Brock Spack is in his 15th season as Illinois State head coach. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
With the nonconference portion of its schedule completed, Illinois State football has the bye week to prepare for its Oct. 7 home showdown with top-ranked South Dakota State.
Yet, not all of the focus rests on the defending FCS national champion Jackrabbits.
“We’re working on us this week,” veteran ISU head coach Brock Spack said in his weekly media address.
It’s not that Spack is ignoring next week’s Missouri Valley Football Conference matchup. Spack said his staff has been looking at tape of SDSU as far back as the offseason.
“That’s a game you’ve got to be ready for,” Spack said of next week’s contest at Hancock Stadium. “If you want to win a championship, that’s a game you have to win.”
How ISU got here
The Redbirds (3-1) already have a conference win. ISU defeated rival Western Illinois, 34-18, Sept. 9 in Macomb.
Illinois State’s lone loss came a week later at Eastern Illinois. The Redbirds missed two field goal attempts and an extra point in a 14-13 defeat.
ISU rebounded with a 48-17 triumph against Lindenwood leading into this week’s bye.
“We’re not quite where we need to be yet,” Spack said.
Where the Redbirds are headed
As with most teams, Illinois State has used this week to rest players who have logged most of the playing time as well as those healing from nagging injuries.
Running back Mason Blakemore sat out the Lindenwood game after getting hurt against EIU. Backup Wenkers Wright has also dealt with a knee ailment.
“We’ll get Mason healed up and we’ll see about Wenkers,” Spack said in regard to their availability against South Dakota State.
Redshirt junior Cole Mueller, who missed last season following a leg injury in the opener at FBS Wisconsin, took on the bulk of the workload against Lindenwood.
Mueller carried the ball a team-high 18 times. He had 64 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Freshman Josh Robinson led the Redbird rushing attack with a career-high 84 yards, including his first career touchdown.
“Other than putting the ball on the ground that one time (with a fumble), he played pretty well,” Spack said of the Bolingbrook High School graduate.
Stat check
Illinois State ranks fourth in scoring defense nationally. ISU has given up 12.25 points per game to date.
The Redbirds lead the FCS with 20 sacks, including a season-high eight against Eastern Illinois.
“I didn’t expect us to have the pressure we’ve had on the quarterback,” Spack said. “We’ve been able to create that either through calls or structure or effort.”
ISU has 36 tackles for loss, which ties the Redbirds for third nationally.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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