Lemont High School graduate Austin Nagel leads Illinois State in receiving yards this season. (photo courtesy goredbirds.com)

Still stinging from last weekend’s loss at rival Western Illinois, Illinois State faces this week’s biggest upward mover in the national FCS rankings.

Head coach Brock Spack’s Redbirds (3-5, 1-4) host Northern Iowa (5-3, 3-1) Saturday at Hancock Stadium in Normal. Kickoff is set for noon.

While ISU let a 15-point third quarter lead slip away in 38-31 loss at Western, Northern Iowa knocked off previously third-ranked Southern Illinois 23-16 last Saturday in Cedar Falls.

“I didn’t like how we finished the game on Saturday in the fourth quarter,” Spack said during Tuesday’s media address. “I didn’t think we played well in any phase of the game.”

The upset propelled Northern Iowa up three spots to No. 13 in the STATS Perform FCS rankings.

Stretch drive opportunities

With ISU entering the final three games of its fall season, Spack wants to see improvement on both sides of the ball as his young team builds for 2022.

“Obviously, we’re going to try to win these games,” Spack said of the remaining schedule. The Redbirds will play at North Dakota Nov. 13 and host Indiana State in the Nov. 20 home finale.

Yet, the final three games also give Spack and his staff opportunities to evaluate promising players in game situations.

“If a young player needs some playing time, we think he’s ready and we think he can help us win, we’ll play him absolutely,” Spack said. “It would be a good time to do that.”

Bryce Jefferson

ISU has been plagued much of this season by an inconsistent passing game. Both sophomore Bryce Jefferson and freshman Jackson Waring have made starts for the Redbirds.

Jefferson, who left the Sept. 18 game at Eastern Illinois with an upper body injury, has completed just 47.8 percent of his passes. He has thrown for three touchdowns but also thrown three interceptions.

Waring, who made two starts in Jefferson’s absence, has completed 59.4 percent of his attempts. Like Jefferson, Waring has three TD passes and three interceptions.

Eight games into the season, the Redbirds have just three receivers — Jabari Khepera (12), Austin Nagel (11) and Bryson Deming (11) — with more than eight catches.

“We have to get our passing game more consistent, no doubt about that,” Spack said.

Rookie rushing record

Running back Cole Mueller appears well on his way to becoming the first freshman to lead ISU in rushing in 28 years.

In fact, Mueller is nearly 600 yards ahead of the No. 2 Redbird rusher.

Mueller — a redshirt freshman from Holt High School in Wentzville, Mo. — has run for 737 yards on 117 attempts (6.3 per carry average) this fall.

Cameron Smith holds the ISU freshman record with 1,106 yards in 1993.

Where to find the game

Illinois State hosts Northern Iowa at noon Saturday, Nov. 6. The game will air on ESPN-Plus and Marquee Sports Network. The radio call is available online at WJBC.com. https://www.wjbc.com/