The Illinois State football team will look to bounce back from a tough season-opening loss at Northern Illinois, when the No. 16 ranked Redbirds (0-1) host the Morehead State Eagles (1-0) in the 2019 home opener at Hancock Stadium. 

Morehead State rolled up 587 total yards on offense, including balancing 293 passing yards with 280 yards on the ground, to come away with a 44-7 victory over Union (Ky.) in the first meeting between the two Bluegrass State schools since 1946. 

The Redbird defense featured strong performances from several players in the team's opener at Northern Illinois. Dylan Draka's interception was the first of his career and he also set a career-high with seven tackles against the Huskies. Luther Kirk led the Redbirds defensively with nine tackles for ISU, one short of his career high of 10 set last season against UNI, while John Ridgeway (8), Christian Uphoff (6)  and Zeke Vandenburgh (5) also set career bests in tackles.