Senior left tackle J.J. Guedet was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Lineman of the Week honors following ISU’s 31-7 win against Eastern Illinois. Saturday’s league opener with North Dakota State may well be decided by line play. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
Near the end of his opening postgame statement following Illinois State’s win against rival Eastern Illinois, head coach Brock Spack said, “It was a good win. Now we know who we have next.”
That “next” is national title contender North Dakota State, ISU’s homecoming opponent for Saturday’s Missouri Valley Football Conference opener at Hancock Stadium.
Both teams sport 3-1 records, with each losing the season opener at an FBS opponent. Both show up in the national FCS rankings.
While NDSU is the No. 2 team in both major FCS polls, ISU is ranked No. 15 in the AFCA Coaches poll and No. 18 in Stats Perform FCS poll.
Saturday’s game is also perhaps the first true test among the FCS ranks for Spack’s Redbirds.
After losing Aug. 31 at Iowa, ISU has reeled off three straight non-conference wins. However, those three opponents – North Alabama, Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois – are a combined 1-11 on the season.
The opponent
North Dakota State comes into Normal from a 41-24 homecoming win against Towson.
While the Bison feature the veteran quarterback tandem of Cam Miller and Cole Payton, NDSU was fueled by youth in last week’s victory.
CharMar Brown, a redshirt freshman, earned MVFC Newcomer of the Week honors after rushing 24 times for 126 yards and three touchdowns.
“It’s more of the same,” Spack said of NDSU. “They’re a big, physically tough team. They like running the football well. They’re well-balanced offensively with a lot of formations.”
The 16th-year ISU head coach also noted that the Bison two-quarterback system is unique.
“Their situation is a little different (than most two-quarterback teams) because Miller can run too. He’s a very good athlete,” Spack said. “No. 9 (Payton) is a bigger guy. He’s a punishing runner. He has the ability to throw the ball too.
“The offense doesn’t change (when Payton comes in). The emphasis might, but they don’t change the offense much.”
Defensively, NDSU runs a 4-3 alignment with a split safety, Spack said.
“They’ll close out the middle of the field sometimes with a single-high safety, (but) everything is kind of the same when it comes to structure,” he noted.
The Bison are also dangerous on special teams. Freshman Jackson Williams went 67 yards for a touchdown against Towson on his first collegiate punt return. Williams’ game-high 169 all-purpose yards garnered him MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week.
First-year NDSU head coach Tim Polasek said that Illinois State is “built on execution, toughness (and) a run-it, stop-the-run philosophy.
“That right there tells me we’ve got our hands full.”
Kickoff: 2 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WJBC.com
Key matchup
Illinois State lines vs. North Dakota State lines
Yes, there are solid skill players on both sides of the ball for each program.
But, this game comes down to which team controls the line of scrimmage.
“I don’t think they’re going to give us a plug nickel, therefore we’re going to have to earn everything we get,” Polasek said.
Spack said, “They’re not going to beat themselves. They’re going to be in position and make plays.”
What’s at stake
An Illinois State win would not only mean a 1-0 start in the MVFC, but also greatly boost the Redbirds’ postseason chances.
“It’s kind of an interesting pick for homecoming, isn’t it?” Spack chuckled. “We don’t have any choice in that, so we’ll play them when we’re supposed to.
“It would be a great environment no matter what, but that adds to it. It’s the Missouri Valley opener. It’s nice to play it at home.”
Quick hits
North Dakota State holds a 14-2 series lead. The only two Illinois State wins against NDSU came in 2009 and 2010, Spack’s first two seasons as Redbird head coach. … ISU running backs coach Sam Ojuri ranks fourth among NDSU career rushing leaders. Ojuri (2009, 2011-13) ran for 3,694 yards as a Bison. … Polasek is the fourth NDSU head coach that Spack has faced. Craig Bohl, Chris Klieman and Matt Entz preceded him. … Illinois State has outscored opponents, 27-3, in points off turnovers this season. …Wenkers Wright leads ISU in rushing with 445 yards on 76 carries (5.9 average). … Sophomore Eddie Kasper is listed as one of three starting receivers after missing the first three games with mononucleosis. … True freshman Matt Lawson (16 carries for 68 yards in two games) could appear in more than four Redbird games this fall and thus not be eligible for a redshirt season. “Matt Lawson has done really, really well. He’s hard to keep off the field because he’s explosive,” Spack said. “If he can help us now, then he’s going to play. We’ll see how that goes. We’re trying to get him some playing time and experience in case he had to play down the road. I think he’s going to be hard to keep off the field. We’ll see.”
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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