NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State Football Coach, Brock Spack spoke with the Media on Tuesday following an offensively dominated game for the Redbirds coming out with a 31-7 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers. Spack touched on the game a bit saying, “I thought we were a pretty balanced team and played well in all phases.”
Considering the huge offensive performance struggles still ensued in the Week 4 matchup against the Panthers, as the Redbirds turned the ball over 2 times and added 7 penalties, “We have got to take care of the ball and get rid of the penalties in all 3 phases”, said Spack.
Despite the mistakes the Redbirds were able to control the entire game on the ground and through the air, combining for 518 total yards of offense in the Week 4 win. The defense was also a key part in the win, getting stops and forcing turnovers, even starting the game with a fumble recovery on EIU’s very first drive.
The Redbirds have been hot, winning 3 straight heading into this Week 5 matchup against their first conference opponent in North Dakota State University. The Redbirds have struggled against this very potent NDSU offense in the past, as they currently trail the series with only 2 wins in 16 games against the Bison. The Bison come into this matchup ranked as the #2 team in the FCS, with an offense that is averaging close to 40 points per game.
While the NDSU defense hasn’t been as big of a story, they have run into some good opponents, going up against two Heisman caliber players in Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter with the Colorado Buffaloes. Coach Spack talked about how dominating the game on defense is not something we see as much anymore with the talent of skill position players in the game. “It’s hard to do, everyone has so many weapons nowadays,” said Coach Spack when talking about stop people on defense.
Illinois State comes into this game on a 3-game win streak and ranked in the Top 15, but their first conference foe won’t be an easy one. Home Field advantage can always be a factor as the Redbirds wrap up their 3-game home stretch, with this homecoming game against #2 NDSU set for a 2 pm kickoff.