Illinois State head coach Brock Spack sports a 14-3 record against rival Western Illinois since taking over the Redbird program in 2009. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
A week after drubbing NAIA St. Francis, Illinois State faces its first FCS competition in the form of longtime rival Western Illinois.
The schools first played in 1904 and Saturday’s matchup marks the 108th meeting. It also begins a stretch in which ISU will face FBS Northern Illinois and FCS Eastern Illinois in the following weeks.
“It’s important for all of us to play each other,” ISU head coach Brock Spack told Prairie State PIgskin. “It’s kinda nice. It’s fun and relatively inexpensive for all of us. It makes sense to have these friendly rivalries. It saves on the travel bill.”
ISU, ranked No. 4 in both national FCS polls, opened its season with a 76-0 shellacking of St. Francis. The only real negative from that victory was a first-half injury to star running back Victor Dawson, who left Hancock Stadium to be examined at a local hospital.
According to an ISU official, Dawson practiced throughout this week.
Should Dawson not be able to play against WIU, the Redbirds still have the rotation of senior Seth Glatz and redshirt sophomore Tyler Lofton. In addition, Anthony Hall, a transfer from Iowa Central Community College, is available after sitting out last week, Spack said.
Meanwhile, redshirt junior Beckham Pellant and fifth-year senior Gage Roy will again both see time at quarterback.
“It really doesn’t matter. They played about the same (amount of time),” Spack said when asked which player would start.
WIU (1-0) opened its season with a 65-14 thumping of Northwestern (Iowa) College, the No. 24-ranked NAIA program.
Like ISU, Western will likely play two quarterbacks – sophomore Cason Carswell, last year’s Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year, and transfer Kennedy McGill, a finalist for the Harlon Hill Award for the top offensive player in Division II last fall.
While he is concerned with the dual quarterbacks, ISU linebacker Solomon Oduma has his main focus on the Leatherneck ground attack.
“Something they hang their hat on is the run game. It will be interesting to see how we stop that. It will be a great matchup,” Oduma said.
Kickoff: 7 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WJBC.com
Key matchup to watch
ISU run game vs. WIU run defense
Whether Dawson plays or not, Illinois State possesses a solid offensive line coupled with depth in the running back room to test the Western defense.
What’s at stake
An ISU win would mark the first victory that counts toward playoff consideration.
Quick hits
Saturday’s game time has been pushed back an hour to 7 p.m. because of the extreme heat conditions facing the Midwest. … Glatz began his career at Western Illinois before transferring to Illinois State in 2024. “He’s a deceptively fast guy. He’s strong. He has really good instincts and is hard to tackle. He’s come up with big plays for us the last couple years,” Spack said of Glatz. … WIU running back Josh Robinson began his career at Illinois State in 2023. He left Normal and played two seasons at Lamar before transferring to WIU in the off-season. “That’s the portal era,” Spack said. … Pellant and receiver Dylan Lord will renew acquaintances with WIU running back Avery Knight. The trio played together at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Ariz. …. The ISU-WIU series is deadlocked at 52-52-3. However, the Redbirds have gone 14-3 since Spack took over the program in 2009. ISU has won three straight and six of the last seven against the Leathernecks.
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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