Redbirds Host Panthers For Military Appreciation Day

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: November 6, 2021
Time: Noon CT
Site: Normal, Illinois
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 13,391
Series: UNI leads 23-13
Last: UNI won 20-10 (March 6, 2021)
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
The Redbirds (3-5, 1-4 MVFC) will look to bounce back from a disappoint road loss last week, when they return home this Saturday to host No. 13 ranked Northern Iowa (5-3 overall, 3-2 MVFC) at Hancock Stadium on Military Appreciation Day.

THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Panthers will meet for the 37th time on the gridiron, with UNI holding a 23-13 advantage in the all-time series against ISU that dates back to 1972. The Panthers have won four out of the last six games against the Redbirds, including a 20-10 win over the Redbirds last spring at the UNI Dome. ISU won back-to-back games against the Panthers in 2014 in the FCS playoffs and in the 2015 regular season at Hancock Stadium.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 13th season as the head coach at Illinois State (88-58). 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.

Northern Iowa: Mark Farley (UNI, 1987) is in his 21st season as head coach of his alma mater (167-90). Farley, a two-time Missouri Valley Football Conference Coach of the Year honoree, is the winningest coach in UNI and MVFC history and is also the active leader in the FCS with 17 FCS Playoff wins. He's led the Panthers to seven conference championships, 12 playoff appearances, 15 top-25 final rankings and one national title game appearance in 2005.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• The University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and has an enrollment of  9,522 students. The Panthers are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
• The Panthers return all 22 offensive and defensive starters from last season, including First-Team MVFC Preseason honorees Jared Brinkman, Trevor Penning, Spencer Cuvelier and Mathew Cook.
• UNI is 5-3 overall on the season and 3-2 in MVFC action, and is coming off a 23-16 win over then-ranked No. 3 Southern Illinois last Saturday. The Panthers overcame a 13-3 deficit, going ahead for the first time 20-16 on Theo Day's 10-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Fourtenbary late in the third quarter. 
• The win over the Salukis was the second-straight for the Panthers over a top-10 team and the 42nd time since 1985. The Panthers won at No. 6 South Dakota State a week earlier.
• Punter Nate Murphy was the second consecutive Panther to earn Missouri Valley Football Conference player of the week honors. Placekicker Matthew Cook was POW the week prior.
• Those back-to-back wins and handing SIU its first MVFC loss resulted in UNI being named the national FCS Team of the Week by Stats Perform.

LAST TIME VS. THE FIGHTING PANTHERS (3/6/21)
With two of the better defenses in the Missouri Valley Football Conference squaring off, it came as no surprise that yards and points were hard to come by for No. 15 Illinois State and No. 3 Northern Iowa. The Panthers limited the Redbirds to 185 yards of total offense in the contest and came away with a 20-10 victory at the UNI Dome. The Redbird defense then came up big to tie the game, as linebacker Kenton Wilhoit jumped in front of Will McElvain's pass and returned the interception 29 yards for the touchdowns to make it 10-10 before halftime.

BOHLKEN WITH THE BOOT
Senior punter JT Bohlken has been a consistent weapon in the field position battle this season for the Redbirds and is looking to close out his final season in a Redbird uniform in a big way. He currently ranks No. 7 in the FCS in punting at 44.5 yards per attempt, which puts him just behind Grant Burkett of Missouri State in second in the league. Bohlken has posted four games with an average of over 45 yards per punt this season, including a season-best 49.7 yards per punt mark at Western Michigan. He has also recorded 16 punts of over 50 yards with a long of 64 and has had nine punts fall inside the opponent 20 yard line. His 44.5 yards per punt average is just short of his career-best of 44.6, with three more games left to overtake that mark.

HE DID IT AGAIN
Freshman running back Cole Mueller did it again for the Redbirds, as he had another big day carrying the football against Western Illinois. The Wentzville, Missouri, native followed his career-best 178 yard performance a week earlier at South Dakota with 159 yards on 27 carries (5.9 yards per carry) and scored a career-high three touchdowns against the Leathernecks. It was his second-straight 150-plus yard rushing effort and his fourth with over 100 yards this season. His first touchdown of the game on a 45-yard dash just a minute into the contest and he added his second of the day on a 14-yard run early in the second quarter. Just a minute later, he tallied his third touchdown of the contest on a one-yard plunge to put the Redbirds up early.  He now leads the team with 737 yards on the season and team-high six touchdowns and ranks in the Top 20 in the FCS in yards per carry (6.3), yards and yards per game (92.1).

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 is tied for second on the team with 11 catches, averages 13.8 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 seven TFLs to go along with a sack and 32 tackles on the year.

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.