SETTING THE SCENE:
Date: November 2, 2024
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Ill.
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 12,440
Series: Youngstown State leads 16-15
Last: YSU won 41-38 (Oct. 21, 2023)
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network
THE GAME
After a much-needed bye week, Illinois State returns home this weekend to welcome in Youngstown State on Military Appreciation Day at Hancock Stadium. The Redbirds (5-3, 2-2 MVFC) are looking to pick up their second win in a row, while the Penguins (3-6, 2-3 MVFC) look to keep momentum after picking up their first win over a top-10 team since November 2019 following a win last week over No. 7 North Dakota at Stambaugh Stadium in overtime.
THE SERIES
Illinois State and Youngstown State will meet for the 32nd time, with the Penguins holding a 16-15 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1979. YSU has won the past three match ups in the series, with the last ISU win coming in 2018 at home by a score of 35-28. The previous two contests have been decided by three points or less, with YSU earning a 19-17 win over ISU in 2022 and the Penguins picking up a 41-38 shootout win over the Redbirds in 2023.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 16th season as the head coach at Illinois State (106-73). 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 fifth season as the head coach at Youngstown State (22-27). In 2023, Phillips guided the Penguins to the FCS playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, as the Guins finished with an 8-5 record, won five MVFC games for the second consecutive year and picked up a win in the opening round of the postseason.
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 65-24 at home under Spack's guidance
   ISU is 48-18 at Hancock Stadium since 2013 renovation
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
 Youngstown State University is located in Youngstown, Ohio, and has an enrollment of 12,164. The Penguins are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Stambaugh Stadium (20,630).
 The Penguins are off to a 3-6 start to the 2024 campaign under the leadership of fifth-year head coach Doug Phillips, but are 2-2 in MVFC action.
 YSU picked up a huge win last weekend at home, as the Penguins defense denied No. 7 North Dakota's game-winning two-point conversion attempt to secure a 41-40 overtime victory.
 The game featured nine lead changes, with Youngstown State running for 334 yards while accumulating 406 total yards against the Fighting Hawks. Quarterback Beau Brungard turned accounted for four touchdowns, including three on the ground, and ran for 176 yards while also throwing for 76 yards on 8-of-12 passing with a touchdown. Devin Johnson recorded eight total tackles to lead the YSU defense, which also had two sacks.
 Brungard leads the MVFC in rushing yards with 777 and is tied for second in rushing touchdowns with 11. He's also thrown for 1462 yards and eight touchdowns on the season.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE PENGUINS (OCT. 21, 2023)
It was a back-and-forth battle between two teams fighting for playoff position between Illinois State and Youngstown State, and the game came down to the final seconds as a 37-yard field goal as time expired by the Penguins clipped the Redbirds by a score of 41-38 at Stambaugh Stadium. Quarterback Zack Annexstad tossed a career-high five touchdown passes and wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz set career highs in receptions (11), yards (170) and touchdown receptions (3) against the Penguins.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Three times in 2023, the Redbirds offense eclipsed 500 yards or more of total offense in a resurgent year on that side of the football. Through eight games in 2024, the Redbirds have eclipsed that mark twice with four games to play. However, ISU's offensive output at Murray State was one for the record books with 633 yards of total offense, the fifth highest mark in school history. It was a balanced effort for the Redbirds, with 386 yards passing and 247 yards rushing as attempts were split at 40 and 42, respectively. Illinois State's 633 yards of total offense just moved past the 632 yards recorded at Northern Iowa on October 10, 1998, to crack the top five all time, and it marked the first 600-plus yard effort for ISU since Nov. 22, 2014, when the Redbirds put up 604 at Southern Illinois. It is also the most total yards for a Brock Spack led team, topping the previous high of 622 set on Sept. 6, 2014, in a win over Mississippi Valley State.
RITTENHOUSE, LOYD PICK UP MVFC HONORS
The Illinois State football team picked up a crucial road winat Murray Stat headed into a bye week, and a pair of offensive standouts for the Redbirds garnered attention as quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week and transfer wide receiver Xavier Loyd has been tabbed the MVFC Newcomer of the Week for their performances against the Racers. Rittenhouse had the best game of his career against Murray State, as he accumulated 475 yards of total offense and accounted for three touchdowns in Illinois State's 40-32 road victory.Loyd had his best receiving performance as a Redbird in the win over the Racers, as he averaged 29.6 yards per catch and finished the game with five grabs for a career-best 148 yards.Â
X FACTOR
The Illinois State passing attack has been on fire in recent weeks, and that seems to be due to one of its newest weapons in Xavier Loyd. The Kansas State transfer had the best day of his career at ISU against Murray State with 148 yards receiving to earn MVFC Newcomer of the Week honors. Loyd's emergence, along with the continued strong play of Daniel Sobkowicz, has given the Redbirds one of the best receiving duos in the league. Loyd currently ranks third in the conference in receiving yards (622) and is tied for eighth in receptions (36) and receiving touchdowns (3). He and Sobkowicz are the only same-school duo in the MVFC to both rank in the top 9 in yards, receptions and touchdowns.
SPACK CLIMBING THE RANKS
Now in his 16th season at the helm of the Illinois State football program, Brock Spack has set nearly every coaching record in program history and hit another milestone against Missouri State in 2023. Already Illinois State's program wins record holder, Spack picked up the 100th win of his career in the Redbirds' thrilling 36-35 victory over the Bears to become just the fourth coach in MVFC history to reach 100 wins at a member school. Since that time, he's moved his career mark to 106-73 (.592), with his most recent victory coming on the road at Murray State by a score of 40-32. That gave Spack his 66th win in MVFC play, which moves him into sole possession of third place all-time in league victories ahead of former UNI and Missouri State head coach Terry Allen.Â
NIEKAMP NAMED FCS NATIONAL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Illinois State sophomore linebacker Tye Niekamp had a stellar day for the No. 18 Redbirds in their 45-10 road win at No. 19 Southern Illinois, and for his efforts he was named the Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week and the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week. The Normal, Illinois, native was all over the field for ISU and recorded a season-best 11 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, and one pass break up against SIU. Following a pivotal interception from Niekamp, his second of the season, the 'Birds got the ball back in Saluki territory and pulled out the trick double pass play where Daniel Sobkowicz took a backwards pass and stopped in his tracks to throw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Loyd to make the score 31-10 with 12:42 left in the game. On the night, Niekamp and the Redbird defense recorded eight tackles for loss, four sacks, and forced two turnovers against the nationally ranked Salukis on their home field.
FCS STATE TITLE SECURED
One of Illinois State's preseason goals was to win the state title against the other three FCS schools from the Land of Lincoln on the schedule. After securing wins at home in back-to-back weeks against Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois in non-conference action, the Redbirds headed to Carbondale to take on No. 19 ranked Southern Illinois, who ISU had not defeated since 2019. Thanks to a dominant 45-10 win, ISU was able to go 3-0 against its in-state FCS foes for the first time since 2019, which also happened to be the last year the Redbirds made the FCS playoffs. There seems to be a bit of a correlation with the Redbirds going 3-0 against SIU, WIU and EIU and making the playoffs, as they also picked up the sweep in 2014 and 2015 on way to back-to-back MVFC titles and playoff appearances.
