Top 10 Contest With No. 9 UNI Next Up For No. 7 ISU

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Nov. 2, 2019
Time: 12:05 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Illinois
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 13,391
Series: UNI leads 21-13
Last: UNI won 26-16 (Oct. 28, 2018)
Watch: ESPN+ / NBC Sports Chicago
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM / TuneIn

THE GAME
Winners of three-straight games, No. 7 Illinois State (6-2, 3-1 MVFC) continues its homestand with a crucial conference matchup against No. 9 UNI (5-3, 3-1 MVFC). The Redbirds and the Panthers are tied for second place in the conference standing along with South Dakota State, who both teams play in the coming weeks.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Panthers will meet for the 35th time, with Northern Iowa holding a 21-13 advantage over Illinois State in the all-time series. ISU has won four of the last six games against UNI, including the last three contests at Hancock Stadium. Overall, the Redbirds are 5-4 against the Panthers since 2009.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 11th season as the head coach at Illinois State (80-47). 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).

Northern Iowa: Mark Farley (UNI, 1987) is in his 19th season as the head coach of his alma mater (154-81). UNI has won at least a share of seven MVFC titles and has advanced to the quarterfinals (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015), semifinals (2001, 2008) and the national title game (2005) in seven of nine playoff appearances under Farley's guidance.

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 51-13 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 34-7 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

• The University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and has an enrollment of 10,497 students. The Panthers are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at the UNI Dome.
• The Panthers are ranked No. 9 in the STATS FCS Top 25 and No. 10 in the latest AFCA FCS Coaches Poll. One look at UNI's record and it tells the story of the season, with a 4-0 record at home and a 1-3 record on the road. 
• According to Massey Ratings, UNI has faced the toughest schedule to date in the FCS. The Panthers lost a close game to No. 21 Iowa State to open the season, and have played the likes of No. 5 Weber State, No. 18 Youngstown State and No. 1 North Dakota State so far.
• Once again, the Panthers are one of the better defenses in the conference and the FCS.  UNI is 13th in total defense, 22nd in scoring defense, 9th in tackles for loss and 8th in sacks. 
• Isaiah Weston and Chris Kolarevic have both had stellar comeback seasons for the Panthers. Weston missed all of last season and through eight games leaves the MVFC in receiving touchdowns (10), receiving yards (856) and yards per game (107.0) Kolarevic has played in just five games, but ranks sixth on the team with 43 tackles and has earned a pair of MVFC Player of the Week honors. 

 LAST TIME VS. THE PANTHERS (11/10/2018)
Illinois State was outscored 16-0 in the second quarter by Northern Iowa, as the Panthers defeated the Redbirds by a final score of 26-16 inside the UNI Dome. Quarterback Jake Kolbe finished the game 21-of-27 for 180 yards, with two touchdowns one each to Braxton Haley and Spencer Schnell.

FLYING HIGH IN THE POLLS
Illinois State currently sits at No. 7 in the FCS Coaches Poll and  the STATS FCS Top 25. Four MVFC teams are ranked again in the polls this week, including North Dakota State (No. 1), South Dakota State (No. 4), Illinois State (7) and Northern Iowa (9) . The Redbirds have been ranked in every poll so far this season, with a high ranking of No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll.

STRONG IN THE RED ZONE
Thanks to an increase in sacks and TFLs through eight games this season, the Illinois State defense finds itself in the Top 20 in FCS football in total defense. Another key reason for that success has been the team's ability to keep opponents from scoring in the red zone. Opponents are scoring just 52.0 percent of the time when inside the Redbirds' 20 yard line, which is the No. 1 mark for a defense in all of FCS football. 

STARTING FAST
For the past several seasons, the Illinois State football team has been known as a second half team, pulling away from opponents late in contests to pick up wins. However, that trend seems to be reversed so far in 2019 as the Redbirds have outscored opponents 55-33 in the first quarter and 113-57 in the first half. The Redbirds are now 6-1 when they are tied or leading at the half and have outscored opponents 189-133 overall.

80 FOR SPACK
Brock Spack's resume as the head coach at Illinois State includes four FCS playoff appearances, a MVFC Coach of the Year honor and a FCS Championship Game appearance. Thanks to his team's win over Indiana State, Spack was able to add another accolade with his 80th career win as the head coach at Illinois State. With a career record of 80-47 (.630), Spack is the second-winningest coach in program history and is just 6 wins away from tying Edwin Struck for the career wins record at ISU. 

MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD
James Robinson has already cemented his legacy as one of the best running backs in school history, and his performances of late have only added to his resume. With his 180 yards rushing against Indiana State, Robinson increased his career total to 3,469 yards, just 233 yards short of
catching Toby Davis at No. 2 with 3,702 yards, well within his reach with four 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 (5.74) and second in rushing touchdowns with 40. 

PROTECTING THE NEST 
Opposing teams coming to Hancock Stadium have not felt very welcome in the past 11 seasons, as Redbird teams led by Spack have not been very accommodating in the win column to visitors. ISU is a combined 51-13 at home during Spack's tenure and have gone 34-7 at Hancock Stadium since the renovation of the facility in 2013. 

HIMMELMAN DOES IT AGAIN
For the second time this season, Illinois State offensive lineman Drew Himmelman was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week. Steady rain and wind played havoc on the Illinois State and Indiana State game last Saturday, forcing most of the offensive action to the ground. That seemed to play in the favor of the Redbirds, as the ISU rushing attack led by Himmelman and the offensive line amassed 287 yards on the ground in a 24-7 victory over the Sycamores. Himmelman graded out at 92 percent and was instrumental in the success of James Robinson, who rushed for 180 yards and two scores on the ground in the adverse conditions.