South Dakota last Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
• Boyle and Katrell Moss each earned MVFC weekly honors after their performances during the Sycamores' 51-48 triple overtime victory over USD. Boyle was tabbed as the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week, while Moss earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
• Boyle accounted for a program-record seven touchdowns and tied an Indiana State single-game record with five passing touchdowns, including three during the overtime periods. Moss recorded a season-high 18 tackles, including 10 solo stops, and finished with 3.5 tackles-for-loss in the victory over the Coyotes.

LAST TIME VS. THE SYCAMORES (9/30/2017)
A 24-point first half offensive output was more than enough for No. 8 ranked Illinois State against Indiana State, as the Redbirds secured a 24-13 win over the Sycamores in front of a sellout crowd at Hancock Stadium. Touchdown connections of 54 yards and 77 yards from Jake Kolbe to Christian Gibbs staked the Redbirds to a 24-0 lead at the half and the staunch Redbird defense held the Sycamores to just 13 points in the second half to come away with the victory. 

A TALE OF TWO HALVES
One look at the team's record through nine 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 has outscored its opponents 85-19 in the first half. However, ISU has trailed 78-10 prior to half in its four losses so far this season. In its three-game losing skid, the Redbirds have been bested 68-10 in the first half, but the Redbirds topped NDSU, SDSU and UNI by a total of 42-3 in the fourth quarter. Overall, Illinois State has posted a 114-16 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). He has a pair of 100-plus yard games in his time at Illinois State and is second in the league among league first-year players with 600 yards receiving. He leads all freshman in yards per catch (18.2) 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 600 receiving yards have set a new single-season standard for a freshman at Illinois State.

TAYLOR TAKEAWAYS
In his first year as a starter for the Redbird defense, cornerback Devin Taylor has certainly made his presence felt. At UNI, Taylor stepped in front of an Eli Dunne pass in the end zone to stop a potential Panther scoring threat. The interception was Taylor's third of the season, tying him with safety Luther Kirk for the team lead in that category. His three interceptions tie him for second in the MVFC and he also ranks second in the conference with 12 passes defended on the season.

ROBINSON APPROACHING A MILESTONE
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 in South Dakota State and UNI. However, Robinson is just 39 yards away from the 1,000 yard mark as he heads into this week's game at Indiana State. Robinson, a member of the Walter Payton Award Watch List, leads the league in rushing yards and would become the first Redbird back since 2015 to surpass the 1,000 yard plateau. Robinson ranks No. 10 in the FCS with those 961 rush yards and also sits in the top 20 in rushing touchdowns (10) and rushing yards per game (106.8).

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 43.8 yards per punt. That mark leads Valley Football and is No. 8 in the FCS, and Bohlken also leads the league in punts over 50 yards (19) and punts downed inside the 20 yard line (18). 

THE CAPTAIN TAKES CHARGE
An injury to starting quarterback Brady Davis just before halftime pushed senior captain Jake Kolbe into action to start the second half against South Dakota State. No stranger to playing in tough situations in his career, Kolbe inherited a 21-point deficit and did everything he could to get his team back into the game. The Naperville, Illinois, native completed 65 percent of his passes and threw for 183 yards and three touchdowns against the Jackrabbits in his most extensive action of the season.

MR. RELIABLE
Each week, when the passing game needs a big play it seems like Spencer Schnell always steps up. Throughout his career at ISU, Schnell has been one of the most reliable players on the field and his numbers this year are proving that once again. The Elkhart, Indiana, native recorded 112 yards on five receptions with a touchdown against North Dakota State, his second 100-plus yard performance of the season. Schnell is currently second in the MVFC in touchdown catches (7) and third in receptions (52) and receiving yards (692) . He now ranks No. 5 on the ISU career receptions list (162) and No. 9 in career receiving yards (1,850). With 150 more yards, Schnell will become just the ninth player in school history to record 2,000 career receiving yards.

GROUND AND POUND
The Redbird running back duo of James Robinson and Markel Smith have combined to give opposing defenses fits all season, and they helped ISU rush for over 400 yards in its 51-3 Homecoming win over Southern Illinois. Each set career highs and scored a touchdown, as Robinson (202) and Smith (143) tallied 345 of the team's 409 rushing yards against the Salukis. It marked the second time in as many seasons that each rushed for over 100 yards in the same contest and the 409 yards gained on the ground were the fifth-most in a game for a Redbird team in school history.

SPREADING THE WEALTH
For the second time this season, Redbird quarterback Brady Davis tossed four touchdown passes as ISU rolled to its win over Southern Illinois. Davis also made sure to spread the wealth around to his receivers, as four different pass catchers hauled in scores on the afternoon. Andrew Edgar was the first recipient, as he hauled in his second score of the year on a 10-yard pass in the second quarter. Just two minutes later, Davis found tight end Robert Gillum in the end zone for a three-yard touchdown, also his second of the year. Braxton Haley capped off the explosive second quarter with his first touchdown reception at ISU, a four-yard score just before half. Mr. Reliable Spencer Schnell was the final beneficiary of Davis' generosity on the day, as he hauled in a 16-yard grab for his fifth score of the season. Overall, eight different ISU players have caught a touchdown pass this season.