2019 NCAA FCS CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
Date: Dec. 14, 2019
Time: 11 a.m. CT
Site: Fargo, North Dakota
Stadium: Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome
Capacity: 18,700
Series: NDSU leads 10-2
Last: NDSU won 37-3 (Oct. 5, 2019)
Watch: ESPN
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM / TuneIn
THE GAME
For the second week in a row, senior All-American running back James Robinson rushed for over 200 yards and led the Redbirds (10-4, 5-3 MVFC) to a 24-14 win over No. 8 national seed Central Arkansas in the second round of the FCS playoffs. With the win, ISU now heads to Fargo to face No. 1 North Dakota State (13-0, 8-0 MVFC) in the quarterfinals Saturday for the right to advance to the semifinals.
THE SERIES
Illinois State and North Dakota State will square off for the 13th time, with the Bison holding a 10-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Redbirds picked up wins over the Bison in 2009 and 2010, but have dropped eight straight games to NDSU since that time. The two teams have only met in the playoffs once previously: the 2014 FCS National Championship game that saw the Bison come from behind to beat the Redbirds, 29-27.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 11th season as the head coach at Illinois State (84-49). 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 7-4 in the FCS playoffs.
North Dakota State: Matt Entz (Wartburg College, 1995) is in his first season as the head coach at North Dakota State (13-0) and was named the 2019 MVFC Coach of the Year. Entz spent the previous five seasons as the NDSU's defensive coordinator and has been part of six MVFC championships and four NCAA national championships with the Bison.
THE @REDBIRDFB PROGRAM
- 8 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019)
- 6-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019)
- 2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
- 10-7 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
- North Dakota State is located in Fargo, North Dakota, and has an enrollment of 13,173 students. The Bison are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (18,700).
- Top-ranked North Dakota State extended its record streak of MVFC championships to nine, thanks to perfect 8-0 league record in 2019. The nine-straight titles eclipsed the previous league record of seven-straight by UNI in the early 1990s. Notably, the Bison have gone undefeated three times through an eight-game conference schedule (2013, 2018, 2019).
- NDSU set a new Football Championship Subdivision record with its 34th consecutive victory last Saturday, as the Bison pulled away from 19th-ranked Nicholls in the second half for a 37-13 win in the second round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship.
- After the Bison completed an unblemished 12-game regular season schedule, the squad was awarded all of the MVFC's top honors. Quarterback Trey Lance was named the league's Offensive Player of the Year, the league's Newcomer of the Year and the league's Freshman of the Year and teammate Derrek Tuszka was voted the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Head coach Matt Entz was also tabbed the MVFC Coach of the Year to round out the record haul for NDSU.
- Lance is also among the top four finalists for the STATS FCS Walter Payton Award, which is presented annually to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. Lance will be invited to the Walter Payton Award announcement Friday, Jan. 10, in Frisco, Texas, along with Northern Arizona senior quarterback Case Cookus, Monmouth junior running back Pete Guerriero, and Sacramento State junior quarterback Kevin Thomson. The only freshman nominated for this year's Walter Payton Award, Lance is also a finalist for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award.
LAST TIME VS. THE BISON (10/5/2019)
No. 1 ranked North Dakota State took advantage of early mistakes by No. 6 Illinois State and ran away with a 37-3 win over the Redbirds as part of Family Weekend at Hancock Stadium. After a fumble on the first drive of the game by the Redbirds, North Dakota State found the end zone on a 35-yard pass from Trey Lance to Noah Gindorff to make it 7-0. Less than three minutes later, a 53-yard run by Ty Brooks made it a two-score game at 13-0 after a failed two-point attempt by the Bison and the Redbirds never were able to get anything going offensively. Defensive tackle John Ridgeway led the way for the Redbirds with a career-best nine tackles, including five solo stops.
WHAT MORE CAN YOU SAY
Anyone who has been watching Illinois State in the playoffs the last two weeks has probably run out of superlatives to explain senior All-American running back James Robinson's performances. He started things off by breaking a school record and MVFC playoff record with 297 yards on 41 carries in a first-round win at Southeast Missouri. He followed that with 210 yards on 31 carries with two touchdowns in last week's second-round win at Central Arkansas. Over the past two games, Robinson has rushed for 507 yards on 78 carries (6.5 average) with touchdowns. He's broken off double-digit runs 17 times, with another negated by penalty, and has added three receptions. In total, the Rockford, Illinois, native has 81 touches on the 129 ISU postseason plays (62.79 percent). He is also the only player in MVFC history to post back-to-back 200-plus yard rushing efforts in the FCS playoff.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Illinois State defense has been one of the best units in the country for the majority of the season, and one look at the team's stats will show why they have been so effective. The Redbirds boast the No. 1 red zone defense in the country (.585), No. 2 in turnovers gained (33) and No. 3 in team sacks (3.57 per game) and passes intercepted (19). All that adds up to Illinois State ranking No. 4 in scoring defense (16.5 points per game) and No. 12 in total defense (307.1 yards per contest).
UNDER PRESSURE
Despite the Illinois State defense being ranked No. 13 in total defense overall at the end of the 2018 season, one area of concern was the team's ability to get after the quarterback as the Redbirds ranked 96th in the FCS with just 15 overall. That became a focus for the coaching staff in the offseason and their adjustments have certainly been effective, as ISU now ranks No. 3 in the country in sacks with 3.57 per game and 50 overall. That mark sets a new standard at ISU, topping the previous school record of 47 set in 1986. The Redbirds have also recorded 99.5 TFLs, which ranks No. 3 in school history just 4.5 short of the 104 recorded in 2003.
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 10-4 on the year. Overall, the Redbirds are 10-0 on the year when scoring first in the game, and they are 6-0 when scoring on their first possession of the contest after getting a touchdown on their first drive against Southeast Missouri. The 'Birds are also 8-0 when leading at halftime, and those quick starts have often resulted in scoring outputs of 20 points or more. When ISU scores 20 or more, they are now 9-0 on the season as well.
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. After last week's playoff victory at Central Arkansas, opponents have scored just 58.5 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 92.3 percent of the time in the red zone, which also ranks No. 5 in the FCS.
MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD
James Robinson has firmly cemented his legacy as one of the best running backs in school history. With his school-record 297 yards rushing against Southeast Missouri, Robinson moved over 4,000 career rushing yards to become just the second running back in school history to eclipse the 4,000-yard plateau, joining ISU all-time leading rusher Marshaun Coprich (5,195). The Rockford, Illinois, native and 2019 Walter Payton Award finalist ranks No. 2 in the ISU career record books in yards per rush (5.65), rushing yards (4,368), rushing touchdowns (44) and total touchdowns scored (46). Robinson also currently ranks in the top 10 in the FCS in rushing yards (No. 2 - 1,823), yards per game (No. 2 - 130.2) and rushing touchdowns (No. 5 - 18).
NO FLY ZONE
Head coach Brock Spack has called his defensive backfield the most talented he's had in his 11 years as head coach, and a lot of that has to do with the continued progression of junior cornerback Devin Taylor. A First-Team All-MVFC selection in 2019, Taylor has recorded a team-leading five interceptions and 18 pass breakups to total 23 passes defended on the year. That mark not only leads the MVFC, but also ranks him No. 6 in the FCS. With those 23 passes defended, Taylor is just two shy of the ISU single-season record of 25 set by ISU Athletics Percy Family Hall of Famer Sam Young in 1999. His 39 career passes defended also tie him for fourth all-time with former teammate and current Denver Bronco Davontae Harris.
THE QUARTERFINALS AWAIT
For the sixth time in school history and the fourth time under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds have advanced to the FCS quarterfinals following last week's win at Central Arkansas. The win also upped ISU's win total to 10, marking the 4th double digit win campaign in school history.
SENIOR STARS
Illinois State seniors Luther Kirk and James Robinson have accepted invitations to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl™ on January 18, 2020, at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. Kirk and Robinson are the fifth and sixth ISU players, respectively, to be selected to play in the prestigious showcase. Current Denver Broncos defensive back Davontae Harris and Dalton Keene both represented Illinois State in 2018, and former ISU standouts Chad Pegues (1998) and Boomer Grigsby (2004) also played in the game.
TURNOVERS TURN INTO POINTS
Back-to-back wins over Western Illinois and No. 4 South Dakota State happened because the 'Birds took advantage of turnovers and turned them into scoring opportunities. In ISU's two wins, it collected nine turnovers and turned those into 29 points in a pair of road victories. At Western Illinois, the Redbirds took advantage of five takeaways and scored half of their 28 points thanks to the Leathernecks blunders. Against South Dakota State, four turnovers resulted in 15 of ISU's 27 points and helped the Redbirds pick up their third-straight MVFC road victory. Overall, the Redbirds have 33 turnovers into 78 points on the season.
ROAD WARRIORS
If a team wants to have a chance at winning a conference championship or making the playoffs, it will have to win some tough road games. After a season-opening defeat at the hands of Northern Illinois, the Redbirds have bounced back with four-straight road wins to improve to 7-3 on the season at the time. ISU has averaged over 24 points per contest in those games and have limited their hosts to an average of just 10.5 points per game. The last time ISU had a streak of four or more road wins in a row came in 2012, when the Redbirds started the season 6-0 on the road before suffering a loss in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs at Eastern Washington. Overall, the Redbirds are 6-2 away from home in 2019.
