Redbirds Head To Fargo To Take On No. 4 Ranked Bison

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: October 29, 2022
Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
Site: Fargo, North Dakota
Stadium: Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome
Capacity: 19,000
Series: NDSU leads 13-2
Last: NDSU won 20-0 (Oct. 16, 2021)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
Winners of three-straight and five out of its last six games, Illinois State (5-2, 3-1 MVFC) heads to Fargo, North Dakota, to take on defending national champion and current No. 4 ranked North Dakota State (5-2, 3-1 MVFC) in a crucial matchup with just a month remaining before the FCS playoff field is set.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and North Dakota State will face off for the 16th time on the gridiron this weekend, with the Bison holding a 13-2 advantage in the all-time series. NDSU has won 11 straight against the Redbirds, with the last ISU victory coming in 2010 when it won at Hancock Stadium by a score of 34-24. Back-to-back wins for the Redbirds in Brock Spack's first two seasons as head coach in 2009-10 are the lone wins for ISU in the series history. 

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 14th season as the head coach at Illinois State (94-62). 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.

North Dakota State: Matt Entz (Wartburg, 1995) is in his 4th season as head coach at North Dakota State (42-6). Entz has been a member of the NDSU coaching staff since 2014, and as head coach has led the Bison to a pair of MVFC titles and two national championships, including wins in 2019 and last year in 2021.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• North Dakota State University is located in Fargo, North Dakota, and has an enrollment of 12,242. The Bison are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome (19,000).
• The Bison are off to a 5-2 start, with the losses coming to Arizona in week three by just three points and two weeks ago to then No. 2 South Dakota State by two points.
• Second-ranked South Dakota State scored 16 unanswered points and held NDSU to five first downs after halftime to claim a 23-21 victory, their third straight over the Bison.
• NDSU is sticking to its tried and true formula of a strong defense and rushing attack to pile up wins and stay in the hunt for another national championship run in 2022. The Bison rank No. 5 in the FCS in rushing offense at 246 yards per game and are No. 10 in total defense allowing just 292.6 yards of offense to its opponents.
• That rushing attack has been led by Hunter Luepke, who leads the MVFC in total touchdowns with 11 and scoring with 66 points on the year. He is currently tied for second in the league with eight rushing touchdowns and ranks No. 15 nationally in rushing touchdowns per game.
• Defensive lineman Spencer Waege continues to disrupt things up front for the NDSU defense, as he leads the team with 4.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles-for-loss on the season. That helps free up linebacker James Kaczor, who leads the team with 45 tackles on the year.

LAST TIME VS. THE BISON (10/16/2021)
A dominant defensive effort by No. 3 North Dakota State resulted in a Homecoming defeat for Illinois State, as the Redbirds could not take advantage offensively in the first half and the Bison pulled away for a 20-0 win at Hancock Stadium. Clayton Isbell and Iverson Brown both recorded interceptions for the Redbirds. 

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Running back Wenkers Wright has gutted through injuries the past several weeks while trying to find his way back to form in the Redbird backfield. Still not at 100 percent, Wright knew his production was going to be necessary for the Redbirds to pick up a win at Indiana State. The redshirt freshman rose to the occasion against the Sycamores, rushing for a career-high 180 yards as he picked up crucial first downs throughout the contest. His 48-yard run set up the final score of the game by Zack Annexstad and he also chipped in four catches for 23 yards in the contest. He's now averaging 4.3 yards per carry on the year and nearly 70 yards per game on the ground to lead the way for the Redbird rushing attack.

JUST LIKE THE BACKYARD
Ever since Zack Annexstad and his older brother, Brock, both transferred to Illinois State they have been waiting for an opportunity to connect for a touchdown. Late in the first quarter against Indiana State, the Annexstad brothers hooked up for an 18-yard score to give the Redbirds a 20-0 lead over the Sycamores at the time. Following the contest, Zack commented "it was just like being in the backyard again" and it certainly seemed like the two brothers were enjoying the moment, with a big hug in the endzone following the score. The 2022 season will be the final time the Annexstad brothers suit up on the same team together, and they are certainly hoping for more backyard moments in the final four games of the regular season. 

FIRST QUARTER OUTBURST
The Illinois State offense had found first quarter points hard to come by through the first six games of the season, with just 27 in the first 15 minutes of play. Getting off to a great start at Indiana State was going to be crucial for the Redbirds to come away with a win, and that's exactly what they did. Illinois State scored on its first three possessions of the game scoring 20 points on way to a 27-21 win over the Sycamores. It featured a 9-yard touchdown run by quarterback Zack Annexstad and a pair of touchdown passes from Annexstad to Jalen Carr and Brock Annexstad, respectively, as the Redbirds finally broke out early and never looked back in the victory.

ANNEXSTAD DOES IT AGAIN
Illinois State quarterback Zack Annexstad put together his best performance in a Redbird uniform against Indiana State and for his efforts, the transfer from Minnesota was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Week for the second time this season. Annexstad completed 24-of-38 pass attempts for a career-best 274 yards and accounted for four touchdowns in the Redbirds' 27-21 victory over the Sycamores. The Norseland, Minnesota, native scored twice on the ground on runs of nine and three yards, respectively, and threw a pair of touchdowns passes in the win for Illinois State. His first touchdown pass of the day was a 56-yarder to Jalen Carr and his second was an 18-yarder to his older brother, Brock. 

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. 11 in the country in passing yards allowed with 175.9, which also ranks second in the MVFC behind North Dakota State. That group has also aided in ISU ranking No. 13 in the country in total defense, allowing just 305 yards per game 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 (25) and receiving yards (254) and in the past three games, he's accounted for 16 catches for 152 yards in a trio 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 seven 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 numbers resulted in him being added to the mid-season Buck Buchanan Award watch list update along with some of the best defensive player in the country.

FEELING THE PRESSURE
The Illinois State defense currently ranks No. 13 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. 14 in the country in team sacks per game at 3.0 per contest, and have a total of 21 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.