Road Test At Indiana State Next Up For No. 16 Illinois State

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: November 8, 2025
Time: 12 p.m. CT
Site: Terre Haute, Ind.
Stadium: Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 12,764
Series: Illinois State leads 41-32-2
Last: ILS won 31-19 (Nov. 16, 2024)
Watch/Stream: ESPN+ 
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
The path to the end of the regular season goes on the road for the next two weeks for No. 16 ranked Illinois State (6-3, 3-2 MVFC), as the Redbirds begin a two-game road swing this weekend in Terre Haute, Indiana, against Indiana State (3-6, 1-4 MVFC) which is coming off a big road win over No. 4 South Dakota State last weekend in Brookings, South Dakota.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Indiana State will meet for the 76th time, with the Redbirds holding a 41-32-2 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs. The Redbirds have won the last three games against the Sycamores and four out of the last five games overall in the series. Illinois State is 12-3 against Indiana State under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, who is 4-3 against the Sycamores in games at Memorial Stadium. From 2011-15 the Redbirds won five-straight games and they are 19-5 against INS since 2000.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 17th season as the head coach at Illinois State (117-77). 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.

Indiana State: Curt Mallory (Michigan, 1992) is in his ninth season as the head coach at Indiana State (27-61). Mallory and his staff mounted the biggest turnaround in collegiate football in 2018 after leading the Sycamores to a 7-4 finish, a third-place finish in the Missouri Valley Football
Conference and a No. 22 national ranking.

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 70-26 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 53-20 at Hancock Stadium since 2013 renovation

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Indiana State University is located in Terre Haute, Indiana, and has an enrollment of 6,352. The Sycamores are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) and play their home games at Memorial Stadium (12,764).
• After starting the season 2-0 with wins over McKendree and Eastern Illinois, the Sycamores dropped six games in a row including four to start conference play in a guantlet that featured four-nationally ranked teams in Southern Illinois, South Dakota, North Dakota State and North Dakota.
• That streak came to an end last week, as the Sycamore defense forced three turnovers to defeat No. 4/5 South Dakota State on the road at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium, 24-12.
• Kick returner/wide receiver Rashad Rochelle scored on a 95-yard kickoff return and added touchdown receptions of 14 and 57 yards to record 179 total all-purpose yards in pacing the Sycamores to their first win over SDSU since Indiana State topped the Jackrabbits in Brookings back in 2011.
• For his efforts, Rochelle was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week, while defensive back Nic Yatsko was named the league's Newcomer of the Week, after he recorded a career-high 14 tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in the Sycamores' win over SDSU.

LAST TIME AGAINST INDIANA STATE (NOV. 16, 2024)
After Indiana State took an early lead, the No. 16 ranked Redbirds scored 31 straight points to defeat the Sycamores by a final of 31-19 to secure their fifth-straight road victory. Wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz recorded a season-best 156 yards on eight receptions in the contest and caught  a pair of touchdowns in the victory, and Xavier Loyd hauled in a career-best 13 catches, one short of tying the school single-game record. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse tallied his second 300-plus yard passing game of the year, finishing with 319 yards on 29-of-41 passing and tied a career-best with three touchdown passes in the victory.

DAWSON'S BIG DAY
Since transferring to Illinois State from Cincinnati in the offseason, Victor Dawson has been waiting for his chance to show why the Redbird coaches sought out his services in the transfer portal. That opportunity came against Northern Iowa, as he rushed for a season-high 101 yards and scored a touchdown in the Redbirds' win over the Panthers. It marked the first 100-plus rushing effort for Dawson in his time at Illinois State and was the first 100-yard rushing effort by a Redbird running back this season. Dawson averaged 5.9 yards per carry and he also got into action in the passing game, with four receptions for 16 yards out of the backfield. Dawson helped the Redbirds rack up 202 yards on the ground against the Panthers, as ISU averaged 5.8 yards per carry as a team.

WOODARD LEADS THE WAY
Offensive guard Landon Woodard and the Redbird offensive line were a big part of the Redbirds' success in a 31-16 win over UNI and for his efforts, Woodard was named the MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week. The senior from Waukesha, Wisconsin, graded out at 90 percent and helped lead the way for running back Victor Dawson, who rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown on the ground. As a team, the Redbird offense racked up 430 yards of total offense in a balanced effort, that featured 202 yards rushing (5.8 yards per carry) and 228 yards passing. ISU has now scored 30 points or more in six of the team's nine games this season and 40 or more points three times on the year.

TWO IN A ROW FOR LORD
For the second-straight week, redshirt freshman wide receiver Dylan Lord contributed in a big way in the absence of standout wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz.  After he led all receivers with a career-high eight catches for 82 yards in the victory over South Dakota, Lord followed that up with a new career-best 10 catches for 50 yards in the victory over UNI. Lord now ranks second on the team with 31 receptions on the season, while averaging 8.6 yards per reception.

STEFFEN BREAKS THROUGH 
Defensive lineman Garret Steffen had a career day for the Redbirds in their 31-16 win over UNI. The Altoona, Wisconsin, native tied for the team lead with seven tackles and paced the defense with two quarterback sacks in the win. After missing all last year with an injury, Steffen has been a stalwart on the defensive line for the Redbirds this season but posted career bests with the seven stops and two sacks against the Panthers. He helped the Redbird defense record three sacks and six tackles-for-loss while holding UNI to just 98 yards rushing and 240 yards of total offense.

SCOTTY FINDS THE END ZONE
Whenever the Redbirds have needed a big catch this season, especially on third down, fullback Scotty Presson Jr. has been the go-to guy. At South Dakota, he was back at it as he caught the first two touchdown passes of his career in Illinois State's 21-13 road win against No. 21 ranked Coyotes. The senior from Florissant, Missouri, scored the first touchdown of the game on an 11-yard pass from Tommy Rittenhouse and he later added a 2-yard touchdown catch on fourth-and-goal from the 2 to put the Redbirds up by 11 late in the third quarter. He set a season-best with three catches and tallied 30 yards in the victory for ISU.

MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Junior middle linebacker Tye Niekamp has been a stalwart for the Redbird defense all season, and he put together another strong performance in ISU's 21-13 road win at No. 21 South Dakota. Niekamp  tied his career and season high with a game-best 14 tackles against the Coyotes, including a career-high 11 solo stops, which earned him MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. The junior from Normal, Illinois, was also credited with a TFL, as the Redbirds held the No. 21 ranked Coyotes to just 13 points at home. It marked Niekamp's fourth double-digit tackling effort of the season and third game with 13 plus stops.

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 now has four games with 3+ touchdown passes this season and has already eclipsed his single-season high of 17 with now 20 on the year including 11 in the past three contests. He is currently second in the league in touchdown passes behind Jerry Kaminski of North Dakota (22).

STEPPING UP WHEN NEEDED
With all-conference wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz out with an injury, the Illinois State offense was looking for wideouts to step up to fill the void left by one of the best receivers in FCS football. In the win against South Dakota, wide receivers Dylan Lord (8) and Rylan Crawford (6) each set career highs in receptions in the contest for the Redbirds, as Lord led all receivers with the eight catches for 82 yards in the victory. Crawford had six catches for 44 yards, which included three receptions that moved the chains for first downs. 

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Senior running back Wenkers Wright hit a big milestone in the win at South Dakota, as he passed 2,500 career rushing yards against the Coyotes. With his 31 yards against Northern Iowa, Wright now has 2,541 yards in his stellar career making him just the eighth player in school history to rush for 2,500 yards or more. He currently ranks seventh on the all-time rushing yards list, but needs just four yards to pass Pierre Rembert for sixth place (2,544) on the list. He is also just one rushing touchdown away from tying Tre Roberson (22) for eighth on the career rushing TDs list and three from tying Bruce Cullen and Ron Bell (24) for sixth place.