Redbirds and Penguins Set To Square Off In Top 25 Matchup On Homecoming '25

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: October 18, 2025
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Ill.
Stadium: Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 12,440
Series: Series tied, 16-16
Last: ILS won 23-16 (Nov. 2, 2024)
Watch/Stream: Marquee Sports Network / ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
It's Week 8 of the college football season and the matchup between No. 25 Youngstown State (3-3, 0-2 MVFC) and No. 9 Illinois State (4-2, 1-1 MVFC) couldn't be more important, as both teams look to get their second win in conference play while keeping pace with the rest of the talented MVFC programs that are all over the Top 25 national rankings.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Youngstown State will meet for the 33rd time in program history, with the series tied at 16-16 overall. The series has belonged to the Penguins of late, as they have won three out of the last four games overall including a thrilling 41-38 win over the Redbirds at home in 2023. However, the Redbirds have won two out of the last three games against YSU at home at Hancock Stadium, including a 23-16 victory last season on November 2.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 17th season as the head coach at Illinois State (115-76). Spack guided the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title in 2014-15 and an appearance in the 2014 FCS Championship game. He has led the ISU to six playoff appearances overall and became the program's all-time wins leader in 2021.

Youngstown State: Doug Phillips (Toledo, 1991) is in his sixth season at Youngstown State (26-33). In 2023, Phillips guided the Penguins to the FCS Playoffs for the first time since reaching the finals in 2016. The Guins finished with an 8-5 record, won five Missouri Valley Football Conference games for the second consecutive year and picked up a win in the opening round of the postseason.

THE REDBIRD FOOTBALL PROGRAM

• 9 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2024)
• 6-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019)
• 2-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014)
• 1-time FCS Championship game qualifier (2014)
• The team is 69-25 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 52-19 at Hancock Stadium since 2013 renovation

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Youngstown State University is located in Youngstown, Ohio, and has an enrollment of 12,240. The Penguins are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) and play their home games at Stambaugh Stadium (20,630).
• The Penguins head into the contest ranked at No. 25 in the latest AFCA FCS Coaches Poll Top 25. Youngstown State comes in with a 3-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in conference play. 
• Last Saturday, Youngstown State team dropped a 35-17 decision to No. 12 North Dakota at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. In the contest, wide receiver Max Tomczak caught four passes for 79 yards to become the program's all-time leader in career receptions (188). The mark of 186 had been held by Jim Ferranti since 1979. 
• YSU is led by dual-threat quarterback Beau Brungard, who has rushed for 727 yards on 111 carries while scoring nine touchdowns on the ground. He has also completed 121-of-189 passes for 1,299 yards and nine scores through the air this season. He currently ranks second in the league in rushing yards per game (121.2) and is tied for third in rushing touchdown while he ranks No. 4 in passing yards and passing yards per game (216.5).

LAST TIME AGAINST YOUNGSTOWN STATE (Nov. 2, 2024)
A safety by Youngstown State early in the first quarter put Illinois State in the hole, however the No. 19 Redbirds scored 16 unanswered points and never looked back in a 23-16 defeat of the Penguins. Linebacker Amir Abdullah recorded six tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss in his first game back since suffering a leg injury in the season opener at Iowa and middle linebacker Tye Niekamp paced the Redbird defense with 11 tackles and recorded his third interception of the season. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse was solid once again for the Redbirds, completing 15-of-19 passes for 153 yards with two touchdowns while rushing for 30 yards and a score.

WELCOME BACK 
The annual Homecoming contest for Illinois State always brings back a lot of memories and alumni flock back to campus to celebrate with friends at families at their alma mater. The Redbirds have a 53-46-6 record all-time in Homecoming games dating back to 1916, however they have had a lot of success on Homecoming under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Since taking over the program in 2009, the Redbirds have gone 11-4 in Homecoming contests with the last two losses coming against vaunted North Dakota State when they were ranked in the Top 3 in the country. Illinois State and Youngstown State have faced off in the Homecoming game three times, with the Penguins holding a 2-1 advantage in those matchups.

DAN THE MAN
With his 162 yards receiving at Murray State, wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz now has 2,984 receiving yards in his illustrious career at Illinois State. That puts him in third place overall on the ISU career receiving yards list, and he is just 23 yards away from tying Laurent Robinson (3,007)for second place on the all-time list. With just 14 more yards, he will become just the third wide receiver in school history to eclipse the 3,000 yard mark joining Robinson and career leader Tyrone Walker (3,565). He also ranks second in career receptions (217) behind Walker (250) and is tied with Robinson (29) for third place in career receiving touchdowns. Sobkowicz has been on a roll of late, recording 482 yards and six touchdowns over the past four contests and has caught a touchdown in each of the last five games for the Redbirds. 

SOMETHING ABOUT MURRAY
There's something about playing against the Murray State Racers on the road that quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse really enjoys. Last season, Rittenhouse was named MVFC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 21, after throwing for a career-high 347 yards, rushing for a 128 and accounting for three scores against the Racers. He followed that up this year by throwing for 338 yards and a career-high four touchdown passes to lead the Redbirds to their second-straight road win in Murray. Rittenhouse's .840 completion percentage (21-of-25) in the contest also ranks as the second-best single-game effort in school history with at least 20 attempts.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
The Redbird offense was very creative in finding ways to score at Murray State, and that resulted in several players scoring their first touchdowns of the season or in their careers at ISU. A rare rushing touchdown by receiver Daniel Sobkowicz (his first career rushing TD) started things off for the Redbirds and Dylan Lord was next to find paydirt, as he took a shovel pass four yards for his first career touchdown reception. Then came Victor Dawson, who scored from 12 yards out running off left tackle for his first TD as a Redbird after transferring from Cincinnati. After that, Seth Glatz caught his first receiving touchdown of his career, a 52-yard wheel route down the sideline that gave him his first score of the year and third total in his career at ISU (2 rushing, 1 receiving). The first touchdown catch of the season from Javon Charles was the last of the 'firsts' on the night, as five different Redbirds scored touchdowns against the Racers. Not to be outdone, defensive back Doreon Dubose also intercepted his first career pass in the win for the Redbirds.

INTERESTING WAY TO START
It had been over seven years since Illinois State had recorded a safety until the team's game against North Dakota State, in which it happened on NDSU's first play from scrimmage. After the Redbirds were forced to punt on their first drive of the game and it was then downed at the NDSU 1 yard line, the Bison lined up to run their first play which was blown up by Tye Niekamp who rushed through the line to tackle the ball carrier in the endzone for two points. The last time ISU recorded a safety was in 2018 at home against Saint Xavier.

A GAME FOR THE AGES
The game between No. 4 Illinois State and visiting North Alabama had a little bit of everything, including a pair of hour-plus long weather delays, turnovers, missed kicks and missed opportunities by both teams. However, it was the Redbirds who came up big in the second overtime period to come away with a two-point victory over the Lions. In total, the game lasted over six hours and had a pair of one hour and 14 minute lightning delays. ISU had all the momentum with a 17-0 lead before the first delay, but it switched after the break as UNA cut it to three in the third quarter and then tied the game with 33 seconds left before missing the extra point that sent the game into overtime.

4 FOR 4 FOR NKUBA
Transfer defensive back Shadwel Nkuba II came to Illinois State to make an impact on the defensive side of the ball, and through the first four contests he certainly did that. Nkuba II recorded an interception in each of the first four games of the season and he currently ranks No. 2 in the country in interceptions per game (.67) and is tied for the national lead with the four picks. He has tied the interception high of four by Tye Niekamp from all of last season and is on pace to break the school single-season record of nine set by Doug Simper in 1974. His performance and interception against UNA also earned him MVFC Newcomer of the Week honors.

MAILANDER DELIVERING FOR THE BIRDS
Following the transfer of Xavier Loyd to Missouri, the Redbirds were needing a receiver to step up and fill the void left by the veteran wideout. Redshirt freshman Luke Mailander has made the most out of that opportunity, as he ranks second for the Redbirds with 356 yards on 20 receptions through the first six games of the year. He also caught touchdowns in three of the last five games to give him three on the year and ranks No. 39 in the country in yards per reception (17.8).

THE TROPHY STAYS WHERE IT BELONGS
For the fourth-straight season and the fifth time in the last six seasons, the Mid-America Classic Trophy came home with the Redbirds after they defeated longtime rivals Eastern Illinois by a score of 42-30 in the 113th Mid-America Classic. Eastern Illinois was with a touchdown of visiting Illinois State in the fourth quarter, however the Redbirds pulled away late with two touchdowns in the final six minutes to defeat the Panthers. The Redbirds have now won seven of the last eight meetings against the Panthers, and nine out of the last 11 games overall.

ALL IS WRIGHT 
Stopping running back Wenkers Wright proved to be difficult for Eastern Illinois in the 113th Mid-America Classic, as the senior took over the game to lift the Redbirds to a victory. Wright set a career high with three rushing touchdowns against the Panthers as he finished with 94 yards on 14 carries. Wright had touchdown runs of 2, 18 and 16 yards respectively as the powered the Redbirds to another rivalry win. Wright leads the Redbirds with 422 yards and five touchdowns on the ground this season.

THE STREAK CONTINUES
Redbird teams have been very successful scoring on defense under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Thanks to a 27-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the home opening win over Morehead State by Cam Wilson, the Redbirds extended their streak to 17 straight seasons with at least one defensive score. 

UNDERWOOD TO JOIN ILLINOIS STATE'S BEST ON HOMECOMING
One of Illinois State's football's best will take his place amongst the University's all-time greats in October, as former defensive end Colton Underwood will be inducted as part of the 2025 ISU Athletics Percy Family Hall of Fame class during Homecoming festivities. A Two-time FCS All-American, Underwood is one of three players in school history to be a two-time finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award and ranks No. 3 in career tackles-for-loss with 44 and No. 4 on the career sacks list with 21.5. A three-time All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection and two-time First-Team pick, Underwood was a two-time College Sporting News Fabulous Fifty FCS All-America Team honoree during his career and was an All-MVFC First-Team pick as a senior, after leading the team with 12 tackles-for-loss. A 2012 First-Team All-America selection by The Walter Camp Football Foundation, The Associated Press and The Sports Network, Underwood was runner-up for MVFC Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2012, after he led the MVFC in sacks (10.5) and tackles-for-loss (19.5).