Redbirds Advance To FCS Semifinals With 42-31 Road Win At No. 8 UC Davis

DAVIS, Calif. – It was a wild first quarter in Davis, California, on Saturday, as Illinois State and No. 8 UC Davis traded punches to a 21-17 lead for the Redbirds after the first 15 minutes of action. After a scoreless second quarter, the Redbirds (11-4) scored 14 points in the third quarter to pull away from the Aggies (9-4) for a 42-31 victory at UC Davis Health Stadium.

How It Happened:
•    The Aggies jumped out to an early lead, as a 52-yard pass play on the first play from scrimmage set up a 35-yard field goal by Hunter Ridley to make the score 3-0 with 13:42 on the clock in the first.
•    On the ensuing kickoff, Chris Taylor took fielded the kick and followed blockers 91 yards for a kickoff return touchdown to give the Redbirds a 7-3 lead 12 seconds later.
•    UC Davis' Jordan Fisher then got the lead back for the Aggies, as he scored from 23 yards out to cap off a 75-yard scoring drive to put UCD back up at 10-7 with 11:34 remaining in the first quarter.
•    The rollercoaster first quarter continued, as the Redbird took the lead at 14-10 on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rittenhouse to Dylan Lord with 8:49 left in the opening quarter.
•    After UC Davis went for a fake field goal and did not make the line of gain, the Redbirds took over on downs and on the first play from scrimmage Rittenhouse found Daniel Sobkowicz for a 93-yard touchdown to make the score 21-10 with 4:21 left in the first.
•    The Aggies cut the Redbird advantage to 21-17 with 1:44 left in the first quarter, as Caden Pinnick connected with Stacey Dobbins on a 12-yard touchdown pass.
•    After a scoreless second quarter, the Redbirds took the opening kickoff the second half and drove 75 yards on nine plays thanks to several strong runs by Victor Dawson that led to a 14-yard touchdown run by Seth Glatz to make it 28-17 with 9:48 left in the third quarter.
•    Following a forced fumble forced by Shadwell Nkuba II gave the Redbirds the ball back at their own 20 yards line, the Redbirds went on a methodical 11-play scoring drive that took 6:50 off the clock and was capped off by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Rittenhouse to Sobkowicz that made the score 35-17 with 2:06 remaining in the third quarter.
•    Following a converted fake punt attempt by Hayden Futch that moved the sticks, Seth Glatz ripped off a 58-yard touchdown run to make the score 42-17 with 3:35 left in the contest. 
•    UC Davis would cut into the Redbird advantage at 42-23 on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Pinnick to Jordan Fisher with 2:11 to play and after falling on the on-side kick attempt, they scored on a 24-yard pass from Pinnick to Stacey Dobbins 47 second left and following the two-point conversion, the score was 42-31.
•    The Redbirds fell on the final on-side attempt and then took a knee to close out the victory and advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2014.

Game Notes:    
•    Illinois State will be making its third semifinal appearance in the FCS playoffs, following appearances in 1999 when they lost to Georgia Southern on the road and the 2014 appearance where they won at New Hampshire to advance to the FCS National Championship game in Frisco against North Dakota State.
•    With the win, the Redbirds have now won eight-straight road games against FCS opponents in 2025 and are a combined 18-3 over the past two seasons on the road, with two of those losses coming to FBS foes Iowa (2024) and Oklahoma (2025).
•    The kick return for a touchdown by Taylor was the first for the Redbirds since 2022, when Jalen Carr returned one 98 yards for a score against Valparaiso … it was also the first for Taylor in his career at ISU.
•    The 93-yard touchdown pass from Rittenhouse to Sobkowicz was the longest of the season for the Redbirds … it was also a career long pass for Rittenhouse and a career long reception for Sobkowicz.
•    With his two touchdowns, Sobkowicz now holds the school single-season records with 16, passing Anthony Warrum's previous high of 15 set in 2015.
•    With his six receptions, Sobkowicz also became the school's all-time leader in career receptions with 250, tying the mark of 250 held by Tyrone Walker.
•    Sobkowicz's 150 yards were his third 100-yard performance of the season and the eighth of his career at Illinois State.
•    With his 148 yards, Dawson moved over 1,000 on the year and the Redbirds have now had back-to-back 1,000-yard rushers after Wenkers Wright eclipsed the mark last year … he also went over 100 yards for the second-straight week and the fourth time this season.
•    The interception for CJ Richard Jr. was the first of his career.
•    Solomon Oduma and Patrick Bauer led the Redbird defense with seven tackles each.

Next Up:
The Redbirds will travel to Philadelphia to take on No. 12 seeded Villanova (12-2) next Saturday, December 20, in the semifinals of the 2025 FCS Playoffs. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will air on ESPN2.

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