Redbirds, Bison Meet Again Is Second Round of FCS Playoffs

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: December 6, 2025
Time: 12 p.m. CT
Site: Fargo, North Dakota
Stadium: Gate City Bank at the Fargodome
Capacity: 19,000
Series: North Dakota State leads 16-2
Last: NDSU won 33-16 (October 4, 2025)
Watch/Stream: ESPN+ 
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ / The Varsity Network

THE GAME
A couple of familiar foes will meet once again on the gridiron as No. 17 Illinois State (9-4, 5-3 MVFC) will travel to Fargo, North Dakota, to take on top seeded No. 1 North Dakota State (12-0, 8-0 MVFC) in the second round of the FCS Playoffs. This will be the second meeting between the two teams this season, and the contest will be the third between the two programs in the FCS Playoffs, following matchups in 2014 in the national title game and in 2019 in Fargo in the quarterfinals.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and North Dakota State will meet for the 19th time in program history, with the Bison leading the all-time series 16-2. NDSU won the first two games in the series in 2007-08, before ISU Head Coach Brock Spack took over the ISU program and led the Redbirds to wins in 2009-10. However, the Bison have won the last 14 games in a row in the series, including the 2014 FCS National Championship game thriller in Frisco, Texas.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 17th season as the head coach at Illinois State (120-78). 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 seven playoff appearances overall and became the program's all-time wins leader in 2021.

North Dakota State: Tim Polasek (Concordia [Wis.], 2002) is in his second season as the head coach at North Dakota State (16-2). In his first season at the helm in 2024, Polasek led NDSU to its 11th MVFC championship with a 7-1 league record and the program's 10th NCAA Division I FCS national championship. 

THE REDBIRD FOOTBALL PROGRAM

• 10 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2024, 2025)
• 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 9-6 in the FCS playoffs under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 12-1 against FCS opponents on the road the past two seasons

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• North Dakota State University is located in Fargo, North Dakota, and has an enrollment of 11,954. The Bison are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) and play their home games at Gate City Bank at the Fargodome (19,000).
• No. 1-ranked North Dakota State football team capped an unbeaten regular season with a 62-7 rout of St. Thomas on Saturday, Nov. 22, before a crowd of 15,278 at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome. With the win, the Bison improved to 12-0 overall and solidified the No. 1 seed and first-round bye for the FCS playoffs.
• NDSU won its 12th championship in 18 years of MVFC membership. NDSU has seven outright titles (2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2025) and five shared (2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2024) including two with the Redbirds in 2014 and 2015.
• North Dakota State has three players under consideration for national player of the year awards. Wide receiver Bryce Lance and quarterback Cole Payton are finalists for the Walter Payton Award, presented annually to the FCS offensive player of the year. Linebacker Logan Kopp is also a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, presented to the FCS defensive player of the year. Kopp is also a finalist for the Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.

HONORS GALORE FOR THE REDBIRDS
Illinois State standouts Tye Niekamp and Luke Mailander headlined a list of 12 Redbirds selected as 2025 All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selections in the annual vote conducted by the league's head coaches, media members and sports information directors. Niekamp was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year, while Mailander was named the MVFC Freshman of the Year in the annual vote. Wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz, offensive lineman Jake Pope and defensive back Shadwel Nkuba II earned First-Team All-MVFC honors alongside Niekamp, while running back Wenkers Wright, fullback Scotty Presson Jr., offensive lineman Landon Woodard, safety La'Shavion Brown and longsnapper Dylan Calabrese each earned Second-Team All-MVFC honors. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, tight end Javon Charles and defensive tackle Jake Anderson were also honored as All-MVFC Honorable Mention selections to round out the list.

RACKING UP INTERCEPTIONS
The Redbird defense has certainly been advantageous in each of its FCS playoff first round games the past two seasons when it comes to taking the ball away. Last year in the first round win at Southeast Missouri State, the Redbirds recorded a playoff record five interceptions in the contest. They then followed that up this season with four interceptions in their first round playoff win at Southeastern Louisiana to earn a victory and move the total to nine in the past two first round contests. In total, the Redbirds now have 17 interceptions as a team in 2025, just five short of the team record of 22 set in 1984.

BIRDS IN THE POSTSEASON
The Redbirds will be making their tenth appearance in the FCS playoffs and seventh under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. ISU is 12-9 all-time in playoff games and are making a second-straight appearance in the playoffs. Last season, the Redbirds picked up a first-round playoff win at Southeast Missouri State, before falling in the second round on the road to No. 5 seed UC Davis. Overall, the Redbirds are 9-6 in the playoffs under Spack and are 7-4 in road contests, with first-round road wins in 2019, 2024 and 2025.

ROAD WARRIORS 
Over the past two seasons, Illinois State has been very comfortable going on the road picking up key victories away from home. In the past two years, ISU is 12-3 on the road with two of those losses coming to FBS foes in Iowa (2024) and Oklahoma (2025). Last season, the Redbirds won six-straight FCS road games before suffering a second-round playoff loss to UC Davis and this year, the Redbirds are 6-0 on the road against FCS foes after a 35-21 road win at South Dakota State and last week's first round playoff win at Southeastern Louisiana. In fact, only Oregon (10-0), Montana State (9-1) and North Dakota State (9-1) have a better record than the Redbirds (8-2) over their last 10 FBS/FCS road games overall.

NOVEMBERS TO REMEMBER
The month of November has been very good to the Redbirds over the past two seasons. Last year, the Redbirds were 5-0 in the month of November, including a 35-27 road playoff win at Southeast Missouri State, and this year the Redbirds were 4-1 in November after the first round playoff win over Southeastern Louisiana.

THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE
Following another stellar season at middle linebacker, Tye Niekamp was named as one of 30 finalists for the 2025 Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football by Stats Perform. Niekamp is ISU's eighth finalist for the award, including 2022 Buck Buchanan Award winner Zeke Vandenburgh. In addition to his national honors, Niekamp was also named the 2025 MVFC Defensive Player of the Year, after he ranked third in the MVFC in tackles with 126 (63 solo) and second in the league in tackles-for-loss with 12.0 during the regular season. Niekamp becomes the first Redbird named the MVFC Defensive Player of the Year since 2022, when Zeke Vandenburgh won the honor on way to being named the Buck Buchanan Award recipient. It marks the ninth time in Valley Football history a Redbird has been named Defensive Player of the Year: LB Brian Gant (1986), LB Boomer Grigsby (2002-04), DE Brent Hawkins (2005), LB Cameron Siskowic (2006) and LB Zeke Vandenburgh (2022).

TOMMY CAN RUN TOO
Illinois State quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse can beat you in a lot of ways, and he has shown that down the stretch this season. With his touchdown run in the first round playoff win at Southeastern Louisiana, Rittenhouse has now run for a touchdown in six straight games. He also leads the MVFC with 28 touchdown passes on the year (2nd on the single-season list at ISU) and he currently ranks No. 4 in the FCS in that category. Rittenhouse also ranks No. 5 in the FCS in points responsible (218) and No. 7 in points responsible for per game (16.8). Not only can he run it and throw it, but Rittenhouse also caught his first career pass which went for a touchdown against Lions in the first round playoff victory.

DAN THE MAN
A big three-touchdown day against South Dakota State propelled senior wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz to the top of the Illinois State record books. With his three touchdown receptions, Sobkowicz now has 33 career receiving touchdowns which puts him in the top spot on the career list, passing Redbird great Tyrone Walker (32). In addition, Sobkowicz sits in second place on the career receiving yards list (3,193) and continues to chase Walker for first place (3,565). He also ranks second in career receptions (236) behind Walker (250), with the playoffs yet to play.

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. Wright now has 2,603 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 sixth on the all-time rushing yards list, just ahead of Pierre Rembert (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. 

THOSE NIEKAMP BOYS ARE TROUBLE
One quick look at the defensive stat sheet from Illinois State's big 35-21 road win at South Dakota and a familiar name is featured heavily: Niekamp. Not only was dad Travis Niekamp calling the plays, but his two sons Tye and Dexter were all over the field making plays against the Jackrabbits. Tye led the way with a career-best 16 tackles and added a forced fumble to earn his third MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honor. Dexter also recorded a career high in tackles with five, but also recorded a career-best two sacks and hauled in his first career interception deep in coverage. They were a big part of the defensive effort that held the Jacks to just 66 yards on the ground and the group that added five sacks and 10 TFLs in the victory.

28 IS GREAT
In wins over Indiana State and South Dakota, Illinois State scored 28 points in a quarter in each contest. The Redbirds scored 28 points in the second quarter on way to a big win at Indiana State and followed that up with a 28-point first quarter outburst in a 35-21 win over South Dakota State. ISU is one of just three teams in the country (FBS & FCS) to achieve that feat this season, joining Florida State and Washington.

OFFENSIVE FIREPOWER
The Redbird offense seems to be firing on all cylinders at the moment and the group is coming off its best offensive output in early a decade after defeating Indiana State, 52-20. The 52 points for the Redbirds were their most since scoring 67 in the 2015 home opener against Morgan State and their most in a conference game since scoring 55 against Indiana State in 2013. ISU racked up a season-high 555 yards of total offense, marking its third game of the year with 500 yards or more, and scored 40 or more points for the fourth time this year. 

BAUER COMES UP BIG 
Linebacker Patrick Bauer had quite the day against South Dakota State, and it started early on SDSU's first offensive series of the day. On second down, Bauer recorded a tackle for loss to put the Jacks behind the sticks at their own 14 yard line. Then on third down, Bauer jumped the route on a pass to the flat, intercepted it and returned it five yards for the pick six. Then, on the Jacks' final possession of the game, Bauer recorded a 10-yard TFL to ice the game and allow the Redbirds to take a knee for the victory. On the year, Bauer ranks second on the team with 3.0 sacks and 7.5 TFLs to go along with 44 total tackles and two INTs.

DAWSON DOES IT AGAIN
A week after he rushed for a season-high 101 yards and scored a touchdown in the Redbirds' win over UNI, transfer running back Victor Dawson topped that performance with 116 yards rushing on a career-high 21 carries and scored a touchdown in a dominant 52-20 win for the Redbirds over Indiana State. Dawson averaged 5.5 yards per carry and scored his third touchdown of the year on a 6-yard run early in the second quarter that gave the Redbirds a 14-7 lead at the time. Thanks to his performance against the Sycamores, Dawson was named the MVFC Newcomer of the Week. At the end of the regular season, Dawson led the Redbirds in rush attempts (152), rushing yards (739) and yards per game (61.6) and is third on the team with three rushing touchdowns.

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 48 receptions on the season, while averaging 9.9 yards per reception.

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. 

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, while Crawford had six catches for 44 yards.