Redbirds Set To Open 2018 Against Saint Xavier

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Sept. 1, 2018
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Ill.
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capactiy: 13,391
Series: ISU, 1-0
Streak: Won 1
Last: W, 44-14 on Sept. 2, 2004
Watch: NBC Sports Chicago Plus / ESPN+
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM

CLEAR BAG POLICY 
The Illinois State Athletics Department will institute a new clear bag safety policy for fans and patrons attending games at Hancock Stadium during the 2018 season. Ensuring the safety of Redbird fans and guests is a top priority for ISU Athletics, and this new policy falls in line with similar safety measures instituted all over the country in collegiate and professional athletic venues. Click HERE for more information.

THE GAME
Missing out on the playoffs for the first time in four year in 2017, the Illinois State football team looks to get back to the postseason as it starts the 2018 campaign against NAIA foe Saint Xavier. The Redbirds were selected at No. 20 in the first-ever AFCA FCS Coaches' Top 25 Poll and were ranked No. 21 in the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25 headed into the season. The 'Birds will play six games at home in 2018, including four against in-state opponents at Hancock Stadium.

PROMOTIONS - Reggie's Kids Club Night 

• Member is offered one (1) free ticket to the game, with family members being provided a special rate of $18 (normally $27).
• The first 300 RKC members to reserve their free game ticket will also receive a Redbird mini football, to be redeemed inside gates with voucher
• Halftime fireworks display, presented by BOPI

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Cougars will play for the second time in school history tonight. The only other meeting between the two programs happened on Sept. 2, 2004, when the Redbirds defeated the Cougars 44-14 in Normal. Redbird running back Demetrus Johnson rushed for 161 yards and three scores, and Laurént Robinson hauled in four passes for 105 yards with two touchdowns in the victory for the 'Birds. Boomer Grigsby led the way for the ISU defense with eight tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery against SXU.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 10th season as the head coach at Illinois State (68-40). Spack led the Redbirds to three-straight FCS playoff appearances from 2014-16 and guided the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title in 2014-15.

Saint Xavier: Mike Feminis (St. Francis, 1990) is in his 20th season as head football coach at Saint Xavier (166-63). Feminis led the Cougars to the 2011 NAIA Football National Championship, helped the team earn Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League titles outright in 2009 & 2010, and the MSFA title in seven of the last 14 seasons.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Saint Xavier University is located in Chicago and has an enrollment of 4,384 students. The Cougars are affiliated with the NAIA and are members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA)
• The Cougars finished the 2017 season with a 10-2 overall record, including a 7-0 mark in MSFA play. SXU won the MSFA Midwest League championship, their 8th conference title and first outright championship as members of the Midwest League, and reached the quarterfinals of the NAIA Football Championship Series, defeating Grand View (Iowa) at home before falling to Morningside (Iowa) in the second round.
• Both SXU starting quarterbacks from last season are back for 2018, as senior Justin Hunniford and junior Alex Martinez split time under center a year ago. The duo combined for over 3,200 passing yards and 28 TDs.
• Junior running back Jamarri Watson was an All-MSFA Midwest League Second Team selection as a freshman in 2016. Last year, Watson had three TDs and 116 yards on 53 carries. The Cougars also return three of their top four receivers from last season, in juniors Nick Czeszewski, Harold Davis, and Chris Simmons.
• Senior and team captain Dmitri Joe anchors a defensive line unit that helped lead the Cougars to have the 12th-ranked defense in the NAIA last season, allowing just 324.2 yards of total offense per game. Joe was an All-MSFA Midwest League Second Team pick last season, after collecting 62 tackles and a team-high 14 tackles for loss. The trio of starting linebackers from last season all return as well, in senior Omar Salazar, and sophomores Danny Saracco and Josh Hettiger.
• The 6th-ranked Cougars dropped their season-opener last weekend, 52-7, at No. 15 Marian (Ind.). Saint Xavier (0-1) found themselves trailing right off the bat, as the first play from scrimmage was a 75-yard touchdown run for the Knights (1-0). Marian went on to score on six of their seven first-half drives, quickly adding to their lead.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Redbirds have played well at home under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack,
including in their home openers the last nine seasons. ISU is a perfect 9-0 in home openers in the past nine seasons, and the Redbirds hope to extend that streak to 10 against Saint Xavier this season. In 2017, the 'Birds made an early statement on the season with a 45-0 shutout win over Butler to open the season.

A WINNING TRADITION
The Redbirds' 6-5 overall record and a 4-4 mark in MVFC play in 2017 is the eighth .500 or better effort in the last nine seasons under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, who began his tenure at ISU with 6-5 records in both 2009-10. That consistency of winning has not been seen at Illinois State since the 1940's, when the Redbirds posted seven winning seasons in eight years from 1943-50 under the guidance of coaches Howard Hancock and Edwin Struck. Overall, the Redbirds have amassed a 68-40 (.629) record under the leadership of Spack, the highest winning percentage of any football head coach with more than one season at the helm.

O' CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Voted on by the team at the conclusion of fall camp, the Redbirds selected senior defensive quarterback Jake Kolbe, junior safety Luther Kirk, senior wide receiver Spencer Schnell and senior running back Nick Kielbasa as their captains for the 2018 season. They will be joined each game by another senior voted on each week by the coaching staff.

PROTECTING THE NEST 
Opposing teams coming to Hancock Stadium have not felt very welcome in the past nine seasons, as Redbird teams led by head coach Brock Spack have not been very accommodating in the win column to visitors. ISU is a combined 43-11 at home during Spack's tenure and have gone 26-5 at Hancock Stadium since the renovation of the facility in 2013.

REDBIRDS FLYING HIGH IN POLLS
Despite some key losses due to graduation and a tough Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule on the docket, media, coaches and FCS pundits still believe in the Redbirds and their chance at success in 2018. Illinois State was selected No. 20 in the AFCA FCS Coaches' Top 25 Poll and No. 21 in the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25. 

'BIRDS SELECTED FIFTH IN MVFC PRESEASON POLL
Illinois State was picked in the top half of the ultra-competitive Missouri Valley Football Conference, as the Redbirds were picked fifth in the annual preseason poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors. North Dakota State has earned the league title for seven-straight years and was a unanimous choice at the top spot, receiving all 39 first-place tallies and a total of 390 points. South Dakota State earned the second spot in the poll, finishing with 340 total points, followed by UNI (270), Youngstown State (258), Illinois State (248) and South Dakota (206). The league is coming off a season in which five teams represented the conference in the playoffs. The MVFC has had four or more playoff teams in four-straight seasons (earning five each in 2014, 2015 and last year). 

FIVE REDBIRDS EARN MVFC PRESEASON HONORS
A quartet of Illinois State offensive standouts were selected to the 2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason team and senior safety Mitchell Brees earned a spot on the defensive team in the annual vote. Running back James Robinson, offensive tackle Drew Himmelman and wide receiver Spencer Schnell were named to the MVFC preseason first team and tight end Tylor Petkovich was tabbed as a second-team selection. Brees was the lone Redbird defender, as he was named a second-team selection.

DUO NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
A pair of Illinois State football standouts have landed on the HERO Sports 2018 FCS Preseason All-America Team, as running back James Robinson and offensive tackle Drew Himmelman were honored by the organization Tuesday. Robinson was tabbed as a second-team selection, while Himmelman was named a third-team pick. Robinson was tabbed as a sophomore All-American by HERO Sports following the 2017 season, after he ranked second in the MVFC and No. 11 in the FCS in rushing touchdowns (12) and third in the conference in rushing yards (933). Himmelman was selected as a freshman All-American by HERO Sports last season, after he started all nine games he played in at left tackle for the Redbirds as a redshirt freshman.