SETTING THE SCENE
Date: Sept. 21, 2019
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Illinois
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 13,391
Series: NAU leads 1-0
Last: NAU won 37-16 (Oct. 7, 2017)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 93.7 FM / TuneIn
THE GAME
Coming off a big win in the Mid-America Classic on the road last weekend, No. 10/15 Illinois State (2-1) returns home to Hancock Stadium to wrap up non-conference action against one of the Big Sky Conference's best teams in Northern Arizona (2-1).
THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Lumberjacks have only met one other time, a 2017 matchup at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome in Flagstaff, Arizona. NAU got the better of the Redbirds in that matchup and came away with a 36-17 victory to give ISU its first loss of the season.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 11th season as the head coach at Illinois State (76-46). 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 Arizona: Chris Ball (Missouri Western, 1987) is in his first season as the head coach at Northern Arizona (2-1). Ball, who has over 30 years of college football coaching experience, comes to Northern Arizona after serving for three seasons as the defensive coordinator at the Memphis under head coach Mike Norvell.
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 49-12 at home under Spack's guidance
- ISU is 32-6 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 Arizona University is located in Flagstaff, Arizona, and has an enrollment of 31,057 students. The Lumberjacks are members of the Big Sky Conference and play their home games at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome.
- Chris Ball was named as the 30th head coach in the 104-year history of NAU Football on December 10, 2018. Ball, who has over 30 years of college football coaching experience, came to Northern Arizona after serving for three seasons as the defensive coordinator at the Memphis under head coach Mike Norvell.
- The Lumberjacks return 20 starters and 35 letterwinners from last season's squad. A total of 56 new players have joined the roster since Ball was named head coach.
- This will be the second game for the Lumberjacks against a Missouri Valley Conference opponent, as they opened the 2019 season with a 37-23 win over Missouri State in the opening game of the Big Sky-Missouri Valley Challenge.
- Senior quarterback Case Cookus tossed four touchdown passes, while completing 12-of-21 passes for 357 yards, to lead NAU to a convincing 55-21 victory over Western New Mexico last Saturday afternoon at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome to help NAU improve to 2-1 on the season.
- Cookus now has 82 career touchdown passes – just 12 shy of the NAU career record currently held by Jason Murrietta (94). He has now thrown four or more TD passes nine times in his NAU career and thrown for multiple touchdowns in all three games this season.
LAST TIME VS. THE LUMBERJACKS (10/7/2017)
The Illinois State offense struggled all game to get something going against NAU, who put up 443 yards of total offense against the Redbirds in a 37-6 win at the Walkup Skydome. NAU quarterback Case Cookus threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns in the contest, while ISU defensive tackle Dalton Keene led the Redbird defense with a season-best 10 tackles, one sack and 3 TFLs.
THE TROPHY COMES BACK HOME
The Mid-America Classic travelling trophy accompanied the Redbirds to Charleston on Saturday and the Redbirds made sure that it returned to Normal when the game was over. For the third-straight time and the fifth time in the last six games overall, the Redbirds defeated the Panthers in the 108th meeting of the longest-running rivalry in the state of Illinois. Thanks to the strong running of James Robinson and a stout Redbird defense, the 'Birds picked up their third straight win in the series at O'Brien Field and took a 57-42-9 lead in the all-time series.
MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD
All-American James Robinson bounced back from a tough outing in the season opener with three touchdowns and 178 yards rushing last week in a victory over Morehead State. He didn't want to be outdone against Eastern Illinois, as he matched his career-high with three more touchdowns to give him six in the past two games. Robinson found the end zone in each of the first three quarters to help the Redbirds come away with a 21-3 victory. He's now averaging 113 yards per game and leads the MVFC with six rushing touchdowns through the first quarter of the season.
APPLYING THE PRESSURE
After recording just 15 sacks all of last season, an offseason focus for the Redbird defense was to find a way to get more pressure on the quarterback. Through three games, it seems as if they have found a way to do just that as they already have 14 sacks on the year, one short of the 2018 total. Against the Panthers the pressure was stifling, as the Redbirds combined for 8.0 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss and allowed just 197 yards of total offense to EIU. Junior defensive end Romeo McKnight led the way with 2.5 sacks, as seven different players recorded at least a half sack. Illinois State currently ranks first in the MVFC and the FCS in team sacks with 4.67 per contest.
REDBIRDS 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 currently sits at No. 10 in the FCS Coaches Poll and at No. 15 the STATS FCS Top 25. Four MVFC teams are ranked in the polls this week, including North Dakota State (No. 1), South Dakota State (No. 3), Northern Iowa (8), the Redbirds (10) and Youngstown State (21). Indiana State and Southern Illinois are also receiving votes in the polls.
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 49-12 at home during Spack's tenure and have gone 32-6 at Hancock Stadium since the renovation of the facility in 2013.
STINGY ON THIRD DOWN
Thanks to an increase in sacks and TFLs through three games this season, the Illinois State defense finds itself just outside the Top 10 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 17 percent of the time, which is the best mark for a defense in all of FCS football. The Redbirds are also No. 2 in red zone defense, allowing scores just 44 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 a pair of win the past two weeks for the Redbirds. The Rockford, Illinois, native currently leads the FCS with six rushing touchdowns, is third in scoring (12.0 points per game) and fifth in both rushing yards (340) and yards per game (113.3).
