Spring 2021 Schedule Released

[Adunk33]

MVFC Releases Spring Football Conference Slate for 2021 - Illinois State University Athletics

After a spring and fall that brought about a lot of uncertainty for the Illinois State football program, the Redbirds have a roadmap in place for the upcoming Spring

goredbirds.com

MVFC made it so most teams start in a dome or at the most Southern Schools. First 3 of 4 are on the road.
Feb 20 @ UNI
Feb 27 @ Mo State
March 6 vs Western (Arch Madness and Football on the same day. Wild)
March 13 @ NDSU
March 20 vs North Dakota
March 27 vs South Dakota
April 3 @ INST
April 10 BYE
April 17 vs SIU.

 

[CCRedbirds]

I vote for Homecoming April 17th vs SIUC

 

[Virginia Redbird]

I see the Birds ended up with two of the top teams in the MVFC on their schedule. NDSU and UNI and both are on the road. It is going to be very hard to make the playoffs with an 8 game schedule and a reduced number of teams in the playoffs. I think they have to win a minimum of one of these games and all the rest to qualify. They will have their work cut out for them.

 

[fourthandshort]

I see the Birds ended up with two of the top teams in the MVFC on their schedule. NDSU and UNI and both are on the road. It is going to be very hard to make the playoffs with an 8 game schedule and a reduced number of teams in the playoffs. I think they have to win a minimum of one of these games and all the rest to qualify. They will have their work cut out for them.

You think we need to be 7-1 playing in the MVFC to make playoffs ?

How many teams make playoffs ? I did quick google and didn't see anything.

 

[Adunk33]

You think we need to be 7-1 playing in the MVFC to make playoffs ?

How many teams make playoffs ? I did quick google and didn't see anything.

16. 11 auto bids (each conf champ) 5 at-large. Obviously, winning the league gets the Birds in, but we know that's unlikely. I think 1-2 losses they're in the conversation. Much more than that, and I think they're on the outside looking in. They'll throw in some CAA team with two losses over an MVFC team with 3. A real argument could be made that at least four of the five at-large could be MVFC teams. The MVFC is just in a league of its own.

 

[Bird Friend]

You think we need to be 7-1 playing in the MVFC to make playoffs ?

How many teams make playoffs ? I did quick google and didn't see anything.

16 teams this spring, down from the usual 24.

 

[cubird]

Wonder if the downtown Blm Arena will be available for practice? Do they still have the turf stored somewhere...

 

[redbirdfan04]

MVFC Releases Spring Football Conference Slate for 2021 - Illinois State University Athletics

After a spring and fall that brought about a lot of uncertainty for the Illinois State football program, the Redbirds have a roadmap in place for the upcoming Spring

goredbirds.com

MVFC made it so most teams start in a dome or at the most Southern Schools. First 3 of 4 are on the road.
Feb 20 @ UNI
Feb 27 @ Mo State
March 6 vs Western (Arch Madness and Football on the same day. Wild)
March 13 @ NDSU
March 20 vs North Dakota
March 27 vs South Dakota
April 3 @ INST
April 10 BYE
April 17 vs SIU.

Well the way the basketball team has been playing the last two years they won't be playing by March 6th. Too soon???

I wonder if we will get to attend any of the home games? I bet we have better odds of going to any of the away games.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

You think we need to be 7-1 playing in the MVFC to make playoffs ?

How many teams make playoffs ? I did quick google and didn't see anything.

The Spring FCS Playoffs is shrinking from the usual 24 to 16. With 11 automatic bids, conference champs that only leads 5 at large bids. MVFC will get one automatic bid with the conference champ. How many other MVFC teams will get an at large bid when there are only 5 to distribute. It will be tough.

16-team spring playoff bracket approved for FCS

The FCS football championship will be held in the spring with 16 teams, including 11 automatic qualifiers and five at-large teams.

www.espn.com

 

[redbirdfan04]

My very early prediction would have been 7-1 but with everyone that has left I am going to say 4-4.

 

[Virginia Redbird]

16. 11 auto bids (each conf champ) 5 at-large. Obviously, winning the league gets the Birds in, but we know that's unlikely. I think 1-2 losses they're in the conversation. Much more than that, and I think they're on the outside looking in. They'll throw in some CAA team with two losses over an MVFC team with 3. A real argument could be made that at least four of the five at-large could be MVFC teams. The MVFC is just in a league of its own.

I don't see the MVFC getting 4 of the 5 bids. There will be some teams from other less competitive conferences with better records. Yes, the strength of schedule is a factor but when they come to make bids and there are only 5 slots left for at large teams, I just don't see that many going to one conference regardless of how good it is. There are teams that get screwed every year as the bids go to teams with better records but mostly against weaker teams. I think there will be a great deal of pressure to spread the bids out. Look at SIU last year. They went 7-5 (5-3 in MVFC) but did not make the playoff field. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying the MVFC may not deserve to get 4 of the 5 at large playoff spots. I am just saying I don't see it happening. Say the Birds lose to NDSU and UNI but win the rest of their games. At 6-2 do they get a playoff berth?

 

[GratefulRed]

Were we originally scheduled to have 6 home games in the fall? Lets pretend they allow fans to attend in the spring. What are the chances of the ticket office refunding our money for the two games we lost? The over/under is slim to none.

 

[MadBird]

Were we originally scheduled to have 6 home games in the fall? Lets pretend they allow fans to attend in the spring. What are the chances of the ticket office refunding our money for the two games we lost? The over/under is slim to none.

I'm fine with the department keeping my two games worth to help out in the revenue crisis.

 

[ISUBU]

Were we originally scheduled to have 6 home games in the fall? Lets pretend they allow fans to attend in the spring. What are the chances of the ticket office refunding our money for the two games we lost? The over/under is slim to none.
[/QUOTE

I'm pretty sure they already offered to refund 100%. I chose to apply my ticket cost to the future schedule. This is a non issue.

I am grateful for the scheduled spring season, even though I have a commitment that would likely interfere with one game.

But I recognize some folks may really need the refund, so ask for it from the ticket office if you need it.

 

[fourthandshort]

I don't see the MVFC getting 4 of the 5 bids. There will be some teams from other less competitive conferences with better records. Yes, the strength of schedule is a factor but when they come to make bids and there are only 5 slots left for at large teams, I just don't see that many going to one conference regardless of how good it is. There are teams that get screwed every year as the bids go to teams with better records but mostly against weaker teams. I think there will be a great deal of pressure to spread the bids out. Look at SIU last year. They went 7-5 (5-3 in MVFC) but did not make the playoff field. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying the MVFC may not deserve to get 4 of the 5 at large playoff spots. I am just saying I don't see it happening. Say the Birds lose to NDSU and UNI but win the rest of their games. At 6-2 do they get a playoff berth?

Thanks for info on modified playoff structure.

At 6-2, unless MVFC falls way off, then we should get a 3rd team. The MVFC playoff record over the last 5-10 years, excluding NDSU, blows all other conferences away .. and last year padded the difference further. We had 4 of 16 in round of 16, and 3 of 8 quarterfinal teams, and the 2 that lost in quarters gave NDSU and JMU all they could handle.

Last year reinforced our dominance, especially considering the prevailing thought was MVFC had fallen off ... and we dominated playoffs again. I think it was noticed more for this very reason. ISUr went from top 8 seed prospect after 9 weeks, to last team in aftwer 11 weeks .. and made quarters losing to Champion NDSU by 6 in Fargo.

 

[redbirdfan04]

Maybe it was because it was game one but NDSU did not play with that swagger I have seen the last decade. It is really too bad we lost so many players because it would have been a great battle this year. I just don't see how the Redbirds put it all together with the loss of so many players. I still hope they get to play starting in February but other than that I am not sure where the bar is for this team now.

 

[ISUBU]

Maybe it was because it was game one but NDSU did not play with that swagger I have seen the last decade. It is really too bad we lost so many players because it would have been a great battle this year. I just don't see how the Redbirds put it all together with the loss of so many players. I still hope they get to play starting in February but other than that I am not sure where the bar is for this team now.

There will be a lot of questions for a lot of teams. I don't know that we've really been hurt more or less than other top teams, especially be the time we get to spring games. We hear about our losses more than we hear about other teams' losses. For every player transferring up or sitting out to prepare for the NFL there are multiple players graduating, getting married, getting jobs, moving on with their lives.

 

[Total Red]

Maybe it was because it was game one but NDSU did not play with that swagger I have seen the last decade. It is really too bad we lost so many players because it would have been a great battle this year. I just don't see how the Redbirds put it all together with the loss of so many players. I still hope they get to play starting in February but other than that I am not sure where the bar is for this team now.

Key offensive players we expected to lose (graduation/NFL) G - Rients, G - Solomon, RB- ROBINSON, WR - Haley

Key defensive players we expected to lose DE - T. Clark, LB- Deforest, S - Kirk, LB - Washington, LB - Mends



Key offensive players we didn't expect to lose C- Hirsch (Lou-Monroe)

Key defensive players we didn't expect to lose DE - McKnight (UNC Charlotte), LB - Draka (career), CB - Taylor (Va. Tech)



PENDING - may or may not leave
OL - Himmelman (may opt to prepare for the NFL draft), LB - Vandenburgh (put his name in the transfer portal but is still practicing with the team, may stay if not offered by a desirable team)

We began the offseason with normal attrition and high hopes. The defense finished on an extremely high note and the bulk of the defense was set to return. There's no doubt that the losses of McKnight, Taylor and Draka will hurt. We had really good depth at LB and in the secondary so I think we're still in good shape. The McKnight departure hurts most. We've got Fehrmann and some other guys that can step in but the they won't perform at the McKnight level. Even so the rest of the defense is star-studded enough that we should be really good. It starts up front end and we're really strong inside with Ridgeway and Lewan. I've heard Coach Spack talk about being a young LB'er at Purdue and how important it was to have good D-Linemen in front of him early in his career. They helped make him look good. I think our new inside LB'ers (looks like Wilhoit and Reid at this point) are very good on their own but they have a chance to be all-conference performers with Ridgeway and Lewan forcing backs to make evasive moves right from the handoff. So I'm still bullish on the defense, but concerns remain with the offense and the passing game in particular. It was fragile last season and it was unable to withstand injuries at QB and WR. Right now we have to wait for the other shoe to drop with Himmelman. Himmelman is our best pass blocker so if he leaves we're vulnerable on the flanks. That's a concern as QB Davis is average at evading pressure. If we had all our WR's (Edgar, Grimes, Rogers) back and healthy along with QB Davis AND Himmelman I would be making Frisco reservations. As it stands I put the odds of Vandenburgh staying with the team at over 50%, but the odds of Himmelman staying at less than 50%.

Defense - the rich stays rich
Offense - the fragile stays fragile

 

[TIMMY]

I look at a lot of mock drafts and none that I have seen have Himmelman being drafted. So right now he's UFA unless he can improve his stock. So it's just my opinion, but I think it would be a mistake for him not to get this year on tape.

 

[Total Red]

Did anyone tune in to the Brock Spack Show - WJBC earlier this evening? I forgot to tune in. Drew Himmelman was the player guest. I'd be interested in what he had to say.