SETTING THE SCENE
Date: September 17, 2022
Time: 6:30 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Illinois
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 13,391
Series: ILS leads 58-42-9
Last: ILS won 31-24 (Sept. 18, 2021)
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM /
The Varsity Network
THE GAME
One of the longest rivalries in the Football Championship Subdivision will continue Saturday at Hancock Stadium, when Illinois State hosts in-state rival Eastern Illinois for the 110th meeting of the Mid-America Classic. The Redbirds and the Panthers will be playing for the prestigious traveling trophy, which symbolizes the history and tradition of this storied series.
THE SERIES
Illinois State and Eastern Illinois will meet for the 110th time on the gridiron. ISU leads the all-time series over EIU by a margin of 58-42-9 which dates back to 1901. The Redbirds have won four-straight games against the Panthers and six out of the last seven games in the series ISU head coach Brock Spack, who worked early in his collegiate coaching career at EIU with legendary Panthers head coach Bob Spoo, is 8-4 against the Panthers overall with the Redbirds.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 14th season as the head coach at Illinois State (90-61). 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.
Eastern Illinois: Chris Wilkerson (Eastern Illinois, 1995) is in his first season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois (0-2). Wilkerson came to EIU after a successful run as the head coach at the University of Chicago, where he has posted winning seasons in seven of his eight years including an 8-2 record in 2021. He had a 51-27 career record in nine seasons as the UChicago head coach.
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Eastern Illinois University is located in Charleston, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 8,608. The Panthers are members of the Ohio Valley Conference and play their home games at O'Brien Field (10,000).
- The Panthers have started the season 0-2 under the direction of first-year head coach Chris Wilkerson. EIU gave Northern Illinois a big challenge in the opener eventually falling by a touchdown 34-27, and hung in with No. 10 Chattanooga last week losing by a score of 30-28.
- EIU is led on offense by quarterback Jonah O'Brien, who has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes on the season and tallied 459 yards and five touchdowns through the air. Last weekend against Chattanooga, O'Brien threw for 183 yards and two scores against the Mocs.
- Placekicker Stone Galloway was named the OVC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in the opener at Northern Illinois. Galloway was 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, connecting from 34 yards and 25 yards in the first half, and added three extra points to account for nine of the Panthers' 27 points in the loss to the Huskies. He is now 4-for-4 on the year after making two more field goals last weekend against Chattanooga.
LAST TIME VS. PANTHERS (9/18/2021)
It was another highly competitive game in the always interesting Mid-America Classic, as Illinois State took an early lead over Eastern Illinois, but the Redbirds needed a touchdown with less than two minutes remaining in the game to pick up a gritty win over the Panthers in the 109th meeting of the storied rivalry. With the victory, ISU head coach Brock Spack picked up his 87th win at ISU to break the program's win record. Running back Cole Mueller had a career-high 144 yards on 16 carries in the victory for the Redbirds, with a long of 33 yards, and fellow running backs Nigel White and Pha'leak Brown each scored on the ground. The defense got a huge lift from Jarrell Jackson, who picked off EIU quarterback Otto Kuhns and returned it 95 yards for the pick six to move the ISU lead back to 10 points at 17-7 with 10:51 to play in the third quarter.
VANDENBURGH, CARR TAKE HOME MVFC WEEKLY HONORS
Illinois State linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh and kick returner Jalen Carr each played huge roles in the Redbirds coming away with a win over Valparaiso in the home opener. For their efforts, each came away with a Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week honors as announced by the league. Vandenburgh took home MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career, while Carr earned the first MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week honor in his time at Illinois State. Vandenburgh led the team with 12 tackles, recorded a career-best three sacks, tied a career-high with 3.0 tackles-for-loss and added a forced fumble in the victory. After the Beacons took a 14-7 lead after recovering a muffed punt in the endzone early in the second quarter, Carr took the ensuing kickoff 98 yards to the house for a touchdown to knot the game at 14-14 just seconds later.
HITTING ANOTHER GEAR
Redbird safety Dillon Gearhart was in the face of Valparaiso quarterback Mason Kaplan all night and was a big reason for the Redbirds holding on for a close victory. Gearhart recorded a career-high six tackles, had two sacks, 3.0 TFLs and recorded an interception as well. His performance aided in the Redbirds recording six tackles and three interceptions in the contest, which came down to the last snap until it was decided.
THE WRIGHT STUFF
When Redbird starting running back Cole Mueller was lost to injury early in the Wisconsin game, the rest of the ISU running back room knew it would need to step up to fill the void of the team's leading rusher from a year ago. Redshirt freshman Wenkers Wright got the message and took the lead against Valparaiso, as he recorded the first 100-plus yard rushing effort of his career in the victory over the Beacons. After a slow start with only 16 yards in the first half, Wright rallied for 85 yards in the final two quarters of the game to finish with 101 yards on 21 carries. Those crucial yards helped the Redbirds chew up clock and hold on for a big win in the home opener.
TO THE HOUSE
A special teams snafu resulted in Valparaiso taking a 14-7 lead over the Redbirds early in the second quarter, but it didn't take long for the Redbirds to rectify that mistake. On the ensuing kickoff, returner Jalen Carr took the kickoff at the two yard line, ran and leaped a would-be tackler and dashed 98 yards to the house for a touchdown to tie the game. It marked the first kickoff return TD for the Redbirds since 2017, when Christian Uphoff returned one 100.
SPACK SETS THE RECORD
Illinois State head coach Brock Spack led the Redbirds to the 87th win courtesy of a 31-24 gritty victory over Eastern Illinois in 2021. With the that win, Spack became the Redbird Football all-time program wins leader, topping the previous mark of 86 held by Edwin Struck.Â
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. Following ISU's 28-21 win over Valparaiso in the 2022 home lid lifter, the Redbirds are 13-1 in the first game of the season at Hancock Stadium.
