Thoughts on Illinois State and moving forward

News broke Sunday evening that Illinois State was choosing to shut down for the remainder of the spring season.  This wasn't shocking news for those who have been paying attention to Head Coach Brock Spack's press conferences and quotes recently.  Following the Redbird loss to NDSU on March 13th, Spack made these comments, “We don’t want to screw up the fall with what we do in the spring. I’m starting to get a little nervous about that on our end. It’s a very weird scenario we’re in. No coach has been through this. Should we be playing in the spring? Should we not play in the spring? Maybe that wasn’t the best thing.”  

When I read this last week, I thought that ISU may try to gut out the rest of the season.  However, it is now clear that Spack wanted to honor the seniors who aren't returning in the fall with one last home game before shutting down shop.  According to Randy Reinhardt who does a great job of covering Illinois State for the Pantagraph in Bloomington, "An unofficial tally counted 27 Illinois State football players who could have played for the Redbirds in the normal fall season who are not presently available to the team for a wide variety of reasons."

So with that being said, here are a few of my thoughts.

Why its okay to be mad...

  • This costs SDSU a home game.  We only were promised four this spring and now we are down to three.  That stinks as Jackrabbit gameday is so much fun and something we all look forward to. I'm guessing the limited crowd is not making the athletic department any money but it still hurts the community of Brookings where many businesses depend on SDSU games to bring in big crowds 6+ weekends every year.  
  • This also costs SDSU a likely win. This isn't the best Redbird team Spack has put on the field.  They struggled with WIU this past week and did not look good early this season against USD.  However, they did challenge NDSU and that proves that there are never guarantees in the Valley.  As of 8am on Monday morning it has not been announced if these games will be forfeits and if SDSU and ISU's remaining opponents will be awarded wins (they should, in my opinion). 
  • All the MVFC programs knew the risks of playing a spring season when they agreed to do so this winter.  Indiana State chose to opt out and that was fine as there was time to make schedule adjustments.  If Illinois State was this thin at certain position groups where they literally don't have anyone else to trot out there, then they should have opted out as well.  That is poor roster construction for the Redbirds. 
  • This was another chance for the offense to sharpen its skills against a quality defense.  The Illinois State offense may be suspect but the defense is good (as usual).  The offense can use all the looks that it can get as it prepares for two big matchups with NDSU and USD and hopefully the playoffs.
  • Illinois State opting out eliminates a road game for UND.  It has become apparent over the last few years that UND is a different team when on the road vs. at home.  Would they have lost to this version of Illinois State?  Probably not but we'll never know now. 
  • Would Illinois State have made this decision if they were 3-1 and not 1-3?  This is the question I keep coming back to.

Why you shouldn't be mad...

  • This gives SDSU an extra week to heal up.  Pierre Strong sat out against SIU as did DyShawn Gales.  Tucker Kraft and Mike Morgan returned to the lineup as did Xavier Ward.  This gives all of these guys another opportunity to "get right" before NDSU.
  • Relatedly, this saves some wear and tear on SDSU from the always physical Redbirds.  Although decimated by injury, the Redbirds always play hard and are tough in the trenches.  SDSU is relatively healthy right now and this ensures that they enter the matchup with the Bison at as close to full strength (pending Pierre's status) as one can hope 6 weeks into the season.   
  • Ultimately Coach Spack is doing what is right for his program and players.  If he was going to ask backup offensive lineman to take snaps at defensive tackle then I do understand his decision.  This offseason, there is only 3-4 months between your last game and first game.  That doesn't leave much time for injuries to heal.  In fact, ISU is already without starting defensive lineman Jason Lewan for the fall because of an injury he suffered a few weeks ago.  
  • If the MVFC does what is right and awards ISU's remaining opponents a "win" then this doesn't affect playoffs at all.
    • UPDATE: Around 10am on 3/22, the MVFC decided these games would be listed as "no contest" clearly going against the spirit of the rule for which this rule was created.   
So what's next?

SDSU's playoff positioning is in their own hands.  Beat NDSU and USD and they will be a top 4, if not top 2, seed for the playoffs. Split these games and there is still a decent chance they make the playoffs.  Go 0-2 and there is no chance of playoffs with three losses.      

The question remains if the MVFC will use the flex week built in between the end of the regular season and the playoffs.  That weekend was originally scheduled for COVID makeup games.  Missouri State, who SDSU does not play this season, was scheduled to play Illinois State that weekend at home.  Would Missouri State be willing to travel to Brookings to play? I don't know and I'm not even sure it would be worth it, especially if the Jacks go 2-0.  The problem is, what do you do with WIU, UND, and SIU who were all scheduled to play Illinois State still.   I don't see any logical way to add a game for those three teams.  WIU and USD are already scheduled to play that final weekend and UND and SIU already played.  

Regardless of what happens with the schedule, the Jackrabbits will begin preparations for their biggest rival, the Bison.  NDSU is still a powerhouse and their loss to SIU earlier this season may have been the wakeup call they needed.  NDSU's passing game is still not very good but they are good for a shot play every now and again that connects, either to Christian Watson or Braylon Henderson.  BUT as usual, NDSU's run game is very good and has a stable of backs who can all carry the ball effectively.  In addition, the Bison defense is playing great after their struggles against UCA in the fall and SIU earlier this spring. This will be an excellent matchup on April 3rd and I'm glad the Jacks have a week to heal up.  One thing we can all hope for is that USD gives the Bison a tough game and makes them play a full four quarters.  

Go Jacks!

Matt  

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