Road Test At SIU Next Up For Redbird Football

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Oct. 12, 2019
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Site: Carbondale, Illinois
Stadium: Saluki Stadium
Capacity: 15,000
Series: SIU leads 41-37-3
Last: ISU won 51-3 (Oct. 13, 2018)
Watch: ESPN3
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM / TuneIn

THE GAME
Illinois State will begin a two-game road swing this weekend, when the No. 13 ranked Redbirds (3-2, 0-1 MVFC) travel to Carbondale, Illinois, to face off against the Southern Illinois Salukis (2-3, 0-1 MVFC) in a crucial MVFC matchup for both squads early in the season.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Salukis will meet for the 82nd time, with SIU holding a 41-37-3 advantage over ISU in the all-time series which dates back to 1929. The Redbirds are 5-5 against the Salukis under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack and have won four out of the last five contests overall, including a 51-3 win over the Salukis at Hancock Stadium last year.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 11th season as the head coach at Illinois State (77-47). 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).

Southern Illinois: Nick Hill (Southern Illinois, 2008) is in his fourth season as the head coach at his alma mater (12-26). A former star quarterback for the Salukis, Hill served as SIU's quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for two seasons before taking over the top spot in 2016.

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

• Southern Illinois University is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 12,817 students. The Salukis are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Saluki Stadium (15,000).
• The Salukis have lost their last seven games versus ranked FCS opponents, with the last win over a ranked team coming on Oct. 14, 2017, when SIU beat No. 15 Illinois State, 42-7. 
• No. 3 ranked South Dakota State rallied from a halftime deficit to beat Southern Illinois, 28-10, on opening day for Missouri Valley Football Conference play last Saturday. The Salukis (2-3, 0-1) scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Karé Lyles to tight end Nigel Kilby to take a 10-9 lead with 12 seconds remaining before halftime, and maintained that lead until midway through the third quarter when Pierre Strong ripped off a 64-yard touchdown run to put the Jackrabbits back in front for good.
• The SIU defense was a big reason for the early success against SDSU, as the Salukis recorded a season-high 12 tackles for loss and four sacks against the Jackrabbits. Linebacker Makel Calhoun accounted for five tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss, while Cody Crider and Jordan Berner each had sacks for the SIU.
• Running back Javon Williams Jr. has been a bright spot for the Saluki offense, recording six touchdowns on the ground so far this season. He's picked up the slack in the absence of returning starter D.J. Davis, who missed the SDSU game due to injury.

LAST TIME VS. THE SALUKIS (10/20/2018)
Illinois State racked up over 400 yards on the ground against Southern Illinois, as the No. 12  Redbirds ran away from the Salukis by a score of 51-3 on a sunny afternoon at Hancock Stadium on Homecoming in front of 11,247 fans. he 51 points scored by the Redbirds were their most since scoring 67 points in a September 12, 2015, win over Morgan State. Quarterback Brady Davis went 10-of-15 for 118 yards with a career-best tying four touchdowns and running back James Robinson carried the ball 25 times for a career-high 202 yards and a touchdown.

ROBINSON TOPS 3000
James Robinson has already cemented his legacy as one of the best running backs in school history, and his performance against the Bison helped him move past a new career plateau. With his 94 yards rushing, Robinson moved over 3,000 rushing yards in his career with the Redbirds, becoming just the fourth back in school history to move over the 3k mark. Robinson currently ranks No. 4 on the ISU career rushing yards list with 3,071 and is just 140 yards from passing Willie Watts (3,210) for this place on the list. The Rockford, Illinois, native also ranks No. 2 in the ISU career record books in yards per carry (5.77) and third in rushing touchdowns (34).

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. Through five games, Bohlken is averaging 40.8 yards per punt with seven punts placed inside the 20-yard line with three of 50 yards or more on the year.

BIG JOHN
As a nose tackle, John Ridgeway typically doesn't come away after each game with a lot of sacks or tackles for loss, but he is certainly a big reason for the Redbird front's success in ranking in the top 10 nationally in sacks per game. Often taking up multiple blocks, Ridgeway still made a big impact for the Redbirds in their contest against No. 1 North Dakota State leading the team in tackles with a career-high 9. He currently ranks third on the team with 27 tackles on the season and has recorded 2 TFLs on the year.

REDBIRDS FLYING HIGH IN POLLS
Illinois State currently sits at No. 13 in the FCS Coaches Poll and at No. 14 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), Northern Iowa (10), Illinois State (13) and Youngstown State (17). The Redbirds have been ranked in every poll so far this season, with a high ranking of No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll.

STINGY ON THIRD DOWN
Thanks to an increase in sacks and TFLs through four 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 get off the field on third down. Opponents are converting on third down just 29.5 percent of the time, which is the No. 12 mark for a defense in all of FCS football. The Redbirds are also No. 4 in red zone defense, allowing scores just 58.8 percent of the time to offenses in that key part of the field. 

ROBINSON PAYTON AWARD WATCH
Senior running back James Robinson was a finalist for the Walter Payton Award in 2018 and was named to the preseason watch list again in 2019. After starting the season slow at Northern Illinois, Robinson has once again solidified himself as one of the best offensive players in FCS football with his performances in three-straight wins since for the Redbirds. The Rockford, Illinois, native is leading the MVFC and is No. 7 in the FCS with eight rushing touchdowns and 15th in rushing yards per game (105.2).

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. McKnight is currently tied for second in the MVFC with five sacks and is sixth with 6.5 TFLs through five games on the season and has led a Redbird defense that ranks No. 2 in the country in sacks per game. McKnight's numbers put him among the best in the FCS, as he is 8th nationally in sacks per game.