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Opponent Insight: Illinois State
11/6/2019 9:38:00 AM | Football
When Brock Spack was named the 20th head coach in Illinois State football history prior to the 2009 season, he referred to the Redbirds as a "sleeping giant", citing that the program had all the tools and resources to be a powerhouse in the Football Championship Subdivision. Fast forward to 2019 and it seems as if the former Purdue defensive coordinator has awoken that giant.
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Over his 11-year tenure with Illinois State, Spack has only endured one losing season, which came back in 2013 when the Redbirds went 5-6 (4-4 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference). In the 2014 and 2015 seasons, he led the Redbirds to tie for first in the MVFC regular season standings, along with a berth in the 2014 FCS championship game.
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This season, the Redbirds are 6-3 overall (3-2 in the MVFC) and ranked No.11 in the STATS FCS poll, which puts them in prime position to earn their fifthplayoff berth under Spack.
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Picked to finish third in the MVFC preseason poll, the Redbirds are currently sitting in fourth place in the conference, but a win Saturday could potentially move them up to second.
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OFFENSE
The Redbirds are led on offense by senior running back James Robinson, who looks to add to another strong season. Against Indiana State on Oct. 26, Robinson rushed for a season-high 180 yards and scored two touchdowns. He has surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark five times this season and has rushed for three touchdowns on three different occasions this season. The Illinois native his averaging 107 yards per game, which is second in the conference, while his 14 rushing touchdowns places him first in the conference. Robinson was a first-team allll-MVFC selection last season.
Illinois State ranks last in pass offense and pass efficiency in the conference but redshirt junior quarterback Brady Davis has turned in some impressive performances this season. The former Memphis Tiger quarterback showed how dangerous he could be Sept. 21 against Northern Arizona, when he threw for an impressive 419 yards and two touchdowns.
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The Redbirds lost their top two wide receivers in Taylor Grimes and Andrew Edgar to season-ending injuries against Northern Arizona. Edgar led the Redbirds with 14 catches and 252 yards while Grimes was second with 11 catches and 213 yards. Since then, freshman wide receiver Kacper Rutkiewicz has been the main target as he has led the Redbirds in receiving yards in the three of the five games the sophomore duo have missed.
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Illinois State is also first in the conference in red zone offense, scoring on 92.3 percent of their trips deep into opposing territory.
DEFENSE
The Redbirds have a daunting defense that is at the top of the conference in red zone defense (56.7%) and leads in sacks (33). They are also third in the conference in scoring defense, holding opponents to fewer than 18 points per game.
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Junior defensive end Romeo McKnight received MVFC All-Newcomer Team honors last season. The former Iowa Hawkeye has eight sacks on the season, which places him third in the conference.
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Senior defensive back Luther Kirk leads his team in total tackles with 59 on the season. Against Northern Iowa last week, he accumulated a season high 10 tackles, beating out his previous high (9) set in the season opener against Northern Illinois (Aug. 31). Kirk also received an MVFC First-Team selection last season as a safety.
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Junior linebacker Dylan Draka saw most of his action last season on special teams and only recorded seven tackles all year. This season, the Illinois native is on a tear and is second on the team with 51 tackles.
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Senior Linebacker Tuvone Clark and junior defensive lineman Steven Podkulski have been able to reach the opposing quarterback this season. Both Redbirds have a total of four sacks on the season, which ties them for second on the team.
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SPACK VERSUS THE JACKS
 During Spack's tenure, Illinois State and the Jackrabbits each have four wins, but the Redbirds hold a slight advantage in scoring. The Redbirds have scored an overall of 216 points in the eight outings, while the Jacks have scored only 186 points. The biggest win also belongs to the Redbirds, when they comfortably beat the Jacks in 2014 by a score of 45-10.
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This highly anticipated matchup between No.4 South Dakota State and No.11 Illinois State will have an impact on MVFC standings, which means that FCS playoff implications also are likely to be at stake.
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Kickoff is at 2 p.m. Saturday at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
-GoJacks.com-
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Over his 11-year tenure with Illinois State, Spack has only endured one losing season, which came back in 2013 when the Redbirds went 5-6 (4-4 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference). In the 2014 and 2015 seasons, he led the Redbirds to tie for first in the MVFC regular season standings, along with a berth in the 2014 FCS championship game.
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This season, the Redbirds are 6-3 overall (3-2 in the MVFC) and ranked No.11 in the STATS FCS poll, which puts them in prime position to earn their fifthplayoff berth under Spack.
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Picked to finish third in the MVFC preseason poll, the Redbirds are currently sitting in fourth place in the conference, but a win Saturday could potentially move them up to second.
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OFFENSE
The Redbirds are led on offense by senior running back James Robinson, who looks to add to another strong season. Against Indiana State on Oct. 26, Robinson rushed for a season-high 180 yards and scored two touchdowns. He has surpassed the 100-yard rushing mark five times this season and has rushed for three touchdowns on three different occasions this season. The Illinois native his averaging 107 yards per game, which is second in the conference, while his 14 rushing touchdowns places him first in the conference. Robinson was a first-team allll-MVFC selection last season.
Illinois State ranks last in pass offense and pass efficiency in the conference but redshirt junior quarterback Brady Davis has turned in some impressive performances this season. The former Memphis Tiger quarterback showed how dangerous he could be Sept. 21 against Northern Arizona, when he threw for an impressive 419 yards and two touchdowns.
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The Redbirds lost their top two wide receivers in Taylor Grimes and Andrew Edgar to season-ending injuries against Northern Arizona. Edgar led the Redbirds with 14 catches and 252 yards while Grimes was second with 11 catches and 213 yards. Since then, freshman wide receiver Kacper Rutkiewicz has been the main target as he has led the Redbirds in receiving yards in the three of the five games the sophomore duo have missed.
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Illinois State is also first in the conference in red zone offense, scoring on 92.3 percent of their trips deep into opposing territory.
DEFENSE
The Redbirds have a daunting defense that is at the top of the conference in red zone defense (56.7%) and leads in sacks (33). They are also third in the conference in scoring defense, holding opponents to fewer than 18 points per game.
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Junior defensive end Romeo McKnight received MVFC All-Newcomer Team honors last season. The former Iowa Hawkeye has eight sacks on the season, which places him third in the conference.
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Senior defensive back Luther Kirk leads his team in total tackles with 59 on the season. Against Northern Iowa last week, he accumulated a season high 10 tackles, beating out his previous high (9) set in the season opener against Northern Illinois (Aug. 31). Kirk also received an MVFC First-Team selection last season as a safety.
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Junior linebacker Dylan Draka saw most of his action last season on special teams and only recorded seven tackles all year. This season, the Illinois native is on a tear and is second on the team with 51 tackles.
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Senior Linebacker Tuvone Clark and junior defensive lineman Steven Podkulski have been able to reach the opposing quarterback this season. Both Redbirds have a total of four sacks on the season, which ties them for second on the team.
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SPACK VERSUS THE JACKS
 During Spack's tenure, Illinois State and the Jackrabbits each have four wins, but the Redbirds hold a slight advantage in scoring. The Redbirds have scored an overall of 216 points in the eight outings, while the Jacks have scored only 186 points. The biggest win also belongs to the Redbirds, when they comfortably beat the Jacks in 2014 by a score of 45-10.
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This highly anticipated matchup between No.4 South Dakota State and No.11 Illinois State will have an impact on MVFC standings, which means that FCS playoff implications also are likely to be at stake.
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Kickoff is at 2 p.m. Saturday at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
-GoJacks.com-
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