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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate the Illinois State
4University football team, the Redbirds, on its remarkable
52014-2015 season, finishing with a record of 13 wins and 2
6losses, and making it to the NCAA Division I Football
7Championship; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The Redbirds are coached by Brock Spack, who is in
9his sixth year with the program, Offensive Coordinator Kurt
10Beathard, and Defensive Coordinator Spence Nowinski; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Redbirds kicked off the 2014-2015 campaign on
12September 6th at home with a win over the Mississippi Valley
13State Delta Devils; the win against Mississippi Valley State
14started a 7-game win streak; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The Redbirds only regular season loss came on
16November 1st against the University of Northern Iowa Panthers,
1742-28, a team they eventually met again in the post season; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The Redbirds won their next 4 contests to finish
19the regular season with a record of 10 wins and 1 loss, winning
20the Missouri Valley Football Conference for the first time in
2115 years; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In the first round of the NCAA Division I Football
2Championship on December 6th, the Redbirds again faced the
3University of Northern Iowa Panthers; they avenged their
4earlier defeat, winning by a score of 41 to 21 and advancing to
5the quarterfinals; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Redbirds faced the Eastern Washington Eagles
7in the quarter-final match-up on December 13th; it was a
8high-scoring shootout between 2 offensive driven teams, with
9the Redbirds prevailing 59 to 46; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The Redbirds win over Eastern Washington was
11celebrated with heavy hearts, with one minute remaining in the
12game a fan in the stands suffered a medical emergency; that man
13was John Rodgers, father of Eastern Washington offensive
14lineman Jake Rodgers; after the game, many of the Redbirds
15players were calling home to talk with their own fathers and
16praying for the Rodgers family; and
 
17    WHEREAS, For the semifinal match-up, the Redbirds traveled
18to New Hampshire, going coast-to-coast in one week to face the
19top-seeded University of New Hampshire Wildcats on December
2020th; trailing the Wildcats through the first 3 quarters and
21being down 18 to 6 to start the fourth quarter, the Redbirds
22refused to go down in defeat and responded with 15 unanswered

 

 

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1points, taking the lead 21 to 18 and advancing to finals; and
 
2    WHEREAS, The Redbirds family learned on December 26th that
3John Rodgers, father of Eastern Washington offensive lineman
4Jake Rodgers, had passed away from heart complications; his
5death shook the Eastern Washington family and stayed with the
6Redbirds; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Redbirds players and coaches wanted a way to
8honor the Rodgers family, deciding to wear a number 65 decal on
9their helmets, lineman Jake Rodgers number, when they faced
10North Dakota State University in the championship; Eastern
11Washington Coach Beau Baldwin in response, "The ISU football
12program and Coach Spack are not only incredible on the field,
13but are amazing men of character as well."; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The Redbirds made their first ever appearance in
15the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game on January 10th
16to face the North Dakota State University Bison in Frisco,
17Texas at Toyota Stadium; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Illinois State University alumni and fans from
19near and far hosted watch parties to cheer on their Redbirds;
20over 80 watch parties in cities across the United States, and
21as far away as Guatemala and Australia, had fans tuned in to
22see the conclusion of this miraculous season; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Redbirds knew the contest against the North
2Dakota State Bison would be tough; the Bison were appearing in
3their 4th straight championship game, winning the prior 3; the
4Redbirds were not afraid and welcomed the challenge; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The Redbird defense stopped North Dakota State on
6its first offensive drive, with Alex Donnelly forcing a Bison
7fumble in the red zone; the Redbirds drove to midfield before
8having to punt the ball away; the Redbird defense came up big
9again, stopping the Bison in 4 plays before taking over; the
10Redbird offense took over, capping a 5-play, 38-yard drive with
11a 13-yard touchdown pass from Tre Roberson to Jon-Marc
12Anderson, putting the Redbirds first on the board, going up
137-0; North Dakota State responded by scoring on a 41-yard field
14goal; the score at the end of the first quarter was ISU 7 - NDSU
153; and
 
16    WHEREAS, In the second half, the Redbirds were unable to
17penetrate the Bison defense to find the red zone and score;
18North Dakota State had one successful drive scoring a touchdown
19on a 6-yard pass, the score at the end of the half was NDSU 10 -
20ISU 7; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The Bison opened the second half with key play on
22the kickoff recovering the ball on the Redbird 19-yard line;

 

 

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1the Redbird defense held the Bison from a touchdown forcing
2them to settle for a field goal; the Redbirds had difficulties
3on the next drive going 3 plays and punting the ball away; the
4Bison then marched 71-yards downfield in 8 plays, scoring on a
57-yard run, putting the Bison up 20-7 with 7:28 remaining in
6the third quarter; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Redbirds on their next trip out on offense
8began to click with a 41-yard pass from Tre Roberson, finding
9James O'Shaughnessy towards the sideline for a touchdown; Nick
10Aussieker kicked the extra point and the final score of the
11third quarter was NDSU 20 - ISU 14; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The fourth quarter began with the Redbird defense
13holding the Bison from a touchdown and settling for an extra
14point, making it a 2 possession game with 11:20 left to play;
15the Redbirds were back on offense, charging down the field when
16Tre Roberson connected again with James O'Shaughnessy on a
173-yard touchdown pass, cutting the NDSU lead to 2 points; the
18Bison followed with a drive that ate up nearly 6 minutes of
19clock before the Redbirds forced them to punt; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The Redbirds were back on offense down by 2 with
212:22 left to play; the Redbirds flew down the field trying to
22score; on the fifth play of the drive, quarterback Tre Roberson
23broke free on a run, rushing for a 58-yard touchdown, a career

 

 

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1long; an extra points by kicker Nick Aussieker put the Redbirds
2ahead ISU 27 - NDSU 23 with 1:38 to go; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The Bison took over on offense, down for the first
4time since the first quarter; the Bison stampeded down the
5field gaining 3 successive first downs, stopping the clock each
6time; on the seventh play of the drive, the Bison running back
7found a hole and scored; the Redbirds blocked the extra point,
8but the damage was done, the Bison led NDSU 29 - ISU 27; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The Redbirds came back on offense and tried to
10muster one last charge with 0:37 seconds remaining, but the
11Bison intercepted the ball and ran out the clock, defeating the
12Redbirds in a thrilling championship match-up between 2 great
13football programs, NDSU 29 - ISU 27; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The Redbirds had an amazing season, winning their
15first conference title in 15 years, and making it to the NCAA
16Division I Football Championship Game; along the journey, the
17Redbirds defeated 7 nationally ranked opponents and set 16
18school records, including most wins (13), most points scored
19(574), must touchdowns (76), and most rushing yards (3,619);
20and
 
21    WHEREAS, The Redbirds graduate 20 seniors, who will leave
22behind a strong program they helped take towards new heights

 

 

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1and will have many returning starters with goals to build on
2the 2014-2015 campaign's success; and
 
3    WHEREAS, While the Redbirds were setting records and
4scoring on the football field, they also scored high in the
5classroom, having similar success in their coursework with a
6cumulative fall GPA of 2.87, setting an in-season record; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The Illinois State University Redbird football
8team was a model for success, setting many team records on the
9field, showing their strong moral character, and excelling in
10their academics; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
13congratulate the Illinois State University football team, the
14Redbirds, on its successful 2014-2015 campaign, making their
15first appearance in the NCAA Division I Football Championship
16Game, and we wish them great success as they continue to build
17their football program; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
19presented to the Illinois State University Redbirds President,
20Larry Dietz, Athletic Director, Larry Lyons, Head Coach, Brock
21Spack, the entire coaching staff, and the entire 2014-2015
22Redbirds football team as a symbol of our respect and esteem.