Illinois State Redbirds Look to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive Against Northern Iowa Panthers

Strategic Insights -

As the calendar flips to November, the remaining Missouri Valley Football Conference games loom larger than ever for No. 17 Illinois State (5-3, 2-2 MVFC), as the Redbirds look to keep their playoff hopes alive against the Northern Iowa Panthers (2-6, 0-4 MVFC) on Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium on Saturday.

Key Takeaways:

  • The series between Illinois State and Northern Iowa will meet for the 41st time, with the Panthers holding a 23-17 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs.
  • Head coach Brock Spack is 8-7 against UNI in his tenure as ISU head coach and holds a 5-3 record against the Panthers at home at Hancock Stadium.
  • Quarterback Jaxon Dailey saw his first extended action under center for UNI, completing eight passes for 93 yards with two touchdown connections to JC Roque Jr. and Briggs Hughston.
  • The ISU defense was led by senior safety Keondre Jackson, who tallied nine tackles with a half TFL and two pass breakups.
  • Scotty Presson Jr. has been the go-to guy for big catches, especially on third down, and set a season-best with three catches and tallied 30 yards in the victory for ISU.
  • Junior middle linebacker Tye Niekamp has been a stalwart for the Redbird defense all season, and he put together another strong performance in ISU's 21-13 road win at No. 21 South Dakota, tying his career and season high with a game-best 14 tackles.
  • Senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse has thrown for 5 TDs in the Homecoming contest against South Dakota State and now has four games with 3+ touchdown passes this season. He is currently second in the league in touchdown passes behind Jerry Kaminski of North Dakota (22).
  • With all-conference wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz out with an injury, the Illinois State offense was looking for wideouts to step up to fill the void left by one of the best receivers in FCS football. In the win against South Dakota, wide receivers Dylan Lord (8) and Rylan Crawford (6) each set career highs in receptions in the contest for the Redbirds.
  • Senior running back Wenkers Wright hit a big milestone in the win at South Dakota, as he passed 2,500 career rushing yards against the Coyotes. He currently ranks eighth on the all-time rushing yards list and is just one rushing touchdown away from tying Tre Roberson (22) for eighth on the career rushing TDs list.

Statistics:

  • The series between Illinois State and Northern Iowa will meet for the 41st time, with the Panthers holding a 23-17 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs.
  • Head coach Brock Spack is 8-7 against UNI in his tenure as ISU head coach and holds a 5-3 record against the Panthers at home at Hancock Stadium.
  • Quarterback Jaxon Dailey has completed 8 passes for 93 yards with two touchdown connections to JC Roque Jr. and Briggs Hughston in his first extended action under center for UNI.
  • The ISU defense has allowed 10 points in each of the last two games.
  • Scotty Presson Jr. has caught 30 yards in the last two games.
  • Junior middle linebacker Tye Niekamp has 14 tackles in his last two games.
  • Senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse has thrown for 5 TDs in the last two games and now has 22 touchdown passes on the season, second in the league behind Jerry Kaminski of North Dakota (24).
  • The Illinois State offense has scored 21 points in the last two games.

Sources:

  • Illinois State University Athletics News Release
  • Stats and information from the article