Brock Spack has been Illinois State’s head coach since 2009. The Rockford native is the program’s all-time winningest coach. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
On paper, Saturday’s Illinois State game at Northern Iowa appears to be another win for the Redbirds’ postseason resume.
After all, ISU has won two straight games and boasts a 3-0 road record against FCS opponents this season. Northern Iowa, meanwhile, has lost seven straight games.
But ISU head coach Brock Spack isn’t buying it.
“It’s (been) brutal,” Spack said of Northern Iowa’s schedule.
According to this week’s Massey strength of schedule ratings, the Panthers have faced the second strongest slate in FCS behind only Portland State of the Big Sky Conference.
Northern Iowa’s schedule has included playing all four Dakota schools along with FBS-bound Missouri State in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. In addition, head coach Mark Farley’s Panthers have played at FBS opponents Nebraska and Hawaii.
“(They’ve played) five ranked teams in a row, we’re the sixth one,” Spack said. “It’s pretty brutal. You’ve got to throw that record out and just watch the tape. I don’t know how many people could navigate that schedule.”
Thus far, Northern Iowa hasn’t. The Panthers are 2-7 overall and 0-5 in the MVFC.
Saturday puts Illinois State (6-3, 3-2) on the road for two consecutive weeks before the Redbirds’ Senior Day home finale Nov. 23 against North Dakota.
The opponent
Farley, a former Northern Iowa linebacker, has been the Panther head coach for 24 seasons. He stands as the winningest coach in UNI and MVFC history with 180 wins, including 17 playoff victories.
This year’s team features graduate student running back Tye Edwards (663 rushing yards, 4 TDs) and redshirt sophomore quarterback Matthew Schecklman (1,103 passing yards, 7 TDs).
Senior back Amauri Pesek-Hickson is the second leading rusher (389 yards) and has scored four touchdowns.
Senior defensive back Jonathan Cabral-Martin is the Panthers’ leading tackler with 59 stops.
Defensive lineman Cannon Butler has 6.5 tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries.
Punter Noah Pettinger ranks 21st in FCS with a 43.35 per kick average.
Kickoff: 1 p.m.; TV: Marquee Network & ESPN-Plus Radio: WJBC.com
Key matchup
Illinois State offensive line vs. Northern Iowa defense
Illinois State, with the league’s sixth best rushing offense, has shown balance with the fourth best passing attack among the MVFC’s 11 teams.
Northern Iowa has just five sacks this season, the lowest in the conference. ISU has allowed 15 sacks in nine games, which ranks seventh in the Missouri Valley.
What’s at stake
A win would give Illinois State seven victories on the season with two games remaining before the FCS playoff bracket is announced Nov. 24.
Quick hits
Illinois State has a 3-1 record on the road this season with the lone loss coming in the season opener at FBS Iowa. … Saturday marks the Redbirds’ first game in a dome this fall. Spack said his team practiced in its own indoor facility all week in preparation. “We call it ‘The Bubble’ and it’s great,” he said. “We’ll get used to playing inside.” … Northern Iowa leads the all-time series, 23-16. The Panthers won, 24-21, in Normal last fall. ISU won the 2022 game, 23-21, in Cedar Falls. The schools first met in 1972. … The two schools were charter members of the Gateway Collegiate Athletic Conference in 1985. That league morphed into the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2008.
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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