No. 17 Illinois State Heads To Iowa To Face UNI

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: November 9, 2024
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Site: Cedar Falls, Iowa
Stadium: UNI-Dome
Capacity: 16,324
Series: Northern Iowa leads 23-16
Last: UNI won 24-21 (Oct. 28, 2023)
Watch: Marquee Sports Network
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
Illinois State will begin a two-game road swing this weekend, when the Redbirds (6-3, 3-2 MVFC) travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa, to take on the UNI Panthers (2-7, 0-5 MVFC) at the UNI-Dome in another crucial game for ISU's playoff chances.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and UNI will meet for the 40th time, with the Panthers holding a 23-16 advantage in the all-time series that dates back to 1972. The Redbirds have won two out of the last three contests against the Panthers overall, but UNI has won four out of the last six matchups against ISU. In 2022, the Redbirds snapped a three-game losing streak at the UNI-Dome with a close win over the Panthers, who hold an 8-3 advantage at home against the Redbirds since the year 2000. Overall, head coach Brock Spack is 6-7 against the Panthers in his time at the helm of the Redbird football program.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 16th season as the head coach at Illinois State (107-73). 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.

Northern Iowa: Mark Farley (UNI, 1987) is in his 24th season as the head coach at Northern Iowa (182-110). Farley is the winningest coach in UNI and Missouri Valley Football Conference history with 182 wins, including 17 playoff victories. Under Farley's tutelage, the Panthers have won at least a share of seven MVFC titles.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
> The University of Northern Iowa is located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and has an enrollment of 9,283. The Panthers are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at UNI-Dome (16,324).
> The Panthers hold a 2-7 overall record and are 0-5 in MVFC action. UNI picked up two wins to start the season with wins over Valparaiso and St. Thomas, but have dropped their last seven contests in a row headed into the matchup with the Redbirds.
> Last week, UNI traveled to North Dakota State to take on the no. 1-ranked Bison inside the Fargodome. The Bison got out in front early and never released the reins as they finished with a 42-19 victory over UNI. Wideout Sergio Morancy finished the game with 102 receiving yards, as he became the first Panther this season to eclipse 100 yards in a single game.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE PANTHERS (OCT. 28, 2023)
For a second straight week the game was decided in the final seconds for Illinois State, as Northern Iowa held a slim lead late in the contest. However, following an ISU touchdown a recovered onside kick gave the No. 23 ranked Panthers a 24-21 win over the Redbirds on a chilly and blustery day at Hancock Stadium. Tight end Cam Grandy hauled in a career-high 11 passes for 112 yards, including his third touchdown of the season with the late grab from Zack Annexstad in the fourth quarter. Annexstad finished the game with a career-best 292 yards passing on a personal-best 33 completions and accounted for all three Redbird touchdowns, with two passing scores and one on the ground. Lavoise-Deontae McCoy recorded a career-high 14 tackles against the Panthers and finished with half sack and one pass breakup.

WRIGHT BACK AT IT
Running back Wenkers Wright recorded three-straight 100-yard rushing performances during the non-conference portion of the schedule but had been held under the century mark through four MVFC games despite ranking in the top five in the conference in rushing. However, he was able to eclipse that mark in ISU's win over Youngstown State with 104 yards on just 10 carries to tally his fourth 100-plus yard rushing effort of the season. Wright also caught three passes on the day, including a three-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter for the Redbirds. On the season, he leads the team with 744 yards and five scores as the Redbirds' primary tailback.

A LONG TIME COMING
When All-American linebacker Amir Abdullah was injured in Illinois State's season opener at Iowa, many feared the worst and thought the Redbirds' elite pass rusher was done for the season. Thankfully the leg injury was not season ending, but it did force Abdullah to miss seven games and eight total weeks including last week's bye before he was finally able to return to the field against Youngstown State. He wasted little in making a big impact for the Redbird defense, as he recorded six tackles and tallied 1.5 sacks with a pass breakup against the Penguins. Abdullah was also instrumental in keeping YSU quarterback Beau Brungard under wraps, as the MVFC rushing leader was held to just 22 yards on the ground on the day with Abdullah often spying him or flushing him from the pocket.

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 EARN MVFC HONORS
The Illinois State football team picked up a crucial road win headed into a bye week at Murray State on Saturday, 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. 

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 fourth in the conference in receiving yards (632), is tied for eighth in receptions (38) and is tied for ninth in 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 107-73 (.594), with his most recent victory coming at home against Youngstown State. That gave Spack his 67th win in MVFC play, which puts him in sole possession of third place all-time in league victories ahead of former UNI and Missouri State head coach Terry Allen.