Game time set for Illinois State-Northwestern football game

Posted on June 13, 2016
Brock Spack Show
It’s the second straight season Coach Brock Spack (center) will lead his team against a Big Ten opponent. (WJBC file photo)

By ISU Sports Information

NORMAL – The Illinois State football program knows when it will face in-state foe Northwestern, as the Big Ten Conference announced Monday a kickoff time of 2:30 p.m. CT for the Redbirds’ Sept. 10 contest at Ryan Field against the Wildcats. It was also announced that the game will be televised live nationally on the Big Ten Network (BTN).

The game will be the second between the two programs on the gridiron and the second-straight for the Redbirds against a Big Ten Conference, after opening the 2015 season against the Iowa Hawkeyes.  The two teams previously met on Sept. 11, 2010, with the Wildcats coming out on top by a score of 37-3 in ISU head coach Brock Spack’s second season at the helm.

The Redbirds have won a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference title the past two seasons and won 10 games in 2016, just the third 10-win season in school history. Illinois State has advanced to the FCS playoff quarterfinals in three of the past four seasons and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final STATS FCS Poll.

ISU returns 15 starters from the 2015 squad, including nine on the offensive side of the ball.  Returning All-American wide receiver Anthony Warrum leads a deep and veteran receiving corps and an all-senior offensive line, anchored by All-Missouri Valley Football Conference First-Team center Mark Spelman, which should make for another explosive offensive attack for the Redbirds.

The Wildcats are coming off their fourth 10-win season in program history, which included victories over eventual Pac-12 champion Stanford and five opponents that won bowl games. Three All-Big Ten players return for the Wildcats, led by All-American linebacker Anthony Walker, Jr.

Tickets for the game against the Wildcats are on sale now for a cost of $40. To purchase tickets, call the Redbird Athletics Ticket Office at (309) 438-8000 or order online at GoRedbirds.com/Tickets.

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