Story by
Grand Forks Herald
Illinois State enters UND matchup with strong road reputation
- Story byGrand Forks Herald
- Illinois State enters UND matchup with strong road reputation
Nov. 3—GRAND FORKS — The UND football program is unbeaten at home and beat the then No. 1-ranked program in the FCS — South Dakota State — the last time out in the Alerus Center.
After two heart-breaking road losses, the Fighting Hawks finish the regular season at home. Unfortunately, waiting for UND is a road-hardened opponent in Illinois State.
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No. 11 UND hosts No. 10 Illinois State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Illinois State has a reputation as road warriors. The Redbirds are 3-1 on the road this year and won four-straight FCS playoff games on the road last year — including a 29-28 win in Fargo over North Dakota State — on the way to the national championship game, where Illinois State fell in overtime to Montana State in Nashville.
Illinois State's road record this season includes wins at Western Illinois, Southern Illinois and FBS Northern Illinois. The one road game in which the Redbirds left the state, Illinois State fell by a touchdown at Northern Iowa in the UNI-Dome. Illinois State's remaining schedule is a challenge, with upcoming games against UND and Youngstown State on the road before finishing at home against South Dakota.
"They're built at the line of scrimmage," UND head coach Eric Schmidt said. "When you want to win in any venue, you've got to be able to run the football and stop the run. When you're built inside-out, it doesn't matter where you're playing. That's their mantra. They're find going on the road. I have a lot of respect for (ISU coach Brock Spack)."
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Illinois State has the No. 1 scoring defense in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, giving up 16.0 points per game. The Redbirds have the No. 1 rush defense in the league, giving up 103.4 yards per game.
South Dakota State, which has the No. 1 rushing offense in the MVFC, was able to solve ISU's run defense earlier this season in Normal, Ill. The Jacks, with backup quarterback Josh Holst in the game for injured starter Chase Mason, ran for 239 yards behind Josiah Johnson's 19 carries for 131 yards. James Basinger added seven rushes for 90 yards.
"They're a tough defense," UND offensive coordinator Danny Freund said. "We've had some good battles against them in the past."
UND's matchup will be strength on strength with the Fighting Hawks' pass rush against Illinois State's pass protection. The Hawks lead the MVFC with 24 sacks — four more than No. 2 Southern Illinois.
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Illinois State has given up the fewest sacks in the MVFC at nine in nine games.
Offensively, the Redbirds have split time at quarterback between Gage Roy and Beckham Pellant. Roy has thrown for 862 yards, while Pellant has thrown for more than 1,000.
Defensively, Illinois State leans on standout linebacker Tye Niekamp, who averages 7.4 tackles per game.
"That's the fun part about this league — every week you have to come up with a really good plan and get your guys motivated," Freund said. "We've been in some battles and can learn from those things to hopefully play our best football down the stretch."
