Another Top 25 Matchup Awaits Illinois State In South Dakota

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: October 25, 2025
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Ill.
Stadium: H. Lauren Lewis Field at the DakotaDome
Capacity: 9,100
Series: Illinois State leads, 8-2
Last: ILS won 12-10 (Oct. 15, 2022)
Watch/Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 
98.9 FM WJEZ / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
Coming off a tough loss at home last week to No. 25 Youngstown State, No. 18 ranked Illinois State will look to get back on track this weekend in Vermillion, South Dakota, when the Redbirds (4-3, 1-2 MVFC) take on the No. 21 ranked South Dakota Coyotes (5-3, 3-1 MVFC) in a crucial Top 25 contest for both squads.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and South Dakota will meet for the 11th time in program history, with Illinois State holding an 8-2 advantage in the series that dates back to 2011. Due to conference schedule reshuffles, the two teams have not met since 2022 when the Redbirds eked out a 12-10 win at home over the Coyotes. ISU is 3-1 overall in Vermillion inside the Dakota Dome, with the lone defeat coming in 2016 by a score of 27-24. Overall, the Redbirds have won three out of the last four and head coach Brock Spack is 8-2 against the Coyotes in his tenure as head coach.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 17th season as the head coach at Illinois State (115-77). 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.

South Dakota: Travis Johnson (Concordia, 2006) is in first season as the head coach at South Dakota (5-3). He takes the reins of the Coyote football program after six seasons as the Defensive Coordinator (2019-24) and the last three seasons as the Associate Head Coach (2022-24) under head coach Bob Nielsen.

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 69-26 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 52-20 at Hancock Stadium since 2013 renovation

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• The University of South Dakota is located in Vermillion, South Dakota, and has an enrollment of 10,405. The Coyotes are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) and play their home games at the DakotaDome (9,100).
• The Penguins head into the contest ranked at No. 21 in the latest STATS Perform Top 25. South Dakota comes in with a 5-3 overall record and a 3-1 mark in conference play. 
• South Dakota returns to the DakotaDome after two weeks on the road. Last week, it was a fairly even game between USD and UNI in Cedar Falls with both teams having two touchdowns and nearly 300 offensive yards each. However, it was kicker Zeke Mata's school record 58-yard field goal to end the first half proved to be the difference in the contest.
• The USD offensive attack has been bolstered by L.J. Phillips Jr., who sits top-10 in four rushing categories this season, including leading all of Division I football (FBS & FCS) in net rushing yards (986 yards).
• The Coyotes also have an experienced signal caller in quarterback Aidan Bouman, who tallied his third game this season with 200+ passing yards and multiple touchdowns, going 16-for-24 for 201 yards and two TDs last week against the Panthers.

LAST TIME AGAINST SOUTH DAKOTA (OCT. 15, 2022)
It was a defensive battle between Illinois State and South Dakota, as the Redbirds came up with big defensive stops when it counted to defeat the Coyotes by a final of 12-10 on Homecoming. Redshirt freshman Ian Wagner booted a pair of field goals, including a career-long 45 yarder to the USD lead to 7-6 at halftime, and a one-yard touchdown catch by Tanner Taula proved to be the game winner in the third quarter for the Redbirds. Deandre Lamont led the Redbird defense with nine tackles and a forced fumble, and Kenton Wilhoit finished with seven stops and a TFL to lead the way for the 'Birds.

RITTENHOUSE REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
Just a week after he broke his career high with four passing touchdowns in a win at Murray State, senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse followed that up with five touchdown passes in the Homecoming contest against South Dakota State. He became the first Redbird to throw for 5 TDs in a game since Matt Brown did it against Appalachian State in a 2012 FCS playoff victory. Rittenhouse has now four games with 3+ touchdown passes this season and has already eclipsed his single season high of 17 with now 18 including nine in the past two contests. He is currently tied for the league lead in touchdown passes with Jerry Kaminski of North Dakota and ranks No. 4 in the FCS in that category.

DAN THE MAN
With his 16 yards receiving against Youngstown State, wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz became just the third wide receiver in school history to get to the 3,000. That puts him in third place overall on the ISU career receiving yards list, and he is just seven yards away from tying Laurent Robinson (3,007) for second place on the all-time list. He also ranks second in career receptions (218) 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 498 yards and six touchdowns over the past five contests and has caught a touchdown in five of the last six 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. 5 in the country in interceptions per game (.57) 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 407 yards on 24 receptions through the first seven games of the year. He also caught touchdowns in four of the last six games to give him four on the year and ranks No. 48 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 465 yards and five touchdowns on the ground this season while adding eight receptions with two touchdowns.

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.