Redbirds Look to Bounce Back After Tough Week 1 Loss

NORMAL, Ill. – Coming off a Week 1 loss against a highly touted and nationally ranked (FBS) Oklahoma squad, the Redbirds are happy to be back home and fully healthy. Illinois State Football is looking to bounce back from a 35-3 loss to the 18th ranked Oklahoma Sooners, but Coach Brock Spack is happy to be coming back to Hancock Stadium. “I love playing at Hancock” said Coach Spack, “our fans are great and really know how to put on a football game.”

ISU is heading into Week 2 of 2025 the same way they did in 2024, coming off a loss to a Power 5 FBS opponent. The Redbirds move forward with no season-ending injuries, unlike they did last year (Mason King’s torn ACL), but bumps and bruises are to be expected after playing a physical SEC powerhouse. Most notably, Senior leader and quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, who left last weekend’s contest early in the 3rd quarter with a shoulder injury that would sideline him for the rest of the game. Coach Spack was asked to comment on Rittenhouse’s situation, “Tommy practiced and took reps today, we could’ve had him back on Saturday, but it wasn’t worth the risk.”

Looking forward to Week 2, the Redbirds will play host to the Morehead State Eagles, who are coming off a win over Allen University (DII). A game where the Eagles threw for over 215 and ran for just short of 200 but also was a game where they let up 300 yards through the air and 107 on the ground. These are statistics the Redbird staff will be looking at after a poor performance through the air (10 completions for 34 yards), but a strong performance on the ground (26 carries for 117 yards).

The ‘Birds will be looking to keep Morehead State Quarterback Carter Cravens (16/21 for 219, 1 TD) and Wide Receiver Ryan Upp (8 catches for 90 yards) in check in order to secure a win this week. Coach Spack touched on this duo when asked what stood out about Morehead, “Their quarterback is a good player, he has good vision, can run, and their receivers are fast on the outside.”

This Redbird secondary has been tested already with one of the fastest receiving corps in the country in Oklahoma, and that showed as they succeeded through the air all game long (392 yards through the air).

Illinois State (0-1) is back at home for a 6 p.m. kickoff this Saturday at Hancock Stadium against Morehead State (1-0). You can catch the live broadcast on wznd.com where Adam Tichler and myself (Kole Schipper) have the call from Hancock starting at 5:50 p.m.

For all things Redbird Football stay tuned to WZND.com