SETTING THE SCENE
Date: September 4, 2021
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Illinois
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 13,391
Series: ISU leads 2-0
Last: ISU won 45-0 (Sept. 2, 2017)
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Stream: ESPN3
Listen: WJBC AM 1230 / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network
THE GAME
A challenging spring season has led to an optimistic outlook this fall for the Illinois State Redbirds, who return to the field on Saturday, September 4, to open the 2021 season against the Butler Bulldogs at Hancock Stadium. The game will feature the annual CommUniversity event, Reggie's Kids Club activities and a halftime fireworks show presented by BOPI.
THE SERIES
The Redbirds and the Bulldogs will meet for the 3rd time on the gridiron, with ISU winning the previous two contests. The first meeting was a 14-0 win for the Redbirds in 1949 and the second was a 45-0 win for ISU in 2017.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 13th season as the head coach at Illinois State (85-53). 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 is two wins away from becoming the program's all-time wins leader.
Butler: Jeff Voris (DePauw, 1989) enters his 16th season at Butler as the head coach of the football program (77-87) and his 21st as a collegiate head coach (92-121). Voris ranks third on Butler's all-time list for coaching victories (77), trailing only Tony Hinkle (165) and Bill Sylvester (84). He owns Butler's single-season record for victories (11) and is the only coach in school history to lead the Bulldogs to a postseason victory.
THE REDBIRD FOOTBALL PROGRAM
- 8 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019)
- 6-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019)
- 2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
- The team is 53-15 at home under Spack's guidance
- ISU is 36-9 at Hancock Stadium since 2013
- The team set a program-record cumulative GPA of 3.40 in the Spring 2020 semester
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Butler University is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and has an enrollment of 5,515 students. The Bulldogs are members of the Pioneer Football League.
- The Bulldogs finished the 2021 spring season at 0-6, but were close in many of those contests.That finish resulted in Butler being picked last in the 2021 PFL preseason coaches poll.
- Bret Bushka, Johnny O'Shea, Devin Aguilar, Trevor Scott and Jordan Caselberry will serve as team captains for the 2021 season for the Bulldogs. Bushka, O'Shea and Scott represent BU on the offensive side of the ball while Aguilar and Caselberry will be the voice for the defense.
- Wide receiver Yogi Flager earned a spot on the 2021 Preseason All-Pioneer Football League Team. A HERO Sports Freshman All-American, Flager played in all six games last spring, starting the final three. He averaged 16.1 yards per catch and was responsible for 64.5 yards per game. Flager led Butler with 387 receiving yards during his first season on campus and caught 24 passes over six games that were played during the spring season.
LAST TIME VS. BULLDOGS (9/2/2017)
Illinois State made a statement to kick off the 2017 season, routing Butler 45-0 under the lights at Hancock Stadium in front of 10,840 fans. The Redbirds held the Bulldogs to just 41 yards of total offense in the game, which set a Hancock Stadium record for fewest total yards allowed to an opponent. The ISU defense also did not allow a yard rushing to Butler, which only picked up three first downs all evening. On the flip side, the ISU offense racked up 519 yards of total offense, with 320 of those yards coming on the ground. Wide receiver Christian Gibbs caught a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Jake Kolbe, and three Redbird running backs each rushed for touchdowns including James Robinson.
SUCCESS IN HOME OPENERS
The Redbirds have been very good at home under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, especially in the home opener each season. ISU is 11-1 in the first game of the season at Hancock Stadium, which includes a home opening win over Butler by a score of 45-0 in 2017.
LOTS OF FAMILIAR FACES
Fans who got to see the Redbirds in person last spring will notice a lot of familiar faces and names on the field Saturday night in the home opener against Butler. ISU returns 58 letterwinners and 19 starters (10 offense, nine defense) from the spring squad that went 1-3.
HANG YOUR HAT ON DEFENSE
The 2021 squad will feature a defense that was one of the best in the MVFC and in the country in several categories last spring. The Redbirds ranked No. 4 in the FCS in pass efficiency defense (97.91), No. 7 in 3rd down conversion percentage defense (.288), and No. 10 in total defense. ISU was also No. 12 in the country in rushing defense (95.00), which also led the league. With nine starters returning on defense for the Redbirds this fall, one should expect that the defense will once again be something fans can count on each and every week.
O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Voted on by the team at the conclusion of fall camp, the Redbirds selected senior linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh, junior quarterback Bryce Jefferson and senior punter JT Bohlken as their captains for the 2021 fall season. They will be joined each game by selected seniors voted on each week by the coaching staff as game captains.
SPACK NEARS HISTORIC MILESTONE
When Brock Spack was hired as Illinois State's head coach prior to the 2009 season, he talked about wanting to wake up a sleeping giant and turn the Redbirds into a perennial contender. With five playoff appearances under his belt and two MVFC titles, Spack has certainly helped change the direction of the program. With 85 career wins, he sits just two wins shy of passing Edwin Struck (86 wins) and the program's all-time wins leader and could tie the mark with a win over Butler in the season opener.
FORGET LAST SPRING
The 2021 spring season was definitely one that will not soon be forgotten for many reasons, but one the Redbirds certainly don't want to look back on fondly. The spring was full of challenges, most notably a rash of injuries to the defensive line for the Redbirds that caused a cancellation to the season after four games, which led to a 1-3 record. However, that mark was a bit deceiving as the 'Birds lost those three contests by a combined 17 points and were in nearly every contest.
DOUBLE THE FUN IN THE BACKFIELD
Nigel White led the way for the Redbirds on the ground with a career-high 112 yards rushing on 14 carries (8.0 avg.) in the spring finale 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. Both backs return this fall and will lead a talented group of running backs into the season and should split time carrying the workload for the Redbirds.
TAULA FOR THE TOUCHDOWN
Redbird tight ends are an integral part of the team's offensive success, however receptions and touchdowns have been hard to come by for the group. That's why when Tanner Taula found the endzone twice in the spring, players seemed a bit more excited than usual. Taula had a career-best four receptions for 50 yards and scored just his second touchdown in a Redbird uniform against North Dakota State, and ended the year with another score in the win over Western Illinois. He had 13 catches on the season, after coming into the year with just 12 in the previous two seasons combined. He will lead a healthy group of tight ends into the 2021 season that will hope to continue moving the chains for ISU.
FULLBACK NOT OVERLOOKED
Senior fullback Timothy McCloyn II earned a spot on the MVFC Preseason All-Conference Honorable Mention Team and Illinois State was ranked seventh overall in the annual pre-season poll voted on by league coaches, media and sports information directors. The fullback position is often overlooked, but McCloyn's play over the past few years has not been, as he has been an integral part of the Redbirds' success in the running game. McCloyn was the lead back for James Robinson in both of his All-American seasons at ISU and has got into the action himself, scoring his first career touchdown during the spring season.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Redbirds have become accustomed to finding the end zone on the defensive side of the football in recent years, and they kept that streak alive at UNI over thanks to an impressive pick six by Kenton Wilhoit. The 29-yard interception return for a touchdown was the first of the season for the Redbirds and the first for Wilhoit in his career at Illinois State. ISU has now scored a defensive touchdown in each of the last 12 seasons under the leadership of Brock Spack.
JEFFERSON TAKES THE REIGNS
Bryce Jefferson stepped up in a big way in the 2019 playoffs for the Redbirds, leading them to a pair of wins at Southeast Missouri State and Central Arkansas and helping his team take No. 1 ranked North Dakota State Bison to the limit in the FCS quarterfinals. So it came as no surprise that Jefferson was named the team's starter at quarterback last spring. After a learning experience in year one as a full-time starter, the team captain returns this fall to lead the Redbird offense hoping to learn from the experience of last spring's four-game slate.
