Illinois State Football News and Notes from Dick Luedke

 

Nov. 19, 2009 - The UNI Panthers probably need a win Saturday at Hancock Stadium in order to nail down yet another playoff berth.  And so they will be highly motivated to play their best football of the season.  Meanwhile, the Redbirds have nothing like that at stake. They are out of the playoff picture. They would secure a winning record with a win, and yet a winning record doesn't come close to carrying the weight of a spot in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. 

 

But don't expect Brock Spack's players to have any less motivation Saturday than their counterparts from Northern Iowa.  Spack himself could care less what's at stake.  If it's a competitive event of any sort, if someone is going to keep score, Spack is doing all he can to make sure he winds up with the higher number.  And his players, since meeting their new coach a bit less than a year ago, have quickly learned that if they are going to play for him, they need to have that same mindset. 

 

You can be absolutely sure of at least one thing. If Northern Iowa is able to beat the Redbirds Saturday, you will not hear Spack or any of his players even hint at the fact that they didn't have as much to play for as did the Panthers. 

Game time today is noon.  Pre-game coverage on the Redbird Radio Network begins at 11 am.  Right after the football broadcast, we’ll launch coverage of the ISU men’s basketball home opener against North Florida.  And right after that, we’ll be going to the home Redbird volleyball match with Missouri State.
 

 

Nov. 12, 2009 - If at the beginning of this season, if you had told the average Illinois State fan that his or her Redbirds were going to win 5 games this year, that fan would have been pleased.  Well the Redbirds have won five games, and indeed Redbird fans are pleased.

Any realistic hope for a playoff berth or even a portion of the conference title are gone.  But still within reach is the possibility of winning season.  The Birds would have to win three of their final four games in order to accomplish that.  And one of those four games is against pre-season Missouri Valley favorite Northern Iowa.  So, there isn't exactly a lot of room for error.  But the other three games left on the schedule, the one at Missouri State Saturday, the one at home against Western Illinois a week from Saturday, and the one at Youngstown State two weeks from Saturday, are against teams that so far have performed at about the level at which Brock Spack's guys have performed.  Admittedly asking for triumphs in all three of those games is asking for quite a bit.  But it's not asking for the impossible. 

The toughest of those three games is probably the one coming up.  Missouri State is coming off a big win at North Dakota State.  The Redbirds are coming off an open week, which can sometimes be an advantage.  But the Redbird defense has been struggling of late and ISU surrendered 58 points the last time they played in Springfield, Missouri. 

Game time Saturday is 1:00 pm.  Our coverage begins at noon.

 

 

Now in game No. 4 of the Missouri Valley season, the Birds have been thrust into a new role - that of distinct favorite. In their homecoming game tomorrow, the Redbirds go up against the team tabbed for the 9th and last in the MVC. Indeed, for the last three seasons, Indiana State has owned the bottom position in this league. And so virtually everyone expects today that the Birds will be victorious.

That expectation creates a whole new dynamic for Brock Spack's guys today. ISU's 1st-year coach does not want his players contemplating Indiana State's 32-game losing streak, the nation's longest. He does not want them thinking about the lopsided victories Illinois State has scored over this struggling program each of the last four seasons. He wants them focused on themselves and on how they can play even better than they did in their competitive loss at Southern Illinois last week and their big victory at North Dakota State the week before that. But it's very difficult to resist the temptation to go into a game like this one thinking that a less than stellar performance will still be good enough. Spack and his coaches know that's not necessarily true. That's what they've been trying to tell their players all week, and we're about to find out if the Redbirds have gotten the message.

Game time tomorrow at Hancock Stadium is 2:00 pm.  Our coverage begins at 1:00 pm.

 

Oct. 7, 2009 - The Redbirds were leading 3-to-0 as the 2nd quarter began on Saturday at the Fargodome in North Dakota.  North Dakota State faced a 3rd and 8 at its own 5 yard line.  Things were looking up for the Birds.  But suddenly a journeyman receiver, who had not caught a pass all season for the Bison, slipped past the Illinois State defense, caught a perfectly spiraling pass in stride and raced to the end zone for the longest touchdown pass play in North Dakota State football history.  Things were now looking down for the Redbirds.  But more than that, this was reminiscent of what has happened to the Birds several other times during the two seasons prior to this one.  Illinois State fans had seen this movie before.

But there are two games to go, and fans are greedy.  For that matter so are coaches, and so are players.  And so the focus in the Illinois State football camp right now is to win more than five games, which would mean a winning season, something that even the most optimistic among those who follow the Birds were calling a long shot at the beginning of the season. 

But those same fans would not call the chances of a Redbird win Saturday at Youngstown State a long shot.  The Birds are probably an underdog, but a slight underdog, just as they were at North Dakota State and at Missouri State.  Going on the road this year with the Birds has been a lot of fun.  Here's hoping for more of that sort of fun on Saturday. 

Our coverage from Stambaugh Stadium (otherwise known as the Ice Castle) begins Saturday at 11:00 am.

     
Nov. 4, 2009 - It really hasn't been that long since the Illinois State Football Redbirds were over .500. It just seems like a long time.  But it happened just two seasons ago when the Birds, after that dreadful season-opening loss to Drake, came back with successive victories at home against Murray State and at Eastern Illinois.  Since then, the Redbird record has been dead even or worse - mostly worse.

That could change Saturday as the 4-and-4 Birds host Western Illinois, a team that has struggled to a 1-and-7 mark so far in 2009.

This first season under Coach Brock Spack started with a couple of losses. But the Redbirds have since won four of six.  Two of those four wins, including the one last Saturday, have been glorious upset triumphs on the road.  But Saturday, ISU plays the unfamiliar role of favorite.  That can be a tough role to play, particularly for a team that hasn't played it much lately.  And so putting a number on the left side of that won/loss ledger that is bigger than the one on the right will not necesarily be an easy task.

Game time Saturday is 1:00 pm.  Our coverage begins at noon.

 

Oct. 26, 2009 - It was apparent back in August that the Illinois State football schedule this season was a little top heavy.  Early games against Eastern Illinois, the University of Illinois, South Dakota State and Southern Illinois made it very likely that the Redbirds would be under .500 by mid-October.  And indeed, here on the final day of October, the Birds are one game below the break-even point, with four games to go. Oct. 16, 2009 - The Illinois State Football Redbirds began their Missouri Valley Conference schedule against tough opposition. The team picked 8th in the preseason poll has started the league season against the teams picked 2nd, 3rd and 4th. They did win the game against No. 4 - North Dakota State - but were distinct underdogs going into each of those contests.

But as you and I now know, this movie had a surprise ending.  The Redbirds went on to win this thrilling game 27-to-24 to record their most significant triumph since 2006.  And although there are a lot of reasons why Illinois State recorded its first win against a Dakota State (having previously gone 0-and-4 against the newest members of the Missouri Valley), the primary reason was their emotional response to what looked at the time like a devastating turn of events.  The Redbirds were quietly confident going into this game.  And that confidence was not compromised by the mistake that produced that 95-yard play.  As we think about the prospects for this team through the final six games of this eason, I think that is a very important fact.     

Next up is the 6th ranked team in the country.  Southern Illinois is coming off back-to-back Missouri Valley wins over North Dakota State and Western Illinois.  The Redbirds played well in Fargo, but they'll have to play even better to have a shot at the Salukis.  Even if they are capable of recovering emotionally from a 95-yard touchdown pass against them, they'd best not allow one of those in this one.  

Game time is 2:00 pm in Carbondale.  Our coverage starts at 1:00 pm.

             

Sept 30, 2009 - In spite of a horrible start (a snap over quarterback Matt Brown's head on the first play from scrimmage), the Redbirds were down only 14-to-10 late in the first half in their Missouri Valley Conference opener against South Dakota State.  And Brown, executing Coach Brock Spack's no huddle offense, had moved the Birds quickly down the field.  After another pass completion, it was 2nd and 5 at the Jackrabbit 38.  I was feeling downright giddy.  The Birds had been more than holding their own against a very good Football Championship Subdivision team.  They appeared to have a great shot at taking a lead into the lockerroom.  

It was then that the air whooshed out of the balloon.  An errant pass by Brown was picked off by South Dakota State.  With 20 seconds left in the half, the Jacks pulled off a 62-yard touchdown pass play, upping the visitor's advantage to 21-to-10.  Even while trying to embrace the distraction of a spectacular halftime fireworks display, I couldn't help but think about what might have ben.

You know the rest of the story.  The Jackrabbits scored the first 17 points of the 2nd half to put the game in the bank before the Birds scored the final touchdown.  And so Illinois State is now 1-and-3 heading into a couple of tough road games at North Dakota State and Southern Illinois.

Still, I can't help but be eager for the next game.  Watching the air leave the balloon Saturday night at Hancock Stadium was depressing.  But the fact that the Birds were able to pump the air into the balloon in the first place says a lot about what this team could still accoomplish.  

Game time in Fargo Saturday is 1:00 pm.  Our pre-game coverage starts at noon.     

 

Sept. 23, 2009 - It has not taken long for new coach Brock Spack to put his personal stamp on this year's version of the Redbirds. It's a totally different offensive scheme, and it has been a lot of fun watching freshman quarterback Matt Brown complete passes to so many different receivers. But I am even more encouraged by what we have seen from the defense. 

I offer two statistical comparisons between this year's defense and last year's. In 11 games a year ago, the Illinois State defense forced 12 turnovers. In three games this year, the Redbird defense has forced the opponent to cough up the football 10 times. In 11 games a year ago, the Birds sacked the quarterback 10 times. In three games so far this season, the ISU defense has been credited with seven sacks. 

Of course the bottom line is winning. And through three games, this year's team has the same number of victories as last year's Redbirds did after three games - one. However, as the tough Missouri Valley season begins Saturday evening at Hancock Stadium against South Dakota State, it sure seems as though there is reason to be excited about this football team. 

Our pre-game coverage begins Saturday at 6:00 pm.