

Date: 9/14/2024
Time: 12 PM
Location: Hancock Stadium, Normal, IL
TV: ESPN+ and Marquee Sports Network
ISU's record - The Redbirds are 1-1 this season, kicking things off witha 40-0 loss at Iowa, then last weekend, a 24-17 win at North Alabama. Last year ISU finished 6-5 overall including a 34-18 win over us in Macomb.
History - Despite leaving the MVFC for the OVC this season, the series with ISU has been scheduled to continue for at least one more year. The two teams have played 106 times going back to 1904. They played every year from 1923 to 1972, and then every year since 1974. WIU holds the current series lead of 52-51-3, so a win for ISU this weekend would tie up the series. ISU has won the last two matchups with the last WIU win coming from a 38-31 on 10/30/21, which actually happened to be the last time our team won a game.
Predictions - Massey has ISU winning with a predicted score of 38-14. I think we're unlikely to win this one, but at least we're likely to be in the same ballpark (as opposed to the first two games this season), so we should be able to get a much better idea of what our team looks like against FCS-level competition. Going into this season, I didn't count this game as a win, but it'd be nice to see one.
I'm still trying to figure out if I'll make it over to Normal for this game, but hopefully there'll be a decent WIU contingent since it's a fairly "local" game.