Redbirds Ready To Take On No. 1 Ranked South Dakota State

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: November 12, 2022
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Brookings, South Dakota
Stadium: Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium
Capacity: 19,300
Series: Tied 5-5
Last: ILS won 27-18 (Nov. 9, 2019)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
With just two games remaining in the regular season, Illinois State finds itself still with chance at the FCS playoffs but a big roadblock sits in their way in the form of No. 1 ranked South Dakota State on the road this weekend. The Redbirds (5-4, 3-3 MVFC) will need an upset win over the Jackrabbits (9-1, 7-0 MVFC) to keep those playoff hopes alive heading into the final week of the regular season when ISU takes on in-state rival Western Illinois in the finale.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and South Dakota State will face off for the 11th time on the gridiron this weekend, with the series knotted up at 5-5. The two teams will play for the first time since 2019, when the Redbirds took down the No. 4 ranked Jackrabbits by a score of 28-17 in Brookings. ISU has had some success on the Jacks' home turf, with a pair of wins under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack and two losses by a combined eight points.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 14th season as the head coach at Illinois State (94-64). 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.

South Dakota State: John Stiegelmeier (South Dakota State, 1979) is in his 26th season as head coach at South Dakota State (194-112). The winningest coach in South Dakota State history, Stiegelmeier has led the Jackrabbits to the FCS playoffs 11 times and is one of only two FCS programs to reach the postseason each of the past 10 seasons.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• South Dakota State University is located in Brookings, South Dakota, and has an enrollment of 11,465. The Jackrabbits are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium (19,300).
• The Jackrabbits tied a school record with their ninth consecutive victory to improve to 9-1 overall and 7-0 in league play with their thrilling win at UNI last weekend. With the win, SDSU will receive the MVFC's automatic berth into the FCS playoffs.
• SDSU is one of only two FCS programs to reach the playoffs each of the last 10 seasons, including advancing to the national semifinals or championship game in four of the last five seasons. Defending national champion North Dakota State holds the longest active streak with 12 consecutive trips to the playoffs.
• Placekicker Hunter Dustman booted a 26-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to lift the top-ranked Jackrabbits to the 31-28 victory over UNI last Saturday night. Dustman's heroics came after the Jackrabbits forced UNI to punt after Caleb Sanders recorded his third sack of the game and the fifth by SDSU in the contest.
• The SDSU offense is led by quarterback Mark Gronowski, who is back to the starting lineup in after sitting out last fall due to an injury he suffered on the first offensive series of the national championship game against Sam Houston. In 10 games, Gronowski has thrown for 1,963 yards and 17 touchdowns while completing 64.2 percent of his passes. He has also run for seven touchdowns on the ground, making him very dangerous in every facet of the offense.
• Defensively, the Jackrabbits rely on linebacker and Buck Buchanan Award finalist Adam Bock who leads the way with 58 tackles on the year to go along with three sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss. Caleb Sanders leads the team in sacks with five, followed closely by Reece Winkelman with 4.5, and four different players have at least two interceptions on the year.

LAST TIME VS. THE JACKRABBITS (11/9/2019)
No. 11 Illinois State took advantage of four costly turnovers by No. 4 South Dakota State, as the Redbirds scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to defeat the Jackrabbits by a score of 27-18 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium. The Redbirds got four field goals from placekicker Sam Fenlason and running back James Robinson rushed for 98 yards and a score to help propel the Redbirds to a big road win and eventually to the FCS playoffs.

TOMMY TO THE RESCUE
Redshirt freshman quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse got his first start behind center for the Redbirds and nearly led them to a victory against Youngstown State. Starting in place of injured starter Zack Annexstad, Rittenhouse finished the game with 103 yards passing on seven completions in extremely windy conditions at Hancock Stadium and also scored the Redbirds' only two touchdowns of the game on the ground. On ISU's first offensive play from scrimmage, Rittenhouse called his own number and ran 42 yards untouched for a touchdown to give the Redbirds an early lead. He also added a one yard touchdown run late in the second quarter, as he finished with 81 yards rushing on the day.

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 due to the amount of success the Redbirds have had getting to the quarterback. ISU ranks No. 16 in the country in team sacks per game at 2.78 per contest, and have a total of 25 on the year. A total of 7.5 of those have come from linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh, but the pressure has come from everywhere with 12 players on the defense with at least a half sack on the year.

CONVERTING WHEN IT COUNTS
Keeping drives alive was crucial to the Redbirds' success in its victory at UNI, as the Redbirds went 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. The success on third down has been crucial to the Redbirds in their wins this season, as the team currently ranks in the Top 25 nationally at 44.4 percent.

LOCKDOWN SECONDARY
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. 5 in the country in passing yards allowed with 172.8 per game, which also ranks second in the MVFC behind North Dakota State. That group has also aided in ISU ranking No. 14 in the country in total defense, allowing just 311.7 yards per game, and No. 15 in scoring defense at 20 points per game to opponents so far on the season.

DAN THE MAN
For a receiver who headed into the 2022 season as a walk on, Daniel Sobkowicz has certainly opened some eyes with his performance this season. Sobkowicz scored the lone touchdown of the game for the Redbirds, giving ISU the lead early in the contest against the Bison after a 13-yard pass connection from Zack Annexstad in the first quarter. With that touchdown, he took over the team lead in that category and now ranks first on the team with 345 yards receiving on 27 receptions.

TAKING OVER IN CONFERENCE PLAY
When quarterback Zack Annexstad took the reins of the Illinois State offense prior to the season beginning, he did so having been out of game action for quite a long time. With that came the expectation that he would have to knock off some rust in-game during the non-conference season to get ready for Valley Football play. That certainly seems to be what has happened for the Minnesota transfer, who threw just four touchdowns as compared to five interceptions in the first three games of the season. However, he's rallied in conference play to complete 63 percent of his passes for nearly 1,100 yards with just two interceptions and seven touchdown passes.

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. 

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 three 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. 

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 (26) and receiving yards (284) and in the past five games, he's accounted for 17 catches for 182 yards 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 nine games, Vandenburgh leads Redbirds in tackles (73), sacks (7.5) and tackles-for-loss (13) on the season and ranks No. 8 in the FCS in sacks per game 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 players in the country.

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. 

THE STREAK CONTINUES
Redbird teams have been very successful in scoring on defense under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Thanks to a pair of pick six returns against Eastern Illinois, the Redbirds extended their streak to 14 seasons straight with at least one defensive score. Of note, linebacker Kenton Wilhoit had an INT return for a touchdown in the 2021 spring and fall seasons and could extend his own streak with another in 2022.