Crucial Road Contest Awaits The Redbirds In Youngstown

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: October 21, 2023
Time: 1 p.m. CT / 2 p.m. ET
Site: Youngstown, Ohio
Stadium: Stambaugh Stadium
Capacity: 20,630
Series: Series Tied 15-15
Last: YSU won at ILS, 19-17 (Nov. 5, 2022)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
It's halfway through the season and the games only continue to get more important starting with this weekend's matchup between No. 25 Illinois State (4-2, 2-1 MVFC) and No. 25 Youngstown State where future playoff implications loom large for both the Redbirds and the Penguins.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Youngstown State will meet for the 31st time on Saturday, with the series knotted up at 15-15. The series dates back to 1979 and has gone back and forth over the past 15 years, as ISU head coach Brock Spack is an even 6-6 against YSU in his time guiding the Redbird football program.  The Penguins have won the last two contests overall, with a 21-3 win over the Redbirds in Youngstown and a 19-17 win over ISU in Normal at Hancock Stadium last season.  Prior to those two wins, ISU had won five of the previous seven matchups with YSU.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 15th season as the head coach at Illinois State (99-67). 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.

Youngstown State: Doug Phillips (Toledo, 1991) is in his fourth season as the Youngstown State head coach (16-17). In 2022, YSU was in the playoff hunt until the final weekend of the season after a combined four wins in his first two seasons, which were played in a span of just eight months. The Guins tied for third posting a 5-3 league record and the seven overall victories were the most by the program since 2016.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Youngstown State University is located in Youngstown, Ohio, and has an enrollment of 11,072. The Penguins are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Stambaugh Stadium (20,630).
• The Penguins head into the game with an 3-3 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Missouri Valley Football Conference action. One of those losses came at the hands of Ohio State, who picked up a 35-7 win over the Penguins on September 9.
• YSU is ranked No. 25 this week in the STATS Perform FCS Top 25.
• Youngstown State dropped a heart breaking 34-31 decision to No. 10 South Dakota at the DakotaDome last weekend. YSU trailed 31-10 in the second half before scoring three unanswered touchdowns to tie the contest. However, on the final play of the game, USD kicker Will Leyland kicked a 41-yard field goal as time expired to pull out the win for the Coyotes.
• Running back Dra Rushton finished with a career-best 111 yards rushing on 16 carries, while quarterback Mitch Davidson passed for 267 yards and three scores, including a 66-yarder to Max Tomczak who finished the game with a season-best 134 receiving yards.
• Tyshon King leads the Penguins in rushing with 483 yards and eight touchdowns on the year, while Rushton is right behind with six scores. Davidson controls the passing attack for the Penguins, having thrown for 1,322 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 70.5 percent of his pass attempts.

NIEKAMP NAMED TO JERRY RICE AWARD WATCH LIST
Illinois State redshirt freshman linebacker Tye Niekamp is one of 22 FCS players who been named to the midseason watch list of the 2023 Stats Perform Jerry Rice Award, which honors the national freshman of the year in college football's Division I subdivision and is presented by FedEx Ground. Through six games the 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker from Normal, Illinois, native ranks second on the team with 41 total tackles (including 21 solo stops) and is tied for third on the squad with 4.5 tackles for loss. He has also added 1.5 sacks to the ledger to go along with four quarterback hurries and five pass breakups.

SPACK NEARING THE CENTURY MARK
Now in his 15th season at the helm of the Illinois State football program, Brock Spack is nearing a significant milestone in his coaching career. Already Illinois State's program wins record holder, Spack is rolling through the 2023 campaign four wins away from the century mark in his career. With an overall record of 99-67 (.596), Spack would become just the fourth head coach in Missouri Valley Conference history with 100 wins at a member school. With three more league victories, Spack would also move into a tie for third in MVFC history for most wins by a MVFC head coach.

WELCOME HOME REDBIRDS
The annual ISU Homecoming game is always a festive time and one that most Redbird fans mark their calendar with every year. Following the big 44-7 win over Indiana State, the Redbirds are 11-3 overall on the annual alumni reunion weekend under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Since the stadium renovation in 2013, ISU is now 8-2 with both of the losses coming to Top-25 ranked teams in No. 13 Youngstown State (2016) and to No. 3 North Dakota State (2022).

DUAL THREAT?
In the postgame press conference Redbird quarterback Zack Annexstad admitted that he would certainly not consider himself a dual threat type signal-caller, but he certainly fooled many in the stands and the Sycamores in Illinois State's 44-7 win. Not only did he complete 63 percent of his passes in extremely challenging weather conditions in Normal, but he also set career highs with four touchdown passes and 79 yards rushing. He threw touchdown passes to four different receivers, but also picked up several key first downs with his legs including a career-long 41-yard run that set up a Redbird score.

CONTROLLING THE GROUND GAME
On a day when wind gusts eclipsing 25 miles per hour and consistent light rain made throwing the ball difficult for Illinois State, the Redbird rushing attack returned to form albeit with a surprising leader. For the third time this season, the Redbirds racked up over 200 yards rushing on the ground finishing the day with 244 on 41 attempts with one score. Illinois State quarterback Zack Annexstad did throw for four touchdown passes, but all were set up by strong runs by Mason Blakemore, Cole Mueller and Annexstad himself. The lone rushing score came on a 13-yard TD run by Blakemore, his team-leading seventh of the season and he finished with 74 yards on the day, five short of the rushing leader for the 'Birds in Annexstad.

DEFENSE POSTS ANOTHER SHUTOUT
A quick look at the final score and it may look like the Redbird defense was responsible for giving up a touchdown to the Sycamores, however the lone touchdown for the Trees cannot be credited to the defense as it came on an interception return for a touchdown on tipped pass at the line of scrimmage. The defense was dominant all day, allowing just 95 yards rushing and 73 yards passing for a total of 168 on the day while also recording a pair of interceptions, three sacks and eight tackles for loss. It marks the second time the defense put up a zero this season, following the 41-0 season-opening victory over Dayton at home.
 
FEAR AMIR
Linebacker Amir Abdullah has been a nightmare for opposing offenses through four games this season, and shined once again for the Redbird defense against Indiana State. The junior from Chicago recorded four (five solo), 2.0 sacks and 2.0 tackles for loss for the Redbirds against the Sycamores. Abdullah now leads the team with 8.5 sacks on the year and 10.0 tackles for loss. He currently ranks third in the FCS in sacks per game (1.3) and No. 14 in TFLs per game (1.6) while also ranking seventh in forced fumbles per contest (.40).

BLAKEMORE IS BACK
After a blazing start to his first season in a Redbird uniform, a shoulder injury suffered in the Eastern Illinois game kept running back Mason Blakemore out of the Lindenwood game. However, thanks to a bye week last week and more time to heal up, Blakemore was back for the game against the No. 1 ranked Jackrabbits and against Indiana State. Getting the start in the backfield in both contests, the transfer from Northern Illinois ran well early and finally found the big-play he had been waiting for when he broke off tackle for a 37-yard touchdown run against the Jackrabbits. He also rushed for 74 and a touchdown against the Sycamores, upping his team-leading totals to 425 yards and seven touchdowns on the year. He currently ranks No. 3 in all of FCS football in rush yards per carry (8.78) and is No. 10 in rushing touchdowns.

MR. EFFICIENT
A new offensive attack for Illinois State is certainly paying dividends for quarterback Zack Annexstad, who is completing passes at a record rate for the Redbirds. His performance against South Dakota State was particularly eye-opening, as he completed 26-of-33 pass attempts (78.7 percent) for 162 yards with a touchdown. His season completion percentage has increased to 70.2 percent, which would rank first in school history if it holds and currently ranks him No. 7 in all of FCS football. 

COOL UNDER PRESSURE
A young and inexperienced Redbird defense headed into the season with a lot of question marks, however through five games they have not been the ones feeling the pressure: opposing quarterbacks and ball carriers have. Against Eastern Illinois, ISU racked up eight sacks and 12 tackles for loss and also picked up a pair of interceptions while forcing two fumbles with one recovery. All of that pressure finds them high in national rankings again this week, as the team now has 24 sacks on the year and 47 tackles for loss. The Redbirds rank No. 2 in the FCS in team sacks per game (4.2) and No. 8 in team tackles for loss per game (7.8). ISU also ranks No. 11 in scoring defense (17.8 points per game) and No. 21 in total defense (311.0 yards per game).