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Illinois State, Iowa familiar but not as opponents
Aug. 31, 2015 6:41 pm, Updated: Aug. 31, 2015 7:34 pm
IOWA CITY - Familiarity doesn't always breed contempt.
Some of the faces at Illinois State are familiar to Iowa in a non-nostalgic kind of way. Head coach Brock Spack built powerful defenses at Purdue. It's easy to forget the Boilermakers led the Big Ten in total defense in 2002 and three other years they were ranked third. Spack guided 19 former Purdue defenders to the NFL draft, including defensive ends Anthony Spencer, Shaun Phillips, Rob Ninkovich, Roosevelt Colvin and Cliff Avril. They all played against Iowa.
Illinois State's Tre Roberson was the first true freshman to start at quarterback for Indiana back in 2011. In his first career start, which came against the Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium, Roberson had a modest day of success in a 21-point loss. He completed 16 of 24 passes for one touchdown and rushed for 82 yards on 15 carries.
There are familiar faces who have more in common than those whom Iowa faced only on the football field. Illinois State offensive coordinator Kurt Beathard is an uncle to Iowa starting quarterback C.J. Beathard. Illinois State linebacker Reggie Spearman started four games for Iowa last fall before transferring to the Redbirds during the offseason. Freshman quarterback Jacob Donohoe hails from nearby Williamsburg, Iowa. Donohoe's high school coach was Curt Ritchie, who not only coached starting Iowa center Austin Blythe, but Blythe now is Ritchie's son-in-law. Backup Illinois State defensive end David Kenney was an Iowa recruit many moons ago.
But the familiarity stops somewhere, as do the reunions. The teams never have played, and Illinois State is not a run-of-the-mill FCS program that Iowa hands over a $500,000 check for an automatic victory. The Redbirds are more than capable of competing with a Big Ten squad.
Illinois State finished 13-2 last year and lost 29-27 to North Dakota State for the FCS championship. The Redbirds rank No. 2 in the inaugural coaches' poll and could shift to No. 1 after the top-ranked Bison lost at Montana last Saturday.
But ranking No. 1 early in the season isn't the Redbirds' motivation. In fact, only the destination matters.
'The only expectations we'll try and manage are ours, I guess,” Spack told the Peoria Journal-Star. 'Nobody can put higher expectations on us, than us. Anything short of a national championship at Illinois State is not good enough.”
Northern Iowa provides a familiar foe for both Illinois State and Iowa. Illinois State split with UNI, dropping the first game 42-28 and then taking the playoff rematch 41-21. The Hawkeyes faced Northern Iowa in last year's season opener and held on for a 31-23 win.
Roberson was the Missouri Valley Football Conference's first-team quarterback after throwing for 3,221 yards (30 TDs) and rushing for 1,029 yards (11 TDs). Roberson ranked in the FCS' top 10 in five different categories, including total yards (4,250) and pass efficiency (155.3) along with his total touchdowns, passing touchdowns and quarterback rushing yards.
All-American running back Marshaun Coprich led FCS in rushing with 2,274 yards and 27 touchdowns. Coprich finished fifth for the Walter Payton Award, which was given to the nation's top FCS player.
'The pro scouts, when his issues came up, were worried because he is highly thought of,” Spack told the Peoria Journal-Star. 'He's really good. He does things that are really hard to coach. When he makes his moves, his moves are up the field. He's always gaining ground. That's what a great back does.”
Illinois State did lose 11 starters, including third-team All-American tackle Jermaine Barton. All four specialists are new, so there could be some uneven development. But there's enough talent from the offensive returnees to first-team all-MVFC defensive end Teddy Corwin and middle linebacker Pat Meehan to make any coach nervous. The FCS label - like any nostalgia among the competitors - is faded and weathered. Not that it matters anyway.
'You consider this year that we're playing Illinois State, who just came out of the championship game,” Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'Next year we've got North Dakota State, who's I think is four-time champs, and last year we played UNI, who beat both those teams last year. There are no days off.”
In this case, familiarity doesn't translate into sentimentality. Nor should it.
l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com