Fun Facts: Illinois State vs. Iowa football — Jane Lynch, Reggie Lovebird, Arrogant Frog

Is really he doing this again? Yes. Why? Because they’re fun facts.

OK, they’re not cake-and-ice cream fun. Hey, it’s Illinois State-Iowa, not a birthday party. Anyhoo …

1. The Western Michigan team coached by current Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester beat Illinois State 28-0 three years ago. Lester’s defense starred, holding the Redbirds to 57 yards.

2. The Redbirds return their top seven tacklers and nine of their top 11 after allowing 20.5 points per game last fall, which ranked No. 22 in the FCS.

3. Illinois State has eight players who were on FBS teams last year, including offensive linemen from Duke, Minnesota and Western Michigan.

4. Illinois State has players from 13 states other than Illinois. Though Iowa is just a two-hour drive from Normal, no Iowans are on the Redbirds’ roster.

5. Iowa’s only previous game against Illinois State was a season-opening 31-14 win in 2015. The Kinnick Stadium crowd was 59,450. Saturday’s game is sold out at 69,250.

6. Illinois State’s average home attendance last season was 7,194.

7. Iowa’s record against current members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference is 31-2. The losses were to Northern Iowa in 1898 and North Dakota State in 2016.

8. Eleven of the last 13 FCS national champions are from the MVFC. Illinois State was the runner-up to fellow MVFC team North Dakota State in 2014.

9. MVFC teams have beaten FBS teams 15 times in the last 10 years.

10. Between Sept. 14 and Oct. 5, the Redbirds will play Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois.

11. This is the first Iowa football game that won’t have Hayden Fry or Kirk Ferentz as the Hawkeyes’ coach since 1978.

12. Actress Jane Lynch is a 1982 Illinois State graduate. She returned to her alma mater last year to direct a school production of “Lost in Yonkers.”

13. Illinois State’s mascot is Reggie Redbird. On Valentine’s Day, he calls himself Reggie Lovebird. On Thanksgiving, Herky the Hawk does not call himself Herky the Turkey.

14. Normal, Ill., the home of the Redbirds, is the birthplace of Steak n’ Shake. There are 59 Steak n’ Shake locations in Illinois, three in Iowa.

15. Normal isn’t the most arrogantly named thing in Illinois. That would be the Arrogant Frog Bar in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. Its weekly special is selling customers one drink for the price of two and giving them the second one for free.