By Bryan Bloodworth
NORMAL – Another week, another ranked opponent for the No. 3 nationally ranked Illinois State football team.
For the fifth time in eight weeks, the Redbirds face a ranked team when No. 21 Indiana State visits Hancock Stadium for a noon Missouri Valley Conference contest. The Redbirds will be looking to extend the FCS’ longest home winning streak to 17 and maintain their hold on the league lead.
“Par for the course,” said ISU coach Brock Spack at his weekly news conference. “The cannibalism continues. That’s life in the Missouri Valley. It will be another challenging proposition for us.”
Indiana State has a 4-3 overall record and a 2-2 league mark, while the Redbirds are winners of six straight for a 6-1 overall record and a 4-0 Valley ledger. Illinois State rallied to win last year’s game against the Sycamores on the road on a last-second field and Indiana State returns 18 starters from a year ago.
The offensive leader for the Sycamores is quarterback Matt Adam, who averages 245 yards of total offense per game and has scored a combined 17 touchdowns. But it’s the defense that has caught Spack’s attention. In five of its seven games, Indiana State has forced multiple turnovers.
“I like their linebacker corps as a whole,” added Spack. “They’re deep, active, physical guys and they run well. They use a lot of multiple fronts on defense and can cause confusion, so we’ll have our hands full with that.”
In last week’s win against Western Illinois, the Redbirds scored three touchdowns on drives of less than three plays, but also showed the ability to grind out yards to run time off the clock.
“You have to have the ability to do both and the last couple of years we’ve been able to do that,” said Spack. “The more balanced you are the better it is for you. Any great offense has to have big-play capabilities.
“It’s very difficult to put together 10, 12-play drives together and be perfect on those drives because the defense is going to be tough on you. Or you’re going to have negative-yard plays or penalties that put you behind in the chains, so you’re going to have to have the ability to strike quickly.
“Last year and this year, we’ve had the ability to strike quickly and that usually comes down to foot speed. You have to have someone with the ability to run and do things with the ball in their hands and we have a few guys who can do that, so it’s been very helpful.
We also have an offensive line that can hang in there physically with people and be able to run the ball inside with a power game if we have to do it.”
Spack also said another positive factor has been the return of players from the injury list.
“I think we’re slowly getting guys back, so that will help our team in the stretch run hopefully,” continued Spack, who counted defensive stalwart and senior captain Teddy Corwin in that group.
““I didn’t think he would have any chance of playing, absolutely none. He hadn’t taken a snap (since he was hurt in the season opener). He played really well and was pretty effective. I didn’t think he would be effective at all.
“He brings a sense of leadership, excitement, of comradery in the huddle. Those guys have played a lot of football together. When he’s in the huddle there’s a comfort level, so I think they are feeling better about themselves.”
Bryan Bloodworth can be reached a [email protected]
