No. 13 Redbird Open FCS Playoffs At No. 12 Southeast Missouri

2019 NCAA FCS CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND
Date: Nov. 30, 2019
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Site: Cape Girardeau, Missouri
Stadium: Houck Field
Capacity: 10,000
Series: ILS leads 7-3
Last: SEMO won 38-33 (Sept. 22, 2001)
Watch: ESPN3
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / TuneIn

THE GAME
For the first time since 2016 and the fifth time since 2012, Illinois State (8-4, 5-3 MVFC) is back in the FCS playoffs and will hit the road to take on OVC co-champion Southeast Missouri (9-3, 7-1 OVC) in a first-round contest set to take place at Houck Field in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and Redhawks will meet for the 11th time, with Illinois State holding a 7-3 advantage in the series that dates back to 1943. SEMO has won the last two contests against ISU, with wins at home in 2000 (28-25) and in Normal in 2001 (38-33). The Redbirds won the five games previous to that in the series from 1970 to 1997. This will be the sixth time the two squads face off in Cape Girardeau, with the Redbirds holding a 2-3 record at Houck Field.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 11th season as the head coach at Illinois State (82-49). Spack has led the Redbirds to five appearances in the FCS playoffs 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). Overall, Spack is 5-4 in the FCS playoffs and has a 9-4 record as head coach against teams from the OVC.

Southeast Missouri: Tom Matukewicz (Fort Hays State, 1997) is in his 6th season as the head coach at Southeast Missouri (34-37). Matukewicz has led the Redhawks to the postseason for a second-straight season, a program, first and helped SEMO earn a share of the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference title with Austin Peay in 2019.

THE @REDBIRDFB PROGRAM

• 8 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019)
• 5-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015)
• 2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
• 8-7 record all-time in the FCS playoffs
• 3-time Missouri Valley Football Conference champions (1999, 2014, 2015)
• The team set a program-record cumulative GPA of 3.01 in the Spring 2019 semester

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Southeast Missouri State University is located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and has an enrollment of 11,502 students. The Redhawks are members of the Ohio Valley Conference and play their home games at Houck Field (10,000).
• SEMO will be making its third FCS Playoff appearance and second in as many years. Overall, the Redhawks are 1-2 overall in FCS playoff games with appearances in 2010 and 2018.
• The Redhawks carry a six-game winning streak into this year's FCS playoffs, presently the longest streak in the Ohio Valley Conference. Southeast Missouri won eight of its last nine games, overall. SEMO is also on a 13-game winning streak at Houck Field dating back to the final home game of 2017.
• With their 31-24 win over rival Murray State in the regular season finale, SEMO won a share of the 2019 OVC Championship. Southeast Missouri and Austin Peay shared the regular-season title, with APSU earning the league's automatic bid to the FCS playoff by virtue of its 28-24 win over SEMO on Oct. 12. The championship was SEMO's second OVC title overall and first in nine years. 
• Quarterback Daniel Santacaterina threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns, including two in the fourth quarter, to help the Redhawks beat Murray State and clinch a share of the OVC title. He leads the way for the SEMO offense behind center and has thrown for 2,366 yards and 18 touchdowns this season. His favorite target Kristian Wilkerson is close to breaking Southeast Missouri's all-time single-season record in receiving yardage, as he is second on the list with 1,236 yards.
• Linebacker Zach Hall is a force to be reckoned with for the SEMO defense. The 2018 Buck Buchanan Award Winner and All-American has followed up a stellar junior campaign with 113 tackles in 2019. He's added 3.5 sacks, 9 tackles for loss and two interception on the year as well for the Redhawks.

LAST TIME VS. THE REDHAWKS (9/22/2001)
Illinois State was outscored 22-3 in the fourth quarter and gave up the lead with 3:30 to go in the game on a 70-yard punt return touchdown by SEMO's Curtis Cooper.  The Redbirds outgained Southeast Missouri 441 total yards to 409, but could not come up with the victory. Running back Willie Watts rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns for the offense, while Andrew Papoccia led the way for the defense with eight tackles, 3 TFLs and a forced fumble.

BACK IN THE PLAYOFFS
From 2012 to 2016, Illinois State made the playoffs in four of five seasons including three trips to the FCS quarterfinals and a trip to the 2014 FCS National Championship game. However, the Redbirds posted back-to-back 6-5 seasons in 2017 and 20118 and the goal was for the team to get back to the postseason in 2019. Thanks an 8-4 overall record and a 5-3 mark in the always-tough Missouri Valley Football Conference, ISU accomplished one of its goals and was selected as an at-large participant in the FCS playoffs. It will be the team's eighth appearance overall and fifth under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Overall, the 'Birds are 5-4 in playoff games with Spack at the helm and are 8-7 all-time in the postseason.

BIRDS OWN THE RED ZONE
They say that games are won and lost in the Red Zone, and one look at the Redbirds' stats in the zone will show there may be something to that. Heading into this week's playoff game at Southeast Missouri, opponents have scored just 55.3 percent of the time when inside the Redbirds' 20-yard line, which was the No. 1 mark for a defense in all of FCS football. On the other side of the football, the Redbird offense has scored 94.1 percent of the time in the red zone, which also ranks No. 2 in FCS football.

FLYING HIGH IN NATIONAL POLLS
Illinois State currently sits at No. 13 in the STATS FCS Top 25 and at No. 14 in the FCS Coaches Poll following the regular season. The Redbirds have been ranked in every poll so far this season, with a high ranking of No. 6 in the FCS Coaches Poll and the STATS FCS Top 25.

AGAINST THE REDHAWKS
The Redbirds and Redhawks will meet for the 11th time, with Illinois State holding a 7-3 advantage in the series that dates back to 1943. Here's a look at the results: 

• 1943    13-Nov    13-0     H    W    
• 1944    14-Oct    13-12    A    W    
• 1969    22-Nov    20-26   H    L    
• 1970    26-Sep    21-7     H    W    
• 1991    21-Sep    42-7     H    W    
• 1992    14-Nov    52-33   A    W    
• 1996    14-Sep    29-0     H    W    
• 1997    13-Sep    41-7     A    W    
• 2000    16-Sep    25-28   A    L    
• 2001    22-Sep    33-38   H    L    

MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD
James Robinson has cemented his legacy as one of the best running backs in school history. With his 155 yards rushing against Missouri State, Robinson moved past Toby Davis to No. 2 on the ISU career rushing. With 82 more yards in the regular season finale at Youngstown State, Robinson upped his career total to 3,861 and he is now just 139 short of becoming the second back in school history to rush for 4,000 yards. The Rockford, Illinois, native also ranks No. 2 in the ISU career record books in rushing touchdowns (41) and total touchdowns scored (43).  Robinson also currently ranks in the top 10 in the FCS in rushing yards (No. 7 - 1,316), rushing touchdowns ( No. 9 - 15) and yards per game (No. 10 - 109.7).

UPHOFF'S BIG DAY
The Redbird defense did everything it could at Youngstown State to help keep the Penguins in check, holding YSU to just 270 yards of total offense in the contest. Safety Christian Uphoff was a big reason why they were able keep them in check, as he recorded a team-high nine tackles and also finished the game with a career-best 3.5 TFLs. The Redbirds finished with 10 TFLs in the contest and also added a pair of sacks and two interceptions, to up the season total to 14.

TWO FOR TWO
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Tristan Bailey has seen limited action for the Redbirds this season, but he has certainly made the most out of his opportunities the past two weeks. Last week in a win at No. 4 South Dakota State, Bailey's first reception of the season was a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brady Davis that gave the Redbirds an early lead in Brookings. This week, his second reception of the season on a nearly-identical route resulted in an eight-yard touchdown pass from Davis to put the Redbirds up 14-6. 

THE GHOST IN THE ENDZONE 
Coming into the game with Missouri State, true freshman wide receiver Kacper Rutkiewicz led the Redbirds in receptions and yards on the season. However, one blemish on an otherwise solid inaugural season for the wideout was that he had yet to find the endzone despite getting close several times previously. That all changed, though, in the first quarter when Rutkiewicz came down with a 5-yard pass from Brady Davis in the back corner of the endzone for his first career touchdown. Following the regular season, Rutkiewicz leads the team with 22 receptions for 418 yards with the one score and an average of 19.0 yards per catch.

TAKING THE EARLY ADVANTAGE
Getting out to an early lead has been very beneficial for the Redbirds this season and is a big reason why the team is 8-4 on the year. Overall, the Redbirds are 7-0 on the year when scoring first in the game, and they are 5-0 when scoring on their first possession of the contest after getting a touchdown on their first drive against South Dakota State. The 'Birds are also 6-0 when leading after the first quarter of play, and those quick starts have often resulted in scoring outputs of 20 points or more. When ISU scores 20 or more, they are now 7-0 on the season.