GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, August 29 • 6 pm CT
Hancock Stadium
Normal, Illinois

Series History
Overall: Illinois State leads 3-0.
First: at Illinois State 19, USF 17 (8/31/91)
Last: at Illinois State 47, USF 3 (9/12/98)
Streak: Illinois State has won all three games in the series

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 74-70 (15th year)
at USF: 74-70 (15th year)

ISU: Brock Spack
Alma Mater: Purdue 1983
Career: 123-79 (18th year)
At ISU: 123-79 (18th year)

TOP STORYLINES
• Illinois State is one of four teams dotting the St. Francis schedule that are ranked in either the FCS or NAIA Top 25 preseason polls.    

• Both USF head coach Joe Curry and ISU head coach Brock Spack are the winningest coaches at their respective schools.  Curry has totaled 74 wins in his 17 seasons, while Spack has delivered 123 in his 17 campaigns.
• The Redbirds have five preseason all-americans back in the fold for 2026, including linebacker Tye Niekamp on defense and Victor Dawson on offense.   
 
• Jonny Sorensen gets the Opening Day nod at quarterback for the Saints.
 
• Adrian Guerrero, last year's leading scorer, is back along with his perfect 31-for-31 accuracy on PATs.  The junior also booted 10 field goals for a total of 61 points.   
 
 
GAME NOTES

THE HEAD COACHES
Joe Curry (St. Francis) begins his 15th season as the Saints' head coach, which makes him the longest-serving coach in school history.  He is also the winningest coach in the history of the program with 74 victories and second in winning percentage (.514, 74-70).  Program founder Gordie Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

Brock Spack (Illinois State) is also the winningest coach in Illinois State history, having gone 123-79 in 17 seasons at the helm of the Redbirds program.  He twice has taken teams to the FCS championship game, including one year ago, before falling.  All told, Spack has taken the Redbirds to the postseason seven times.  Prior to his time at ISU, he served as the defensive coordinator at Purdue University for 12 seasons.

ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE
With five preseason All-Americans in the mix for the 2026 Redbirds, it does not come as a surprise that ISU is ranked among the top four teams in the nation in the preseason polls.  The spotlight shines the most on senior linebacker Tye Niekamp, who is seeking the four-peat as an all-american by season's end.   One year ago, he totaled 160 tackles with 16 of those going for loss.  Niekamp is one of only a handful of returnees on the defensive side of the ball.  Among the others is senior safety La'Shavion Brown, who was a distant second behind Niekamp with 93 stops.  Illinois State's defensive unit as a whole finished with 37 sacks and 19 interceptions one year ago, but did allow nearly 26 points per contest.  On the offensive side of the ball, the majority of the starters are back, but two big losses are quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse (334-of-516, 64.7%, 3,568 yards, 40 TDs) and receiver Daniel Sobkowicz (83 recp., 1,141 yards, 19 TDs).  Nonetheless, the running game remains strong with the return of senior Victor Dawson, a challenger for the year-end Walter Payton Award after averaging 5.0 yards per carry and totaling 1,377 yards on the ground.  The Redbirds also have wide receivers Luke Mailander (44 recp., 671 yards) and Dylan Lord (74 recp., 734 yards), who will also handle punt return duties. ISU is big upfront with no starter weighing less than 310 pounds with left guard Landon Woodard leading the contingent.  Beckham Pellant takes over as the top signal-caller for a unit that averaged better than 30 points and nearly 400 yards of total offense last fall.  The Redbirds also converted at a 43 percent clip on third down and 66 percent on fourth down.  Of the combined 22 starters on offense and defense, only two are underclassmen.  Hayden Futch and his 43.3 punt average return in the special teams unit.  Michael Cosentino steps into the lead role as the placekicker after going 3-for-4 in limited time last year.  Chris Taylor and Seth Glatz are back as kick return men.       

ABOUT THE SERIES
Illinois State leads the all-time series by a 3-0 count with field goals headlining each of those meetings.  In each of the last two contests, the Saints managed just one field goal against ISU in 45-3 (1995) and 47-3 (1998) setbacks.  In the first meeting (1991), the Redbirds scored twice in the closing three minutes to avert a major upset, concluding with a 42-yard field goal from Cameron Bair with just 33 seconds remaining for the 19-17 victory.

THE SCHEDULE
The Saints will be tested from the get-go, beginning on Saturday with the matchup against FCS defending national runner-up Illinois State.  From there, three other clubs dotting the schedule are ranked in the NAIA Top 25 Preseason Poll in No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 12 Marian (Ind.) and No. 17 Saint Francis (Ind.).  If that is not enough, Olivet Nazarene, Saint Xavier and Taylor (Ind.) are among others receiving votes in that poll as is USF.  The Saints will also face a pair of foes – Defiance (Ohio) and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) – for the first time in school history. 
 
LOOKING BACK AT LAST YEAR
After going 7-3 in each of their previous three seasons, USF limped through a 3-7 campaign with many new faces.  Despite the losing mark, the Saints matched up evenly offensively with their counterparts, nearly with near-identical averages of 29 points and 384 yards of total offense per game.  Where St. Francis hurt itself was in the turnover department with a takeaway rate was of minus-eight (26 giveaways/18 takeaways).

BACK IN THE FOLD
Graduation, among other things, have hit the Saints hard and left them with only seven returning starters from one year ago, four on offense and three on defense.  Among those is first team all-conference selection Matthew Alston on the offensive line.  Also back on that side of the ball are wide receivers Mason Hackman and Connor Engstrom and offensive lineman Isaac Pula.  On defense, Curtis Reeves and Marcello Bernardi along the front line are joined by Sabion Wilder in the backfield.  Adrian Guerrero, an honorable mention selection on special teams, is back to handle punting and kicking responsibilities. 

AMONG THOSE LOST
Three first-team all-league picks are among those that won't be in the St. Francis lineup in 2026.  On offense, wide receiver Ryan Little (52 recp., 783 yards) and offensive lineman Anthony Niecikowski are among the biggest hits, while on defense two-time leading tackler Karsen Hansen has graduated.

20 SOMETHING
In nearly matching their opponents on the scoreboard last year in total points (291-293), the Saints totaled 20 or more points in eight of their ten contests.  USF was also 29-for-34 in the red zone.

TAKING THE ODDS
St. Francis put together impressive conversion rates on both third and fourth downs in 2025, delivering at a 40 percent rate on third down and 63 percent on fourth down.

A 1-2 PUNCH
Two Saints who saw significant time one year ago and put up impressive numbers on offense were running backs Larry Stringham and Aaron Larkins.  They finished as USF's second- and third-leading rushers with solid 4.6 and 5.8 averages per carry.

GETTING THE CALL
Second-year Saint Jonny Sorensen gets the nod as the Saints' signal-caller to start the 2026 season.  The redshirt sophomore saw action at the quarterback, running back and receiver positions one year ago, where he appeared in eight contests.

A DUAL THREAT
Engstrom will again handle punt return duties besides his starting assignment as a wide receiver.  The redshirt sophomore finished as the No. 2 receiver in terms of catches (34) and total yards (379) one year ago.  He also returned 12 punts for an average of 8.75 yards per return.

A NEAR TOTAL NEW LOOK
On defense, the Saints lost the majority of their starters from one year ago.  You have to go down to the No. 7 spot on the tackle list to find the first returnee in Niko Frcek (30 stops).  Of USF's 15 picks last fall, 14 came from players no longer in the lineup.  The lone other pick came from Wilder.

LOOKING TO STAY PERFECT
If there was an award for most improved player one year ago, Guerrero most likely would have garnered the most votes.  The junior was a perfect 31-for-31 on PATs and 10-of-13 on field goals after going 45-for-48 and just 4-for-11 in those same two departments in 2024.

FOR THE RECORD
The Saints are 182-238 all time, 153-179 in day games and 87-131 on the road.