Expect another tight game when UNI hosts Illinois State in 2024

CEDAR FALLS — Yet another ranked Missouri Valley Football Conference opponent confronts Northern Iowa in week 11.

Ninteenth-ranked Illinois State — picked sixth in the MVFC preseason poll — is poised to continue its annual FCS playoff contender status in 2024.

Head coach Brock Spack enters his 16th season with 13 players on his roster having received preseason All-MVFC honors.

Headlining those honorees on offense are running back Mason King and wide receiver Dan Sobkowicz, who both were named to the first team.

King ran for 983 yards in 2023 and led the MVFC in rushing touchdowns (14) and yards per game (98.3).

Sobkowicz was a top-20 FCS receiver in 2023, totaling 933 yards and 10 touchdowns in 11 games.

Spack said earlier this summer that returner Tommy Rittenhouse and Kansas State transfer Jake Rubley would make up a two-quarterback system to begin the season. Both juniors, Rittenhouse is listed at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds while Rubley is 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds.

Second team All-America linebacker Amir Abdullah returns to lead an Illinois State defense that finished fifth in the MVFC in 2023, allowing 20.5 points per game. Abdullah’s 9.5 sacks last season tied for the MVFC lead.

Defensive linemen Jake Anderson and Jake Siegel, linebackers Tye Niekamp, Jalen Gaines and Lavoise Deonte McCoy and defensive backs Keondre Jackson and Mark Cannon Jr. all return with preseason all-conference honors.

UNI vs. Illinois State: 3 things to watch

1. Farley vs. Spack

As the MVFC’s second-longest tenured coach, Spack has garnered the respect of UNI’s Mark Farley for what he’s built the Illinois State program into.

The two also share backgrounds as defensive-minded coaches who value complementary football.

Spack is 7-6 all-time against Farley and this season’s matchup is poised to be another tightly-contested tilt.

2. QB questions

Both Illinois State and UNI enter the season with questions at quarterback.

It’s uncommon for a two-quarterback system that the Redbirds are reportedly beginning their season with to last all the way to week 11. Meanwhile, the closeness of the Panthers’ three-way quarterback competition in preseason camp suggests a likelihood that whoever comes up short may still play at some point in the season.

Whichever team has a clearer picture of its situation at quarterback could dictate who enters this game as the favorite.

3. Defense vs. offense

With all the decorated returnees Illinois State’s defense boasts, the matchup against the Panthers’ “Air Raid” offense is an intriguing one.

Whichever team establishes the run offensively and slows it down on defense typically has come away with the win when these two teams — and coaches — tangle.

Prediction for UNI vs. Illinois State

Home-field advantage has proven to be especially important when these two teams and coaches match up. UNI squeezes out a win at the UNI-Dome to keep its playoff hopes alive as it improves to 5-5 overall ahead of a road game at No. 25 Youngstown State.