2011 MVFC Preview: Illinois State

Over the next few weeks, I'll preview each of the teams in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Today, the series starts with Illinois State.

Everything seemed back-and-forth for Illinois State in 2010. The Redbirds were pretty good at home, going 5-1, only to see that luck evade them when they went on the road with a 1-4 record. ISU finished 4-4 in the MVFC, right in the middle of the pack and in a tie for third place but gave up at least 37 points in each of the five games they lost. They were ranked as high as #19 nationally before losing three straight. It's about as average as you can get but it provides a strong launching point for this year's version of the Redbirds, who are coming off back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in 60 years.

Offense

Illinois State quarterback Matt Brown

Without a doubt, the Redbirds are strong on offense. Their spring preview notes that they bring back 98.9% of their total yards from last season and nearly all of their rushing, passing, and receiving pieces. They had the second best passing attack in the conference and return starting quarterback Matt Brown. Brown was impressive last season, throwing for 2665 yards and 22 touchdowns, but most importantly, he's a junior who has played in all 22 games in his career. He has a terrific chance of being the best quarterback in the conference, especially if he can improve again this year. Brown's center and two guards will return, providing familiar protection for the signal-caller.

A pair of Big Ten transfers lead the Redbirds rushing attack, with Ashton Leggett (Michigan State) and Erik Smith (Wisconsin) sharing carries in the backfield. Leggett brings more power, while Smith relies on his agility and elusiveness in the open field. Tyrone Walker and Marvon Sanders are the 1-2 punch for Brown to look for in the air and led the team in yards and receptions, respectively.

Defense
Ilinois State is immensely talented on offense and will surely score in bunches but just about all of their questions lie with their defensive backs.  Most of the secondary will have to be rebuilt due to graduation and there is reason to be wary, with two hopeful replacements coming off season-ending injuries. With plenty of pass-happy offenses around, ISU will find out what they have in their secondary quickly.

That's probably the worst of the news because the Redbirds have all of their linebackers returning, including Josh Howe in the middle. Howe had 112 tackles last season and finished on the second team All-Conference. The Redbirds return a first-teamer from last year in Eric Brunner at defensive tackle. He finished with a career-high 53 tackles and had four sacks.

Illnois State head coach Brock Spack

Outlook
ISU-Red, as they are commonly referred to in the conference, won't play an FBS opponent for the first time since 1994, ending a streak of 16 straight seasons. That being said, the Redbirds will be in a great spot once October 15th comes around. That homecoming game against South Dakota begins the final five game stretch of the season and four of those game will be in Normal at Hancock Stadium. Third-year head coach Brock Spack (who has a terrific mustache by the way) has picked up nine of his 12 career wins at home, which certainly bodes well for the end of the season.

Spack was a defensive coordinator for Joe Tiller at Purdue for 12 years, with defenses that were notoriously tough. He's probably itching to get a strong defense in place and while there are a lot of new faces back there, this is a good chance to turn it around with an offense that will score points. It seems that a lot of teams make their big turnaround in a coach's third year and this is possible with Illinois State.

Illinois State won't be a favorite to finish at the top of the MVFC but look for them to be in the mix. If they are in the middle of the pack by October, they may have the finishing kick to make some noise and compete for their first playoff berth since 2006.

Up Next: A preview of Indiana State