Illinois State has played a schedule that is just about opposite of ours. League games against Western Illinois, South Dakota, and Southern Illinois. The "meat" of their schedule just begins this week with YSU, UNI, and NDSU. They do not play SDSU this season. They have also played non-scholarship Dayton, an Eastern Illinois team with a very bad defense, and MAC doormat Eastern Michigan. I'm not sure that their offensive statistics are relevant, but, then again, who are we going to scare with our defense.
There is one thing that I like about this matchup. Wolford mentioned during the radio show on Monday that the Illinois State offensive line is inexperienced. Apparently, all new starters from last season. On their message board, fans are blaming that o-line for Southern Illinois' relentless pressure. If we cannot exert a pass rush against this team, it will truly be a hopeless situation.