Illinois State football coach Brock Spack takes his Redbirds to Youngstown State on Saturday after the Birds knocked off UNI 21-13 last week at Hancock Stadium. (Photo courtesy GoRedbirds.com)

By Greg Halbleib

Illinois State football visits eastern Ohio on Saturday to face a veteran Youngstown State club in a battle of 3-1 teams.

Illinois State coach Brock Spack says he’s not surprised by the success of the Penguins. “You could see this team being very good this year,” said Spack. “I said in the pre-season that they were going to be the team this year that everyone would talk about, and here we are playing them.”

Spack says first-year Penguins coach Bo Pelini brings a solid reputation with his Big 10 experience at Nebraska plus brother Carl as defensive coordinator. “They’re very good coaches and know their stuff,” said Spack, “and I’m sure that reeks of confidence with their defense, which you can see is getting better every week.”

Redbird quarterback Tre Roberson continues to recover from a hand injury, but Spack says instead of week-to-week, Roberson is day-to-day. “He threw a little bit on Sunday, but there’s some healing that still needs to take place,” said Spack. “Everybody’s different, so we’ll have to judge that as we go through the week. It’ll probably be a game-time decision on what we’re going to do with him.”

The Redbirds face the Penguins on Saturday at 6 p.m. Central at Stambaugh Stadium in Youngstown. Redbird Preview on the WJBC Country Financial Illinois State Radio Network begins at 5 p.m.