SETTING THE SCENE:
Date: September 16, 2023
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Charleston, Illinois
Stadium: O'Brien Field
Capacity: 10,000
Series: ISU leads 59-42-9
Last: ILS won 35-7 (September 17, 2022)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network
THE GAME
One of the longest rivalries in FCS football continues today, as Illinois State (2-0, 1-0 MVFC) and Eastern Illinois (1-1, 0-0 Big South-OVC) square off for the 111th time in the Mid-America Classic in Charleston, Illinois at O'Brien Field.
THE SERIES
Illinois State and Eastern Illinois will meet for the 111th time on the gridiron, with the Redbirds holding a 59-42-9 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1901. The Redbirds have owned the series as of late, winning the last five meetings overall and seven of the last eight overall. ISU has won the last four matchups on the road at O'Brien Field and are 9-4 overall under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack against the Panthers. The Redbirds took home the trophy last year, thanks to a 35-7 win at home at Hancock Stadium.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 15th season as the head coach at Illinois State (97-65). 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 second season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois (3-10). 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.
THE REDBIRD FOOTBALL PROGRAM
- 8 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019)
- 6-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019)
- 2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
- The team is 60-20 at home under Spack's guidance
- ISU is 43-14 at Hancock Stadium since 2013 renovation
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Eastern Illinois University is located in Charleston, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 8,857. The Panthers are members of the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference and play their home games at O'Brien Field (10,000).
- EIU is 1-1 to start in 2023, after a 2-9 overall record in 2022 in head coach Chris Wilkerson's first year at the helm.
- Bowling Green went up two scores midway through the second quarter and kept Eastern Illinois at a distance the remainder of the game during a 38-15 win last Saturday in Ohio. EIU ended the day with 325 yards of offense, as running back Kevin Daniels rushed for 78 yards and wideout DeAirious Smith had four catches for 83 yards.
- In the season opener at Indiana State, the Panthers defense pitched its first shutout since the final game of the 2016 season as they limited the Sycamores to just 217 yards of total offense and forced six turnovers in a 27-0 win.
- Junior linebacker Elijawah Tolbert collected several weekly awards after his performance against the Sycamores, as he was named STATS Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week presented by FEDEX Ground as well as the Big South-OVC Football Association Defensive Player of the Week. Tolbert was a factor in two of the six turnovers as he had one interception and forced a fumble, and finished with a team high 11 tackles.
LAST TIME VS. THE PANTHERS (9/17/2022)
The 110th Mid-America Classic between Illinois State and Eastern Illinois was dominated by the Redbird defense, which scored twice on interceptions and forced five turnovers in a dominant 35-7 win over the Panthers at Hancock Stadium. Jeff Bowens and Deandre Lamont each recorded interception returns for touchdowns for the Redbird defense, and Zeke Vandenburgh had stellar performance recording eight tackles, a sack, three tackles-for-loss, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup. The offensive output was led by quarterback Zack Annexstad, who threw accounted for three touchdowns in the victory for the Redbirds.
REDBIRDS SOAR INTO TOP 25
Coming off a 2-0 start to the 2023 campaign with a pair of convincing FCS wins, Illinois State has earned a spot in this week's AFCA FCS Coaches' Top 25 Poll at No. 25. The Redbirds are one of five Missouri Valley Conference teams ranked in this week's poll, joining South Dakota State (1), North Dakota State (2), North Dakota (13) and Southern Illinois (18).
BIRTHDAY BOY BLAKEMORE
After a strong debut performance with the Redbirds in the home opener, transfer running back Mason Blakemore headed to Macomb looking to build on his strong start to the season. Maybe thanks to a bit more motivation of it being his 21st birthday, Blakemore had a performance to remember in a 34-18 win over Western Illinois. The NIU transfer rushed for a career-high 170 yards on 19 carries and scored three times to lead the way for the Redbirds over the Leathernecks. That all earned him MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
FLOCKING TO THE QUARTERBACK
A relentless pursuit of perfection has always been a goal for the Redbirds, however the slogan may read more like a relentless pursuit of the quarterback for the 2023 defense. Through two games, the Redbirds have already collected 10 sacks, thanks to an eye-opening seven sacks in a win over Western Illinois to begin MVFC play. The seven sacks were the most in a game for ISU since 2019, when the Redbirds picked up nine in a win at Southern Illinois. Illinois State got two sacks each from Keondre Jackson and Amir Abdullah, and one each from Dillon Gearhart, Darrell Talley and Jalan Gaines in a game that saw the Redbirds collect a staggering 12 tackles-for-loss. ISU now ranks No. 1 in the FCS team sacks per game (5.0) and No. 2 in team tackles for loss per game (11.0) early in the season.
MUST BE A FREEPORT THING
Freeport, Illinois, is known nationwide for its unique team name of the pretzels but it is also known for producing some exciting football players for the Redbirds. Last year's MVFC Defensive Player of the Year and Buck Buchanan Award winner Zeke Vandenburgh had a legendary career for the Redbirds and it looks like he may be passing the torch as the defensive leader of the Redbirds to one of his former high school teammates in Keondre Jackson. Voted on as a team captain in 2023, Jackson has lived up to that responsibility through two games and had a career day in a win over Western Illinois, set career highs in tackles (10), sacks (2) and tackles-for-loss (4) against the Leathernecks.
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 just three wins away from the century mark in his career. With an overall record of 97-65 (.599), Spack would become just the fourth head coach in Missouri Valley Conference history with 100 wins at a member school. With four more league victories, Spack would also move into a tie for third in MVFC history.
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. Thanks to their dominant 41-0 win over the Flyers to open the 2023 slate, ISU is now 14-1 in the first game of the season at Hancock Stadium under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. That mark also includes another season-opening win over Dayton by a score of 56-14 in 2012.
OPTIONS IN THE BACKFIELD
Throughout the preseason, Illinois State head coach Brock Spack touted the talent group of running backs the Redbirds had on their roster. Touting Cole Muller, Wenkers Wright and transfer Mason Blakemore as each having the potential to be a No. 1 back, the trio certainly validated his claims in the season opener against Dayton. Each found the endzone once and combined for 163 yards on just 13 carries in a dominant effort for the Redbirds. Blakemore led the way with 75 yards on four carries, including a 71-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Wright scored the game's final touchdown and finished with 59 yards on four carries with a long of 48 yards and Mueller started the day's scoring with a 4-yard score while averaging 5.8 yards per carry on the day.
THE STREAK CONTINUES
Redbird teams have been very successful in scoring on defense under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Thanks to the recovery of a bad snap in the end zone for a touchdown against Dayton, the Redbirds extended their streak to 15 seasons straight with at least one defensive score.
DEFENSE POSTS THE SHUTOUT
For the first time since 2018, the Illinois State defense was able to hold their opponents scoreless as the Redbirds defeated the Dayton Flyers 41-0 in the season opener. The previous shutout came during the 2018 season opener against Saint Xavier, which was a 46-0 win for ISU. The Flyers had chances, missing a pair of field goals in the loss, but the Redbird defense was able to hold the rest of the way for their first blanking in five seasons.
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