Redbirds Continue Road Swing At Western Illinois

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: October 30, 2021
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Site: Macomb, Illinois
Stadium: Hanson Field
Capacity: 16,368
Series: WIU leads 51-49-3
Last: ILS won 26-18 (March 20, 2021)
Stream: ESPN3
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
Coming off a big road win against No. 15 South Dakota last weekend, Illinois State (3-4, 1-3 MVFC) continues its two-game road swing this weekend against longtime in-state rival Western Illinois (1-7, 1-4 MVFC) at Hanson Field in Macomb.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Leathernecks will meet for the 104th time on the gridiron, with Western Illinois holding a 51-49-3 advantage in the series that dates back to 1904. The Redbirds have won 10 of the last 11 games overall, including the last three in a row. ISU has won the last three contests in Macomb, including a 28-14 victory over the Leathernecks in 2019.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 13th season as the head coach at Illinois State (88-57). Spack guided the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title in 2014-15 and an appearance in the 2014 FCS Championship. He has led the ISU to eight playoff appearances overall and recently became the program's all-time wins leader.

Western Illinois: Jared Elliott (Miami Ohio, 2008) is in his fourth season as head coach at Western Illinois (8-29). Elliott was named the Leathernecks head coach in 2018, after serving as the program's assistant head coach and co-offensive coordinator. Western finished the 2018 campaign with a pair of wins over Top 25 programs in 15/16 Montana and 17/23 Northern Iowa.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Western Illinois University is located in Macomb, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 7,455 students. The Fighting Leathernecks are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• The Leathernecks return 13 starters from last spring's team that went 1-5 overall.
• WIU heads into the game against ISU on a four-game losing streak and a 1-7 overall record on the season, with the team's lone win coming in the MVFC opener against Youngstown State.
• Western Illinois has relied on a dynamic passing attack this season, as the Leathernecks average over 305 passing yards per game compared to averaging just over 68 yards on the ground per contest. Dennis Houston has been quarterback Connor Sampson's go-to target averaging 102 yards per game with five touchdown receptions on the year.
• Last Saturday, Western Illinois dropped a 34-10 decision to North Dakota on the road as the Fighting Hawks earned their first conference victory of the year.
• Sampson reached a new personal feat last week, as the veteran signal caller quarterback broke his own single-season record of passing yards (2,092 in 2019) and now sits at 2,359 yards in 2021 to go along with 17 touchdown passes.

LAST TIME VS. THE FIGHTING LEATHERNECKS (2/27/21)
A dominant rushing attack that resulted in 274 yards on the grounds and two touchdowns helped Illinois State pick up its first win of the season, as the Redbirds took down their in-state rival Western Illinois Leathernecks by a score of 26-18 on a beautiful spring day at Hancock Stadium. Nigel White led the way for the Redbirds on the ground with a career-high 112 yards rushing on 14 carries (8.0 avg.) and Pha'leak Brown also eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the first time in his career, finishing with a new personal best effort of 108 yards on 21 carries (5.1 avg.). White and Brown became the first Redbird duo to each run for over 100 yards in the same game since James Robinson and Markel Smith each eclipsed the century mark in a blowout win in 2018 over Southern Illinois.

MUELLER TAKES HOME PAIR OF MVFC HONORS
Freshman running back Cole Mueller had a career day in Illinois State's road win over No. 15 South Dakota and for his efforts, he was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week by the league office. The weekly honor is the second of the season for a Redbird player and the first for Mueller in his ISU career. The Wentzville, Missouri, native ran for a career-high 178 yards on 25 carries and scored a touchdown to lead the Redbirds to the victory over the Coyotes. He averaged 7.1 yards per carry against the Coyotes and scored the game's lone offensive touchdown for ISU on a 69-yard run in the second quarter that put the Redbirds up 10-0. It was his third 100-plus yard effort of the season and he now leads the team with 578 yards on the season and three rushing scores.

DEFENSE COMES UP BIG
The Redbird defense has picked up the offense on several occasions this season, but perhaps saved their best performance of the year for its win at No. 15 South Dakota. The 'Birds held a USD offense that came into the game averaging 30 points per contest and over 300 yards of total offense to just 14 points and 269 yards in the victory. They also forced a fumble, recorded six TFLs and came up with two crucial interceptions against the Coyotes. The first resulted in a 20-yard pick six by linebacker Kenton Wilhoit and the second secured the win when Jarrell Jackson dove for the INT to give the offense the ball back and take a knee. 

TWIN TROUBLE
Since joining the team this summer, twins Bryson and Braydon Deming have made an immediate impact for the Redbirds. After transferring from Montana, the brothers have each made huge contributions on each side of the football for ISU. Bryson ranks third on the team with nine receptions, averages 10.6 yards per reception and leads the squad with two receiving touchdowns on the season. Braydon has wreaked havoc from his defensive line spot, leading the team with six TFLs to go along with a sack and 28 tackles on the year.

DEJA VU
For the second time this calendar year, linebacker Kenton Wilhoit found his way to the end zone for the Redbirds and helped ISU pick up a big a big road victory at No. 15 South Dakota. Last spring at UNI, Wilhoit jumped in front of a pass and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown against the Panthers. Fast forward to October, and Wilhoit once again took it to the house as he leaped high in the air to snag a pass at the line of scrimmage and ran 20 yards for the pick six in the third quarter put the Redbirds up 20-7. The Oak Grove, Missouri, native led the Redbirds with seven tackles and was credited with a tackle-for-loss.

THE GAUNTLET IS OVER?
The brutal stretch of games to start Missouri Valley Football conference play ended on a high note for the Redbirds. The run proved to be very tough for the Redbirds, who went 1-3 against No. 7 Southern Illinois, No. 16 Missouri State, No. 3 North Dakota State and No. 15 South Dakota. However, after picking up a big road win over the Coyotes the Redbirds have an opportunity to go on a run at the end of the year, as their remaining four opponents have a combined 12-18 record.

INTERCEPTIONS GALORE
The Redbird defense recorded another pair of interceptions in their win at South Dakota. Kenton Wilhoit snagged a ball out of the air and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown and Jarrell Jackson sealed the game with his diving interception with under two minutes left in the game to up his total to a team-leading three on the season. The pair of picks upped the team's total to 11 on the year, which ranks No. 7 in the FCS and is No. 1 in the MVFC.