Critical Road Contest Awaits The Redbirds At North Dakota

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: November 13, 2021
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Grand Forks, North Dakota 
Stadium: Alerus Center
Capacity: 12,283
Series: UND leads 1-0
Last: UND won 20-0 (Sept. 29, 1979)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
Coming off a thrilling 17-10 overtime win at home over No. 13 ranked Northern Iowa, Illinois State (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) will hit the road for the final time this weekend to North Dakota to take on the Fighting Hawks (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) at the Alerus Center.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Fighting Hawks will face off for the second time in school history, with the only other match up taking place in 1979. UND defeated ISU 20-0 on Sept. 29 in North Dakota in a non-conference contest in front of 5,700 fans. These two teams were scheduled to play in the spring 2021 season, however the game was cancelled.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 13th season as the head coach at Illinois State (89-58). 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.

North Dakota: Bubba Schweigert (Jamestown, 1985) is in his eighth season as the head coach at North Dakota (46-39) and his 11th as a collegiate head coach (68-60). The 2021 spring season saw the Fighting Hawks post a 5-2 record, as UND advanced to the FCS quarterfinals for the first time in program history, knocking off No. 12 Missouri State at the Alerus Center. The Hawks also earned a share of the MVFC title in their first year as a league member.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• The University of North Dakota is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and has an enrollment of  13,581 students. The Fighting Hawks are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• The Fighting Hawks have posted a 4-5 overall record this season and a 2-4 mark in MVFC play. UND has been as close as it can come in its four conference losses this year, as the Hawks have lost by six, seven, three and four points. Additionally, all four came against teams inside the Top-25 in the current polls.
• North Dakota trailed Youngstown State by two scores with 10 minutes left in the game, but the Hawks picked up the 24-21 win last Saturday after scoring 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter at the Alerus Center. Tommy Schuster led the offense with 191 yards through the air and two touchdown passes in the victory for the Hawks.
• The UND offensive line has been elite in keeping the Hawks in front of the chains and its quarterbacks upright. As a team, UND ranks first in the nation with only 0.38 sacks per game allowed and three total sacks surrendered. 
• Running back Otis Weah became the Fighting Hawks eighth 1,000-yard rusher in UND's Division I history after an 85-yard peformance against No. 5 North Dakota State. He currently leads the team with 585 yards rushing and leads the group with seven touchdowns on the ground.

LAST TIME VS. THE FIGHTING HAWKS (9/29/79)
North Dakota took advantage of a strong running attack and an interception return for a touchdown to defeat the Redbirds by a score of 20-0 in Grand Forks, North Dakota, in front of 5,700 fans. Running back Bill Fenn led the Redbirds with 119 yards on the ground and Bruce Kelsay led ISU with 11 tackles in the contest.

BOHLKEN EARNS NATIONAL HONORS
Senior punter JT Bohlken was honored as a Stats Perform FCS National Player of the Week for Week 10 games by the organization, in addition to him earning MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week plaudits. Bohlken was honored as the Stats Perform FCS National Special Teams Player of the Week and was honored alongside UIW's Cameron Ward (Offense), Arkansas-Pine Bluff's Andre Fuller (Defense) and Yale's David Pantelis (Freshman). In addition, UT Martin earned FCS National Team of the Week honors. The senior from Jefferson City, Missouri, punted 12 times for a career-high 516 yards (43 yards per punt), placed four punts inside the UNI 20-yard line and uncorked two over 50 yards on the day. The 516 yards set a new Hancock Stadium record for a Redbird player and were the most in an MVFC contest as well. Bohlken also picked up a crucial first down for the Redbirds on a fake punt, running 21 yards to move the chains.

PICK SIX TRIFECTA
For the third time this season, a Redbird defender took one to the house for a score as Clayton Isbell recorded a 40-yard pick six in the 17-10 overtime win over No. 13 UNI. Jarrell Jackson took one 95 yards to the house in the season opener against Butler, Kenton Wilhoit scored from 20 yards out on an interception at No. 15 South Dakota and Isbell's from 40 yards out completed the pick six trifecta for the Redbirds so far this season. The interception was the third of the season for Isbell, who is now tied with Jackson for the most on the squad.

ZEKE THE FREAK
Linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh played the best game of his career when the Redbirds needed it the most to pick up their second-straight win over a ranked opponent. The junior from Freeport, Illinois, recorded a career-high 14 tackles, added two sacks and tallied a career-best 3.0 tackles-for-loss for the Redbirds in the  17-10 overtime win over No. 12 UNI. For his efforts, he was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week. He took down UNI quarterback Theo Day twice in the contest and also added a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry in the contest, as the Redbirds recorded a season-high six sacks as a team.

COMING UP BIG IN OVERTIME
Freshman quarterback Jackson Waring struggled to get much going throughout the game against No. 13 UNI, but came up big in overtime when it counted the most. On the second play from scrimmage on the first possession of OT, Waring connected on a perfect 27-yard corner fade to the end zone with Austin Nagel to put the Redbirds up 17-10. That play would ultimately be the game winner for the Redbirds and marked the fourth touchdown pass of the season for the young signal caller. It was also the Redbirds' first OT winner since 2015.

SACK PARADE
The Illinois State defense headed into Saturday's game against No. 13 UNI with just 10 sacks on the season, but the Redbirds nearly eclipsed that mark against the Panthers with a season high six in their 17-10 overtime victory. Linebackers Zeke Vandenburgh and Jeremiah Jordan each tallied two for ISU, and cornerback Braden Price added another on a blitz early in the contest. Shannon Reid and Jacob Powell combined on the other sack of UNI quarterback Theo Day, who was hurried three more times in the contest.

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.