By Alan Gerould, Senior Columnist

NAPLES, FL — We are thrilled to welcome in Randy Reinhardt who covers the Illinois State Redbirds for the Pantagraph. Randy is familiar with the X’s and O’s and the Jimmy’s and the Joe’s for the ‘Birds and we plan to have him reveal the goods. Welcome Randy. You are now on the BroncoBlitz hot seat.

BroncoBlitz: Illinois State is coming off a convincing win over Butler in its season opener. The 49-7 win was the 86th in Coach Brock Spack’s career with the Redbirds making him the winningest coach in ISU history. It’s more the exception than the rule for a college coach to be around a program long enough to win 86 games. What is it about Spack that endears him to his players, the university and the greater community? What has he done this year which is likely to give the Redbirds its best shot at post season play?

Randy Reinhardt: Brock is a no-nonsense, old school coach. He embraces toughness and accountability and the players discover early on that they need to do the same to be a success in his program. Brock and his wife Aimee have become big parts of the Bloomington-Normal community and they really like it here. It was a tough decision to opt out of the final four spring games, but Brock said all along he wanted to be in the best position to succeed in the fall.

BroncoBlitz: Redbirds quarterback Bryce Jefferson threw for two and ran for two more touchdowns on Saturday against an outmanned Butler team. Jefferson only completed 50 percent of his 18 passes but averaged 21.9 yards per completion. Meanwhile the running game churned out nearly 300 yards on only 34 carries an average of 8.6 yards per carry. That being said, how do you expect the Redbirds to attack the Broncos on Saturday?

Randy Reinhardt: The Redbirds will certainly have to mix it up against the Broncos to move the ball. They used four tailbacks against Butler and all had some form of success. The Redbirds will have to give Jefferson time to throw if they expect to put up points Saturday. I would expect the Broncos to stack the box early and see if Jefferson can hurt them with his arm.

BroncoBlitz: The Redbirds defense was on the field for nearly two-thirds of the game Saturday deploying a “bend but don’t break” strategy. The Bulldogs ran 75 plays but only scored on one. What is it that the Redbirds “D” does well and where are they vulnerable?

Randy Reinhardt: I am guessing Butler moved the football better than the ISU coaching staff would have liked. But the Redbirds did stiffen considerably in the red zone. The ISU defensive line will have to hold its own against the Broncos to have a chance.

BroncoBlitz: ISU played in front of a good crowd Saturday of 8,000 plus Redbirds fans at home Saturday. They are likely to see three times that many juiced up Bronco fans when they travel to Waldo Stadium to face the Broncos The Broncos played in front of 109,245 on the road at the Big House. How do you expect the environment/venue play into the final result on Saturday, both the Broncos home opener and ISU competing on a larger stage?

Randy Reinhardt: I don’t expect the environment to play a huge factor. This team has played in front of 15-20,000 at the extremely loud FargoDome several times so they should be prepared for the noise an opposing crowd makes.

BroncoBlitz: If one were to look only at the scores Saturday and not each other’s opponent, there might be a temptation to favor the Redbirds on Saturday. We know that WMU’s 48-14 loss to Michigan and ISU’s 49-7 win over Butler are like comparing apples and oranges. The Broncos will be favored, probably by a couple of touchdowns or more. What do you think Coach Spack will try to do to spring an upset? What are keys to the game and what will be the final outcome?

Randy Reinhardt: I wouldn’t expect any trick plays. Those have been rare in Spack’s tenure. I know there were some wrinkles the Redbirds didn’t show against Butler that they might use Saturday. ISU needs to break even at the line of scrimmage to give itself a chance. I don’t make predictions, but if I was putting a line on this one I would expect the Broncos to be favored by 13 or 14.