By Eric Stock
NORMAL – Coach Brock Spack knows the Illinois State football program has reached a certain lofty status when he sees how fans react after a loss.
“You know what’s cool about being here at this time as opposed to when I was here in 2009?,” Spack asked. “When we lose now, everyone is stunned.”
The Redbirds will look to bounce back after its first loss of the season at Northern Arizona when the Redbirds visit Southern Illinois on Saturday.
Spack said the game NAU was the first one this seasons where there Redbirds weren’t as sharp.
“I thought that a game like this would come earlier, to be honest with you,” Spack said. “I didn’t know if it would be this one or not where we would really, really struggle.”
Spack said he scaled back practices a bit because of the late night traveling back from Flagstaff on Saturday. He said he wants his team rested and ready for practice this week.
“Normally, we would practice after a loss, we didn’t do that because I just felt it was important the players got enough rest, because I didn’t want to be behind today,” Spack said.
The Redbirds practice schedule could also be hampered by the thread storms for the next several days.
The Redbirds game at SIU is scheduled for a 2 p.m. kickoff on WJBC.
Eric Stock can be reached at eric.stock@cumulus.com.
