In-State Rival Leathernecks Next Up For No. 10 Redbirds

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Oct. 19, 2019
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Site: Macomb, Illinois
Stadium: Hanson Field
Capacity: 16,368
Series: WIU leads 51-47-3
Last: ISU won 33-16 (Oct. 13, 2018)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM / TuneIn

THE GAME
The in-state road swing continues for No. 10 Illinois State (4-2, 1-1 MVFC), as the Redbirds head to Macomb to face Western Illinois (0-6, 0-2) at Hanson Field. The contest is the third for ISU on the road against an in-state FCS opponent, as the 'Birds previously picked up road wins at Eastern Illinois and at Southern Illinois last week.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Leathernecks will meet for the 102nd time, with WIU holding a 51-74-3 advantage over ISU in the all-time series which dates back to 1904. The Redbirds have won eight out of the last nine matchups against the Leathernecks overall and are 9-2 against WIU under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. 

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 11th season as the head coach at Illinois State (78-47). 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. He is the second winningest coach in ISU football history, trailing only Edwin Struck (86).

Western Illinois: Jared Elliott (Miami [Ohio], 2007) is in his second season as the head coach at Western Illinois (5-12). WIU's former assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator was chosen to lead the next era in Western football in January of 2018. During his time as an assistant at WIU Elliott assisted WIU to 14 wins, highlighted by an 8-4 record in the 2017 campaign.

THE @REDBIRDFB PROGRAM

• 7 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016)
• 5-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015)
•  2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
• The team is 50-13 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 33-7 at Hancock Stadium since 2013
• The team set a program-record cumulative GPA of 3.01 in the Spring 2019 semester

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Western Illinois University is located in Macomb, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 8,052 students. The Fighting Leathernecks are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Hanson Field (16,368).
• The Leathernecks fell to 0-6 on the season and 0-2 in league play, after dropping a 20-10 road contest last weekend at Indiana State. WIU held a 10-0 lead at halftime, but gave up 20 unanswered points to the Sycamores in the second half to remain winless on the season.
• Linebacker Zach Glisan leads the way for the WIU defense with 50 tackles on the season, including five tackles for loss on the year. Defensive tackle Lacale London leads the team with 6.0 TFLs on the season and is tied for the team lead with two sacks.
• The running back trio of Deontez Thompson (174 yards), Clint Ratkovich (113 yards) and Kendon Walker (107) share the duties in the backfield for the Leathernecks, who average just 3.0 yards per carry on the season.
• Quarterback Connor Sampson has thrown for 896 yards and three touchdowns through six games played for WIU. Dennis Houston (302) and Tony Tate (242) lead in reception yards, with Houston averaging just over 75 per contest.

LAST TIME VS. THE LEATHERNECKS (10/6/2018)
The No. 14 Redbirds (4-1, 1-1 MVFC) scored 21 fourth-quarter points to defeat the Leathernecks (2-3, 1-1 MVFC) by a score of 33-16 on a gloomy Saturday afternoon at Hancock Stadium. Running back James Robinson recorded his third 100-plus yard rushing effort of the season, finishing with 145 yards on 29 carries with a season-best three touchdowns. Safety Luther Kirk put the nail in the coffin on a 39-yard pick six, as the Redbirds went up 26-16 with 4:28 remaining in the game.   

SACK MASTERS
For the second time this season, the Illinois State defense racked up nine sacks against an opponent as the Redbird lived in the backfield in their win over Southern Illinois. The Redbirds recorded nine sacks and 12 TFLs in their victory in Carbondale, matching the nine sacks accrued in a win at Eastern Illinois earlier in the year. A total of six different players recorded a sack, with Romeo McKnight leading the way with three and Jason Lewan adding two. Linebackers Ty DeForest and Tuvone Clark, Iowa transfer Brandon Simon and safety Clayton Isbell also got in on the act for ISU. Illinois State currently ranks second in the FCS with 5.0 sack per game, but leads the country with 30 sacks overall.

RUNNING WITH THE DOGS
James Robinson has had a lot of success in his career but has been particularly dangerous when facing off against the Southern Illinois Salukis. With 150 more yards in a win over SIU, Robinson upped his total to 555 yards on the ground against the Salukis with three touchdowns in four contests. That averages out to 139 yards per game and nearly a touchdown per contest in his career against SIU. 

RECEIVERS STEP UP
After the injuries to starting wide receivers Andrew Edgar and Taylor Grimes were announced, ISU head coach Brock Spack made a point to mention that his team had quality, albeit young depth at the position. Against Southern Illinois, that depth proved beneficial for the Redbirds. Senior Braxton Haley doubled his season total with five grabs for 72 yards to lead the way and true freshman Kacper Rutkiewicz continued his strong campaign with three grabs for 80 yards in the victory. Redshirt freshman tight end/fullback Jacob Carl also hauled in the first pass of his career and running backs James Robinson and Jeff Proctor each got a chance to make a play out of the backfield. Austin Nagle, though, had the biggest impact with a two-yard TD catch in the second quarter that gave the Redbirds a two-score lead at the time.

REDBIRDS FLYING HIGH IN POLLS
Illinois State currently sits at No. 10 in the FCS Coaches Poll and at No. 11 the STATS FCS Top 25. Five MVFC teams are ranked in the polls this week, including North Dakota State (No. 1), South Dakota State (No. 3), Illinois State (10), Northern Iowa (14) and Youngstown State (18). The Redbirds have been ranked in every poll so far this season, with a high ranking of No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll.

KACPER THE DANGEROUS REDBIRD
He may share a first name with the beloved 'Friendly Ghost', but Kacper Rutkiewicz has been anything but nice to opposing defenses in his first season with the Redbirds. The true freshman continues to improve and has become a dangerous threat in the Redbird passing attack. Rutkiewicz leads the team with 324 yards receiving and his 24.9 yards per catch average ranks No. 3 in the FCS. He has yet to find the end zone, with one potential touchdown called back for stepping out of bounds on the sideline, but should he continue this pace he should be a solid candidate to make the initial Jerry Rice Award Watch announced soon.

ROMEO, ROMEO
A full, healthy offseason of work has done wonders for Illinois State defensive end Romeo McKnight, who is among the conference and national leaders in sacks and tackles for loss. Thanks to a three-sack performance against Southern Illinois, McKnight leads the MVFC with eight sacks and is third with 9.5 TFLs through six games on the season. He has led a Redbird defense that ranks No. 2 in the country in sacks per game and McKnight's numbers put him among the best in the FCS, as he is 5th nationally in sacks per game.

ROBINSON MOVES UP THE RECORD BOOKS
James Robinson has already cemented his legacy as one of the best running backs in school history, and his performance against the Saluki helped him move up in the record books. With his 150 yards rushing, Robinson moved up to No. 3 on the ISU career rushing yards list with 3,221 passing Willie Watts (3,210). He is 481 yards away from catching Toby Davis at No. 2 with 3,702 yards, well within his reach with 6 games left to play in the season. The Rockford, Illinois, native also ranks No. 2 in the ISU career record books in yards per carry (5.72) and third in rushing touchdowns (35), just two behind Davis (37).

BOHLKEN WITH THE BOOT
Junior punter JT Bohlken has a big leg and once again showed why he is one of the better punters in the conference with his performance against North Dakota State. Bohlken punted seven times for an average of 43.1 yards per punt with a career-long punt of 75 yards. That punt tied for the longest by an ISU player in a MVFC contest and is tied for the fifth-longest in school history. 

STINGY ON THIRD DOWN AND IN THE RED ZONE
Thanks to an increase in sacks and TFLs through six games this season, the Illinois State defense finds itself in the Top 30 in FCS football in total defense. Another key reason for that success has been the team's ability to get off the field on third down. Opponents are converting on third down just 28.3 percent of the time, which is the No. 9 mark for a defense in all of FCS football. The Redbirds are also No. 1 in red zone defense, allowing scores just 50.0 percent of the time to offenses in that key part of the field.

AIRING IT OUT
The Redbird offense came into the game against Northern Arizona averaging just 118 yards through the air in three previous contests. Needing to have a big night, the passing game led by the arm of Brady Davis rose to the challenge and exploded for 419 yards and two scores to help lead the Redbirds to the victory over the Lumberjacks. Davis recorded a career-best 419 yards, with 228 of those recorded by wide receiver Andrew Edgar, as the Redbirds racked up 534 yards of total offense to improve to 3-1 on the season. The 419 yards passing were the most for the Redbirds since 2012, when Matt Brown threw for 473 against Eastern Illinois.