Illinois State Prepares for Southern Illinois Showdown

Image Courtesy of Illinois State Athletics

NORMAL, Ill. – Brock Spack stepped up to the microphone once again this Tuesday to talk about yet another rivalry game with a conference foe. The Redbirds are coming off a disappointing loss to an exceptionally good North Dakota State team, who is ranked #2 in the country. They will take on a 2-3 Southern Illinois team this Saturday, a team they have struggled against in the past.

The Redbirds were amped up for a huge Homecoming matchup against one of the premier teams in the conference and in the country, that being North Dakota State. The #2 ranked Bison came into the game averaging just under 40 points per game and they matched that in a massive week 5 matchup against the Redbirds. An almost perfect game from Senior Quarterback Cam Miller, who Coach Spack called the frontrunner for Player of the Year in the MVFC, led them to a 42-10 win on Saturday. Coach Spack mentioned the type of game they play and how well they play in the MVC, “They just seem to change gears when it comes to play in Missouri Valley games.”

Illinois State struggled offensively, only totaling 206 yards on the day. Coming off a 500+ yard performance in the game a week previous this total came to a surprise for the Redbirds. However, the Redbirds cleaned up the turnover game, finishing it in the plus column when it came to the turnover margin. Junior Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse only attempted 14 passes on the night completing 10 and totaling 132 passing yards. Junior QB Jake Rubley also came in for the Redbirds, completing 7 passes for 66 yards.

Coach Spack gave props to a Southern squad that has some extremely skilled skill players. Spack said on Tuesday, “There skill level is very good… they have some guys they can put out of the perimeter who are extremely skilled.” Their leader, Junior Quarterback Hunter Simmons, has thrown exactly 100 passes and has completed 57 of them for 692 yards. The Salukis also mix in another Junior Quarterback who does a bit of both, that being DJ Williams, who is a threat both through the air and on the ground. He has amassed close to 800 total yards of offense for the Salukis.

Southern Illinois comes into this matchup on a 2-game win streak against the Redbirds, leading the long series between the two, 43-38-3. These two conferences foes faced off last in 2022 in a game that saw a late ISU comeback fall just short, with a 19-14 win for the Salukis. The Redbirds look to end the Southern win streak at their own place in Carbondale with kickoff set for 6 pm CT.