WHO: Illinois State Redbirds (0-0)
WHEN: 11:01 AM CT (Saturday, August 31, 2024)
WHERE: Kinnick Stadium (Iowa City, IA)
TV: BTN (Mark Followill, Anthony Herron, Melanie Ricks)
RADIO: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin, Pat Angerer, Rob Brooks) | Sirius/XM 137/196
MOBILE: foxsports.com/mobile
ONLINE: foxsports.com/live
FOLLOW: @HawkeyeBeacon | @HawkeyeFootball | @CFBONFOX | @IowaonBTN
WEATHER: highs in the 70s, mostly sunny, minimal wind
LINE: Iowa -22.5 (total of 40.5)

Iowa opens up the 2024 season on Saturday by playing host to Illinois State.The last time the Hawkeyes did that -- back in 2015, which was also a season after a humiliating loss to Tennessee in a Florida bowl game -- it turned out to be the opening salvo (a 31-14 Iowa win) in a 12-0 regular season. Will history repeat itself in 2024? We'll get our first indications one way or another this weekend.

The Redbirds went 6-5 last season and missed the FCS Playoffs, though they were close to a much better season -- four of their five losses came by a combined eight points., including a pair of three-point losses to Youngstown State and UNI and a one-point defeat against perennial FCS powerhouse North Dakota State. Only eventual FCS national champion South Dakota State blew them out, winning 40-21.

Those narrow defeats -- and some positive movement in the transfer portal -- have Illinois State ranked in the bottom half of the preseason Top 25 by several outlets. HERO Sports has them at #24, Stats Perform puts them at #19, and Opta Analyst is the most bullish on them, slotting them at #14.

From an Iowa standpoint, this game is notable for the history it's making -- for the first time since 1998, the Hawkeyes will have a coach other than Kirk Ferentz on the sideline. While Ferentz serves his one-game suspension, assistant head coach Seth Wallace will lead the Hawkeyes. Though Ferentz's absence is only for one week, any change at the head coaching position -- even a very temporary change like this -- can feel a bit seismic for a program that has only had two head coaches since 1978.

Leading passer Zack Annexstead, the leading passer from 2023, has graduated after completing 69.7% of his passes last season and throwing for 2114 yards and 17 touchdowns in nine games. His departure sets up a quarterback battle between his primary backup, Tommy Rittenhouse, and Kansas State transfer Jake Rubley.

Rittenhouse completed 67% of his passes for 467 yards and three touchdowns. Rubley was a 4-star recruit in Kansas State's 2020 recruiting class, but rarely saw action in Manhattan -- after redshirting in 2021, he threw just six passes total in 2022 and 2023. Rittenhouse is more of a running threat (140 yards on 22 attempts last year), while Rubley is more of a pure passer.

The Redbirds return some solid talent at the running back position, led by senior Mason King, who had 980 yards and 14 touchdowns on 150 attempts (6.5 ypc). King, a Northern Illinois transfer, was named Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year and earned first-team All-MVFC honors as well. Junior running back Wenkers Wright is also back after running for 261 yards and three touchdowns on 36 carries (7.3 ypc); he also led ISU in running in 2022, with 625 yards on 161 carries (3.9 ypc).

Illinois State had a very potent rushing attack last year, racking up 2179 yards and 26 touchdowns while averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Three of the players who paved the way for that running game production are back along the offensive line in 2024, led by senior left tackle Hunter Zambrano (6'5", 300 lbs), who earned second-team All-MVFC honors last season and could be an NFL Draft candidate with a strong season.

ISU also returns right tackle Jake Pope (6'7", 295 lbs) and OL Ryan Gudaitis (6'4", 295 lbs), who each started 10 or more games in 2023. The Redbirds added Minnesota transfer J.J. Guedet (6'8", 205 lbs), Duke transfer Elijah Wroten (6'3", 330 lbs), and Western Michigan transfer Brandon Smith (6'4", 290 lbs), though none of them saw notable action at their prior schools, so it's hard to say how much impact they may have this season.

Whoever starts at QB for Illinois State will be able to throw to some experienced targets. Two of last season's top three receivers are back this season, including standout Daniel Sobkowicz, who led the team in receptions (68), receiving yards (933), and touchdowns (10). Eddie Kasper (48 receptions, 432 yards, one touchdown) is also back from a season ago.

Illinois State dipped into the transfer portal to add WR Xavier Loyd from Kansas State and TE Mitch Bartol from Western Michigan, though neither player cracked the rotation at his former home. Overall, the Redbirds, who were 12th in the FCS in scoring in 2023 (32.8 ppg), have a few legitimate weapons on offense; Iowa will want to focus on taking away King and Sobkowicz and making forcing other players to make plays on offense.

Illinois State has some talent on the defensive side of the ball as well, with nine of 11 starters back from last year, including all seven top tacklers. Like the Hawkeyes, the Redbird defense is led by a core of talented linebackers. Amir Abdullah earned first-team All-MVFC honors last season after racking up 64 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. He's their top playmaker on defense and a legitimate menace.

MLB Tye Niekamp earned MVFC Freshman of the Year honors after amassing 74 tackles, nine tackles for loss, and seven pass break-ups. LaVoise-Deontae McCoy didn't earn the postseason accolades that Abdullah or Niekamp did, but he was still very productive last season, finishing with 74 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, and two fumble recoveries.

Illinois State also returns both starting safeties from a year ago; Keondre Jackson led the team with 76 tackles, and also had 6.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, three pass break-ups, and an interception. Dillon Gearhart, Jackson's partner at safety, had 64 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. The Redbirds also bring back cornerback Mark Cannon Jr., who had 46 tackles and led the team in interceptions with three.

Up front, Illinois State returns a trio of players who earned preseason All-MVFC consideration -- pass rusher Jalan Gaines as well as defensive tackles Jake Anderson and Jake Siegal. Gaines had 62 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks last season, while Anderson had 34 tackles and five tackles for loss and Siegal logged seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

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Iowa should have a clear edge in special teams in this game, despite breaking in a freshman punter in Rhys Dakin. Junior Ian Wagner attempted almost every kick for the Redbirds last fall -- he attempted 10 of 12 field goals, 41 of 45 extra points, 63 of 68 kickoffs, and all 40 punts. That heavy workload came with mixed results -- he made 8 of 10 field goals, but converted only 85% of his extra points (35-of-41) and his punts went for an average of 37.6 yards, with only 12 of 40 placing inside the 20-yard line.

The Redbirds did not do anything of note in the return game, either. Eddie Kasper returned seven punts for 28 yards, while Jalen Carr took five kickoffs for 62 yards. For the season, Illinois State attempted a total of 12 kickoff returns and 12 punt returns.

The fact that Illinois State went 6-5 last season probably makes this game look like it should be easier than it's likely to be. Again, four of those five ISU losses came by a grand total of eight points. Flip a few of those results and the Redbirds could have been 8-3 or 9-2 and an FCS Playoff team, which would have probably made them a Top 10 pick in the FCS preseason polls this season.

Illinois State returns a lot of experience -- and production -- on defense, especially in the back seven. On offense, the Redbirds have question marks at quarterback, but some potent options at running back, an experienced pass-catching threat, and a very veteran presence along the offensive line. In fact, their strengths tend to mirror Iowa's own strengths in several areas (RB, OL, LB, S).

The Redbirds also have an extremely experienced coach in Brock Spack, a former Purdue defensive coordinator who is now entering his 16th year as head coach at Illinois State. On the other hand, that experience hasn't led to a lot of success for Illinois State in recent years; ISU has won more than six games just once in the last eight years (10-5 in 2019) while going 6-5 in five of those eight seasons.

This Illinois State squad has the talent and experience to make Iowa sweat on Saturday, at least for a while. I think the game will be closer than Iowa fans would like into the second half, before the Hawkeyes are able to wear the Redbirds down and extend the lead late.

Iowa 27, Illinois State 10