Iowa Football Opponent Preview: Illinois State Redbirds

The wait is finally over. College football will soon be back in Iowa City.

The 25th-ranked Hawkeyes will take the field on Saturday for their season opener against the Illinois State Redbirds, but it will be without head coach Kirk Ferentz who is suspended for one game due to a 2022 recruiting violation. This will be just the second all-time meeting between the two programs, with Iowa winning 31-14 back in the 2015 season opener. The Hawkeyes went on to finish the regular season undefeated that year with a 12-0 record and appeared in the Rose Bowl against Stanford.

As for the Redbirds, they are coming off of a 6-5 season that included four losses to ranked FCS teams. Among those losses was a 40-21 defeat against top-ranked South Dakota State. Despite the lackluster record, head coach Brock Spack returns plenty of talent this season, with ISU getting 13 players on the preseason All-MVC honors list. They come in at #20 in the preseason FCS Coaches Poll.

Illinois State has suffered three consecutive defeats against FBS teams, with a combined score of 90-10, including a 38-0 defeat to Wisconsin in 2023. Their lone win against a Power 5 opponent came back in 2016 when they defeated Northwestern 9-7, but they also knocked off Colorado State in 2018.

Redbirds Offense

2023 Numbers: 32.8 PPG, 198.1 RUSH, 236.3 PASS, 434.4 TOTAL

Illinois State will be breaking in a new quarterback this season, but they return seven starters from an offense that ranked 12th in the FCS in scoring last season (32.8 ppg). Leading the charge will be former Northern Illinois transfer running back Mason King who is back after totaling 983 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago. He was named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List, which is the FCS version of the Heisman Trophy. King had five games with 100+ yards rushing, including a season-high 170 yards against Western Illinois.

Alongside him in the backfield there is a quarterback competition ongoing. Junior Tommy Rittenhouse appeared in eight games with two starts last season. He completed 46 of his 69 (66.7%) pass attempts for 467 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. Battling him for the starting job is Kansas State transfer Jake Rubley. A former four-star recruit, Rubley attempted just six passes during his three years with the Wildcats. Out of high school, Rubley had an offer from Iowa, as well as LSU, Penn State, Michigan, Texas A&M and Tennessee.

Whoever comes out to take snaps under center against the Hawkeyes will have some proven pass catchers to throw to. The Redbirds return three of their top four wide receivers from last season, including preseason All-American Daniel Sobkowicz. He led the receiver room last season with 68 catches for 933 yards and ten touchdowns. Also back is Eddie Kasper who totaled 48 catches for 432 yards and one touchdown as a redshirt freshman. The Sobkowicz/Kasper duo combined for 10+ catches in six of eleven games last season.

On the offensive line, ISU returns three starters, led by preseason All-American left tackle Hunter Zambrano. They also return Jake Pope and Ryan Guadaitis who combined for 21 starts last season. The portal helped add to the group with a pair of P5 transfers in Elijah Wroten (Duke) and JJ Guedet (Minnesota).

This is officially the @dan_sobkowicz show. pic.twitter.com/AXdlWD9ZBQ

— Illinois State Football (@RedbirdFB) October 21, 2023

Redbirds Defense

2023 Numbers: 20.5 PPG, 132.7 RUSH, 192.2 PASS, 324.9 TOTAL

Last season, Illinois State boasted an FCS top 30 defense ranking 22nd in the country in points allowed per game (20.5) and 27th in yards per game allowed (324.9). Now, the Redbirds return eight of their top nine tacklers, who collectively accounted for 65.4% of the teams tackles a year ago.

One of the top defensive players in the FCS, All-MVC and Preseason All-American linebacker Amir Abdullah (64 tkls, 9.5 sks) is a game wrecker in the middle of the defense. His 14.0 tackles for loss were instrumental for an ISU team that ranked 21st nationally in tackles for loss last season (77.0). The strength of the Redbirds’ defense lies in their linebackers, with the return of Lavoise-Deontae McCoy (74 tackles) and Tye Niekamp (74 tkls, 9.0 tfls).

On the defensive line, ISU welcomes back Jalan Gaines (62 tackles, 10.0 tfls) and Jake Anderson (34 tackles, 5.0 tfls). Keep an eye on former Washington State transfer Jake Siegal and Nick Kessler as they fill the hole left by the graduation of Josh Dinga who was second on the team in sacks last season.

In the secondary, the Redbirds return three starters after ranking 34th in the FCS in pass yards allowed last season (192.2). Keondre Jackson led the team in tackles (76), while Mark Cannon Jr led the team in interceptions (3).

Special Teams

Punter Ian Wagner: 40 punts, 37.6 AVG, 12 in20, 3 of 50+

Kicker Ian Wagner: 8/10 FG, 4/4 20-29, 3/4 30-39, 1/2 40-49

Kick Return Jalen Carr: 5 returns, 62 yards, 12.4 AVG, LNG 18 yds

Punt Return Eddie Kasper: 7 returns, 28 yards, 4.0 AVG, LNG 13 yds

Final Thought

Since the Hawkeyes lost to North Dakota State in 2016, they are 12-0 against non-P5 non-conference opponents, with an average margin of victory of 21.8 points per game. Illinois State won’t be a pushover with four preseason All-Americans, 13 preseason All-MVC selections and plenty of talent on the defensive side of the ball. The Redbirds are a formidable FCS opponent. It will be a good trial run for Tim Lester and the Iowa offense, but the expectation should be that the Hawkeyes win this game soundly.