No. 18 Redbirds Host Western Illinois In Home Opener

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: September 14, 2024
Time: 12 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Illinois
Stadium: Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 13,391
Series: Western Illinois leads 52-51-3
Last: ILS won 34-18 (Sept. 9, 2023)
Watch/Stream: Marquee Sports Networ/ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 93.7 FM / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
With two road games to start the season under its belt, No. 18/19 Illinois State will host its home openers on Saturday against longtime in-state rival Western Illinois. This will be the first time since 1985 when the Gateway Football Conference (now Missouri Valley Football Conference) that the two teams will not be playing each other as conference foes, as WIU has left the MVFC for the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Western Illinois will meet for the 107th time on the gridiron on Saturday. The series dates back to 1904 and the Fighting Leathernecks hold a slight 52-51-3 advantage over the Redbirds. However, Illinois State has controlled things under the direction of head coach Brock Spack going 13-3 since 2009 with wins in the last two contests and five out of the last six overall.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 16th season as the head coach at Illinois State (102-71). 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.

Western Illinois: Joe Davis (Adrian, 2002) is in his first season as the head coach at North Western Illinois (0-2). Davis became the 32nd Head Football Coach at Western Illinois in December 2023 after serving the last two years as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback Coach at Eastern Illinois. Prior to EIU, Davis spent 2018-2021 as the Associate Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach at UAlbany.

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 63-22 at home under Spack's guidance
    ISU is 46-16 at Hancock Stadium since 2013 renovation

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
 Western Illinois University is located in Macomb, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 6,290. The Fighting Leathernecks are members of the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference and play their home games at Hanson Field (12,368).
 The Fighting Leathernecks officially begin play in the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Football Association this season. Western Illinois previously played in the Missouri Valley Football Conference/Gateway Conference from 1985-2023.
 WIU is off to an 0-2 start to the season, after dropping games to a pair of FBS foes in Northern Illinois (54-15) and Indiana (77-3). The Leathernecks come into the game looking to snap a 26-game losing streak. The last Western Illinois victory came on Saturday, October 30, 2021, against Illinois State. The last Leatherneck road win was at Youngstown State on September 25, 2021.
 Last Friday at Indiana, The Hoosiers jumped out to a 28-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and would keep up the scoring before Western Illinois put together a 12-play, 69-yard drive that ended with Antonio Chadha's 31-yard field goal.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE LEATHERNECKS (SEPT. 9,  2023)
In a back-and-forth game that saw momentum change several times, it was Illinois State who came away with the road victory against Western Illinois in Macomb as the Redbirds recorded seven sacks and used four rushing touchdowns to run away from the Leathernecks late by a final score of 34-18. Running back Mason King had a career day, rushing for a career-best 170 yards on 19 carries with three rushing touchdowns. Safety Keondre Jackson was all over the field for the Redbird defense, setting career bests with nine tackles, two sacks and four TFLs for ISU.

BALANCED RUSHING ATTACK
Despite not having the services of preseason All-American and 2023 MVFC Newcomer of the Year Mason King due to injury, the Redbirds still managed to control the game on the ground in their 24-17 road win at North Alabama. ISU racked up 325 yards on the ground, its most since rushing for 345 yards in a win against Murray State late last season. The rushing attack was led by senior Wenkers Wright, who racked up 153 yards on the ground including a big 54 yard run late in the fourth quarter that helped put the game away. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse also rushed for a career-best 94 yards in the contest, with two rushing scores including a 71-yard dash. Newcomer Seth Glatz also had a soldi game with 51 yards and Josh Robinson added 37. Wide receiver Xavier Loyd also got in on the mix, picking up nine yards and a first down on an end-around run.

STUFFING THE RUN
Coming off a week one tough assignment against the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Redbird defense looked to get back to its standard of stopping the run against North Alabama. The usually stout rushing defense for the Redbirds was apparent once again, as they held the Lions to just 83 yards on the ground and racked up nine TFLs in the 24-17 victory. Defensive backs Mark Cannon Jr. and Keondre Jackson led the way in that effort, as they were not shy in crashing from their duties in the secondary to make stops in the backfield with 1.5 TFLs each. Defensive lineman Nick Kessler also added 1.5 TFLs, as did linebackers Jalan Gaines and Tye Niekamp, who also forced a fumble as the Lions appeared to be headed into the end zone for a score. 

MITCH MAKES GOOD
One of the newest Redbirds made the first big play of the game in their win at North Alabama. After winning the toss and electing to receive, ISU proceeded to march 75 yards down the field in seven plays to score the first touchdown of the game and take the early momentum. Transfer tight end Mitch Bartol capped off that scoring drive with an 18-yard touchdown reception from Tommy Rittenhouse, his first as a Redbird. He would add one more catch on the day to finish with two grabs for 26 yards on the day.

SUCCESS IN HOME OPENERS
The Redbirds have been very good at home under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, especially in the first home game of each season. Thanks to their dominant 41-0 win over the Flyers to open the 2023 slate, ISU is 14-1 in the first home game of the season at Hancock Stadium under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. 

TOMMY TIME
Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse did it all for the Redbirds in their road win at North Alabama. The junior quarterback from Geneva, Illinois, rushed for a career-high 94 yards and accounted for 236 yards of total offense in the Redbirds' win over the Lions. Rittenhouse was also responsible for three touchdowns in the win, two coming on the ground and one through the air. He wasted little time getting the offense going, leading the team down the field on the first drive of the game which he capped off with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Mitch Bartol. Early in the second quarter, he called his own number on a scramble in the red zone and ran it in for three yards out for his second touchdown of the game. Later in the contest, after coming out of the game with some cramping issues, he returned to break off a 71-yard rushing touchdown that would prove to be the game winner for the Redbirds.

MJ SOARS
Junior cornerback Mark Cannon Jr. was all over the field on in Illinois State's 24-17 win at North Alabama. The Skokie, Illinois, native led the Redbird defense with 10 total tackles (6 solo stops) and was credited with 1.5 tackles for loss. Cannon also forced one of two turnovers in the contest, when he intercepted a pass late in the second quarter and returned the ball 14 yards to the UNA 26 yard line. The interception for Cannon was the fourth in his career at ISU.

LOTS OF FAMILIAR FACES
Fans who got to see the Redbirds in person last fall will notice a lot of familiar faces and names on the field Saturday in the season opener at Iowa. ISU returns 54 letterwinners and 17 starters (8 offense, 9 defense) from last year's team. Many of those players saw significant action last season and with a full offseason in the weight room and work put in during spring and fall camp, this roster is expected to outperform the heartbreaking 6-5 record from last season.

13 REDBIRDS EARN PRESEASON HONORS
The Missouri Valley Football Conference announced a total of 13 Illinois State Redbirds were named to the preseason All-Conference team and Illinois State was selected sixth in the preseason poll voted on by league coaches, media, and sports information directors. Running back Mason King, wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz, offensive lineman Hunter Zambrano and linebacker Amir Abdullah were each named First-Team selections, while defensive lineman Jake Anderson, linebacker Tye Niekamp and safety Keondre Jackson were named to the Second Team. Wide receiver Eddie Kasper, fullback/tight end Scotty Presson Jr., defensive lineman Jake Siegal, linebackers Lavoise-Deontae McCoy and Jalan Gaines and defensive back Mark Cannon Jr. rounded out the Redbird honorees as Honorable Mention team members.

FOUR REDBIRDS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Illinois State football standouts Amir Abdullah and Mason King were recognized as two of the top returning players in the Football Championship Subdivision, as the duo was named to the 2024 Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team by the organization. Abdullah was picked as a First-Team selection in the annual preseason list, while King was tabbed a Third-Team selection. They are among 24 Missouri Valley Football Conference players named as part of this year's team. They also joined teammates Daniel Sobkowicz and Hunter Zambrano on Phil Steele's annual FCS Preseason All-America team.