Redbirds Ready To Open 2019 Season At Northern Illinois

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: August 31, 2019
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Site: DeKalb, Illinois
Stadium: Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium
Capacity: 23,595
Series: NIU leads 25-22-9 (last in 2000)
Last: L, 52-0 on Sept. 9, 2000
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM / TuneIn

THE GAME
Winners of its last two games against FBS foes, Illinois State will look to extend that streak to three in a row when the Redbirds open the 2019 campaign against the Northern Illinois Huskies in DeKalb, Illinois. The Redbirds will look to start the season strong and make their way back to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2016 and the fifth time since 2009.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Huskies will play for the first time since 2000, however it will be the 57th time overall in the series history which dates all the way back to 1906. The two in-state foes played each other nearly every year from 1928 to 1966, before resuming the series from 1972 to 1981. However, the two squads have only squared off three times since 1991, with the Huskies having won the last four games in a row dating back to 1981. ISU's last win in the series came on Oct. 11, 1980, a 28-18 win over the Huskies in DeKalb.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 11th season as the head coach at Illinois State (74-45). 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.

Northern Illinois: Thomas Hammock (Northern Illinois, 2002) is in his first season as the head coach at his alma mater. Hammock returns to NIU after spending five seasons as the running backs coach with the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League.

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 48-12 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 31-6 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

• Northern Illinois University is located in DeKalb, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 15,755 students. The Huskies are members of the Mid-American Conference.
• NIU alumnus Thomas Hammock, who was hired as the Huskies' 23rd head football coach in January, makes his head coaching debut when the Huskies welcome  the Redbirds to Huskie Stadium. He previously spent the last several years as the running backs coach for the Baltimore Ravens.
• Quarterback Marcus Childers was recently named to the 2019 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List. Childers led the Huskies to their fifth Mid-American Conference championship is school history last year, when he finished the season with 2,175 yards passing and 531 yards rushing. He ranks 10th all-time at NIU in career passing yards (3,849), and his career average of 148.0 passing yards per game ranks sixth all time at NIU.
• Junior tailback Tre Harbison is a candidate for the 2019 Doak Walker Award, which is presented annually to the nation's top collegiate running back by the PwC SMU Athletic Forum.  
• Harbison became the first Huskie to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2015, when he totaled 1,034 yards on 206 carries as a sophomore in 2018. The second team All-Mid-American Conference selection ranked third in the MAC in rushing yards while averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
• Linebacker Antonio Jones-Davis was named to two 2019 preseason award lists, as the Huskie senior was named to the watch list for the 25th annual Bronco Nagurski Award and also to the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List. Jones-Davis is the Huskies' leading tackler from last year, amassing a career-high 130 tackles to rank sixth in the MAC. 

LAST TIME VS. THE FBS (9/22/2018)
For the second time in as many tries, the Illinois State football team took down an FBS foe as the Redbirds dominated Colorado State on the offensive side of the football to come away with a 35-19 win over the Rams at Canvas Stadium. Illinois State out-gained Colorado State 538-391 in the contest and the defense only allowed 134 yards on the ground, compared to the 267 gained by Redbird backs. James Robinson had a stellar effort with 22 carries for 185 yards with two TDs.

STEPPING UP
Illinois State has played FBS opponents seven times previously since 2009 under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack and will play a big-time opponent for the eight time in his tenure, when the Redbirds face off against the Huskies. ISU is 3-4 overall in those contests against teams from the MAC, Big Ten and Mountain West, with three of those wins coming in the last five games against FBS opponents. The Redbirds picked up a convincing 31-14 win at Eastern Michigan in 2012, before heading to the FCS playoffs and then 'Birds defeated Northwestern by a score of 9-7 in 2016 on way to another FCS playoff appearance. Their most recent success was last season at Colorado State, when the Redbirds dominated on the offensive side of the football in a 35-19 win.

A WINNING TRADITION
The Redbirds' 6-5 overall record in 2018 was the ninth .500 or better effort in the last 10 seasons under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, who began his tenure at ISU with 6-5 records in both 2009-10. That consistency of winning has not been seen at Illinois State since the 1940's, when the Redbirds posted seven winning seasons in eight years from 1943-50 under the guidance of coaches Howard Hancock and Edwin Struck. Overall, the Redbirds have amassed a 74-45 (.622) record under the leadership of Spack, the highest winning percentage of any football head coach with more than one season at the helm.

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Voted on by the team at the conclusion of fall camp, the Redbirds selected senior safety Luther Kirk, junior quarterback Brady Davis and junior punter JT Bohlken as their captains for the 2019 season. They will be joined each game by selected seniors voted on each week by the coaching staff as game captains.

BIRDS FLYING HIGH IN NATIONAL POLLS
Despite coming off a 6-5 season and a tough Missouri Valley Football Conference schedule on the docket, media, coaches and FCS pundits still believe in the Redbirds and their chance at success in 2019. Illinois State was selected No. 13 in the FCS Preseason Coaches Poll and No. 15 in the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25. 

REBIRDS PICKED THIRD IN MVFC PRESEASON POLL
For the first time since 2015, the Illinois State football program was picked to finish in the top three of the ever-competitive Missouri Valley Football Conference, as the Redbirds were picked third in the annual preseason poll conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors.
North Dakota State has been tabbed as the MVFC pre-season favorite for the eighth season in a row. This year, NDSU received 32 of 40 first-place votes and 392 total points in the poll while South Dakota State came in second in the poll, finishing with 348 total points while picking up four first-place votes. Illinois State (289 points), Indiana State (279 points) and UNI (266 points) were tightly bunched for the third, fourth and fifth-place spots, while Illinois State (3) and Indiana State (1) also received first-place mentions. 

OFFENSIVE STANDOUTS EARN PRESEASON VALLEY HONORS
A quartet of Illinois State offensive standouts were selected to the 2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason offensive team, as running back James Robinson and offensive tackle Drew Himmelman were named to first team while wide receiver Andrew Edgar and offensive guard Gabe Megginson were named honorable mention selections in the annual vote conducted by league coaches, media and sports information directors. 

FOUR REDBIRD DEFENSIVE STARS EARN MVFC PRESEASON PLAUDITS
Four Illinois State defensive standouts were selected to the 2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason defensive team, as safety Luther Kirk and defensive back Devin Taylor were named to the first team while nose tackle John Ridgeway and return specialist Christian Uphoff were named honorable mention selections. Counting both the offensive and defensive units, North Dakota State topped the league with nine total selections, including a league-best six on the first-team unit. Illinois State and South Dakota State, meanwhile, had the second-most selections, with eight total honorees each.

ROBINSON, HIMMELMAN EARN PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN NODS
The preseason honors have piled for the standout duo of James Robinson and Drew Himmelman, who were each named to the STATS FCS and HERO Sports FCS Preseason All-America Teams. Robinson was selected to the first team, while Himmelman earned a spot on the second team.
Robinson returns for his third season as a starter for the Redbirds and was named a 2018 HERO Sports FCS All-America Second-Team selection and also earned second-team honors from STATS FCS. The Rockford, Illinois, native also earned third-team All-America honors from The Associated Press. Himmelman was honored as a HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-American honor last season after a stellar freshman campaign.

HIRSCH HONORED WITH AFCA GOOD WORKS TEAM RECOGNITION
Illinois State junior center Garrett Hirsch was recognized for his contributions off of the football field, as Allstate and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) included him on the list of nominees for the 2019 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®. A total of 137 student-athletes with inspiring stories of community service were nominated for the annual award by their respective sports information directors. Hirsch is a two-year starter at center for the Redbirds and has been a critical part of ISU's success on the offensive front. The Towanda, Illinois, native played in 10 contests in 2018 for the Redbirds and led the way for All-American James Robinson, who rushed for a league-leading 1,290 yards with 12 touchdowns. 

TALENTED GROUP OF SENIORS
With 16 starters returning in 2019, its no shock that several of the team's leaders are looked upon as some of the best seniors in all of FCS football and maybe even the country. Seniors James Robinson (RB), Brady Davis (QB), Luther Kirk (S) and Adam Solomon (OT) have each impressed during their collegiate careers and have caught the eye of the scouts at the Reese's Senior Bowl. Each was named to the prestigious annual senior all-star game's preseason watch list, marking the most the school has ever received. Robinson and Kirk have also been highly touted in early FCS prospect rankings, being put among the top four in all of FCS football in the early 2020 NFL Draft projections.