Critical Road Contest Awaits The Redbirds At Indiana State

THE SERIES
Date: October 22, 2022
Time: 12 p.m. CT
Site: Terre Haute, Indiana
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 12,764
Series: ILS leads 38-32-2
Last: INS won 15-10 (Nov. 20, 2021)
Stream: ESPN3
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
The start of a challenging two-game road swing begins this weekend for Illinois State, which travels to Terre Haute, Indiana, for a critical contest against Indiana State. The Redbirds (4-2, 2-1 MVFC) look to hold onto recent momentum that has seen them win four out of five games, while the Sycamores (1-5, 0-3 MVFC) look to try to pick up their first conference victory.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Indiana State will meet for the 73rd time on the gridiron. ILS leads the all-time series 38-32-1, with the first game between the two programs dating back all the way to 1936. The two teams have split the last six contests in the series overall, but the Redbirds have an 8-4 advantage against the Sycamores since head coach Brock Spack took over the program prior to the 2009 season. 

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 14th season as the head coach at Illinois State (92-62). Spack guided the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title in 2014-15 and an appearance in the 2014 FCS Championship game. He has led the ISU to five playoff appearances overall and became the program's all-time wins leader in 2021.

Indiana State: Curt Mallory (Michigan, 1992) is in his 6th season as head coach at Indiana State (18-33). Mallory and his staff then went on to mount the biggest turnaround in collegiate football in 2018 after leading the Sycamores to a 7-4 finish, a third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and a No. 22 national ranking.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Indiana State University is located in Terre Haute, Indiana, and has an enrollment of 8,658. The Sycamores are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Memorial Stadium (12,764).
• The Sycamores are off to a 1-5 start, with the lone win coming in the season opener at home against North Alabama. Since that time, they have dropped five straight however the last three losses have come by a combined 17 points to UNI, North Dakota State and Youngstown State.
• Last weekend, Youngstown State held off Indiana State in an offensive shootout at Stambaugh Stadium as the Sycamores fell to the host Penguins, 48-42. The game featured six plays that traveled 50-plus yards in the first half and just three drives that covered at least five minutes. The Penguin defense forced a pair of Indiana State punts in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference, as YSU and held onto the ball to secure the win.
• Indiana State quarterback Cade Chambers was named the MVFC Freshman of the Week following his performance against Youngstown State. Chambers went 15-for-29 through the air for a career-high 311 passing yards, while adding five total touchdowns against the Penguins. He added touchdown runs of two yards and 11 yards in the Sycamores' second-half comeback attempt, his second and third scores on the ground this season.

LAST TIME VS. SYCAMORES (11/20/2021)
A late Indiana State touchdown ruined Senior Day for Illinois State, as the Sycamores scored with under four minutes to play to complete their comeback over the Redbirds at Hancock Stadium in the season finale for both teams. The Redbirds wasted little time putting points on the board as Jackson Waring connected with Austin Nagel on a 40-yard touchdown strike on the first play from scrimmage to make the score 7-0 just over a minute into the game, but the Redbird offense struggled the rest of the way and the Sycamores scored 15 unanswered points in the second half to come away with the victory, their first at Hancock Stadium since 1997.

NO FLY ZONE
The Redbird defensive secondary was one of the question marks headed into the season, with losses from graduation, the transfer portal and young players coming back in key roles. With addition of three key transfers in the secondary and another year of experience for returning, the Redbird secondary has become one of the best in the MVFC and country. The Redbirds rank No. 8 in the country in passing yards allowed with 171.7, which also ranks second in the MVFC behind North Dakota State. That group has also aided in ISU ranking No. 18 in the country in first down defense, allowing just 101 so far on the season. 

SAVING HIS BEST FOR LAST
Senior Tanner Taula has been playing the best football of his career in his final season of eligibility with the Redbirds. The senior tight end has already surpassed his career-high outputs in receptions (21) and receiving yards (221) and in the past two games, he's accounted for 12 catches for 119 yards in a pair of wins for the 'Birds. Not only has Taula been active in the passing game, he's also been a big part of the Redbirds' protection unit that has helped them control the clock and grind out wins in the second half.

ZEKE THE FREAK
Three times this season, Illinois State linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh has been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week and is putting together one of the best performances in the country. Through six games, Vandenburgh leads Redbirds in tackles (57), sacks (7.5) and tackles-for-loss (12) on the season and ranks No. 2 in the FCS in sacks and tackles-for-loss per game. Those around the program and in the MVFC hope to see his name among the best defenders in the FCS when the mid-season update to the Buck Buchanan Award is announced soon.

FEELING THE PRESSURE
The Illinois State defense currently ranks No. 14 in the country in total defense (and third in the MVFC) and much of that is do to the amount of success the Redbirds have had getting to the quarterback. ISU ranks No. 11 in the country in team sacks per game at 3.33 per contest, and have a total of 20 on the year. A total of 7.5 of those have come from linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh, but the pressure has come from everywhere with 11 players on the defense with at least a half sack on the year.

WELCOME HOME
The annual ISU Homecoming game is always a festive time and one that most Redbird fans mark their calendar with every year. This year, when the Redbirds welcomed in the Coyotes for Homecoming 2022, they did so with a lot of recent success in Homecoming contests. Thanks to the win over the Coyotes, the Redbirds are now 10-3 overall on the annual alumni reunion weekend with ISU head coach Brock Spack at the helm of the program. Since the stadium renovation in 2013, ISU is 7-2 with both of the losses coming to Top-25 ranked teams in No. 13 Youngstown State (2016) and last year to No. 3 North Dakota State. 

CONVERTING WHEN IT COUNTS
Keeping drives alive was crucial to the Redbirds' success in the victory at UNI, as the converted at an eye-popping level against the Panthers. ISU finished the game 13-for-20 on third down and 2-for-2 on fourth down conversions against UNI, which ultimately led to the two-point win for the 'Birds. With that success on third down, the Redbirds now rank No. 18 in the country in third-down conversion percentage at .467, which ranks fourth among teams in the MVFC.

WHAT A DEBUT
Kicker Ian Wagner returned from injury quicker than most expected and made the most of his opportunity against UNI, connecting on three field goals including the would-be game winner against the Panthers. Wagner, who missed the first four games of the season due to injury, competed in his first game as a Redbird and connected on 3-of-4 field goal attempts. He connected from 33 yards in the first quarter to put the Redbirds back in the lead and extended the advantage to six points as time expired in the first half on a 25-yard make. His final make of the game, which came from a career-long 41 yards, proved to be the difference for the Redbirds in the 23-21 defeat of the Panthers. For his efforts, Wagner was named the MVFC co-Newcomer of the Week.

NO BONES ABOUT IT
The Redbird offense was clicking on all cylinders in its win at Northern Iowa, and much of that had to do with a strong game up front for the offensive line led by senior Drew Bones. For his efforts, Bones was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week by the league office. Bones and the rest of the Redbird protection unit did not allow a sack to the Panthers and helped the Redbirds outgain UNI by a total of 409-366 overall. Bones graded out at 89 percent in the contest and was credited with four knockdowns, no missed assignments and did not allow any pressures on quarterback Zack Annexstad.