No. 6 Redbirds Ready For Challenge At Oklahoma

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: August 30, 2025
Time: 5 p.m. CT
Site: Norman, Oklahoma
Stadium: Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 80,126
Series: First Meeting
Last: N/A
Watch/Stream: ESPN+ / SEC+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ/ The Varsity Network

THE GAME
Coming off an FCS playoff appearance in 2024 and several key players returning, Illinois State heads into the 2025 season with a lot of momentum and was picked No. 6 in both FCS preseason polls. However, the Redbirds will have a tall task ahead of them in the season opener in the form of perennial FBS powerhouse No. 18 ranked Oklahoma on the road in Norman.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Oklahoma will meet for the first time in program history, and it will be just the second game for the Redbirds against a current team from the SEC. The only other SEC team the Redbirds have faced off against in Missouri in 2007, a 38-17 loss to the Tigers in Columbia. The Redbirds are 6-38 all-time against FBS opponents, but three of those wins have come under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack: Eastern Michigan (2012), Northwestern (2016) and Colorado State (2018).

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 17th season as the head coach at Illinois State (111-74). 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.

Oklahoma: Brent Venables (Kansas State, 1992) is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Sooners (22-17). Prior to being namd head coach prior to the 2022 season, Venables won a national championship with the Sooners as an assistant coach and two more with Clemson during an ultra-successful 10-year stint as defensive coordinator.

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 67-24 at home under Spack's guidance
• ISU is 50-18 at Hancock Stadium since 2013 renovation

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• The University of Oklahoma is located in Norman, Oklahoma, and has an enrollment of 34,523. The Sooners are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and play their home games at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium (80,126).
• For the 26th consecutive season, Oklahoma is ranked in the Associated Press preseason top 25, as the Sooners check in at No. 18. Oklahoma's streak of 26 appearances in the preseason AP Top 25 is the second-longest current string behind Ohio State (37).
• OU was picked to finish 10th in the SEC Preseason Media Poll with 1,613 points and received three first-place votes (sixth most). All eight of Oklahoma's 2025 SEC opponents are among the top 12 teams in the SEC Preseason Media Poll. The Sooners will play five of the top seven teams and six of the top nine.
• Senior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas and senior running back Jaydn Ott were selected to the 2025 Preseason Media Days All-SEC Second Team and redshirt junior long snapper Ben Anderson was picked for the third team. Thomas and Ott were also named on the Preseason Media All-SEC Second Team and Anderson was also on the media's third team, which was announced following SEC Media Days in July.

BATTLING THE SEC
Illinois State has not played an active member of the SEC since 2007, when the Redbirds traveled to Columbia, Missouri, to take on the Missouri Tigers. ISU played hard for four quarters, but was unable to stop Missouri's offensive attack, as the Redbirds fell to the Tigers, 38-17, in front of 56,137 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo. The Redbirds were led by sophomore receiver Eyad Salem, who had a career day with seven catches for 106 yards. Salem also scored his first-career touchdown on a 13-yard reception late in the fourth quarter. Senior Kye Stewart had a game-high 15 tackles, while Junior Tom Nelson grabbed two interceptions, giving him six for his career.

BIRDS PICKED 4TH; 14 LAND ON MVFC PRESEASON WATCH LIST
The Illinois State football team was picked fourth in the annual Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll, as announced at the league's media day in Sioux Falls. Defending FCS national champ North Dakota State was picked as the favorite once again, as the Bison received 39 of a possible 42 first-place tallies and 417 total points to outdistance South Dakota State (355 points) and South Dakota (349 points). All three teams reached the national semifinals in 2024, and fellow NCAA playoff team Illinois State's fourth place spot (292) was its highest pre-season pick since 2019. In addition to the preseason poll, the MVFC released a player "Watch List" to highlight the league's top student-athletes heading into fall camp. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, running back Wenkers Wright, tight end/fullback Scotty Presson Jr., tight end Javon Charles, offensive linemen Jake Pope and Landon Woodard, wide receivers Eddie Kasper and Daniel Sobkowicz, defensive linemen Jake Anderson and Nick Kessler, linebacker Tye Niekamp, defensive back Shadwel Nkuba II, longsnapper Dylan Calabrese and punter Hayden Futch were the 14 Redbirds named to the league's preseason "Watch List." 

SIX REDBIRDS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
A group of six Illinois State standouts have been tabbed as preseason FCS All-Americans by Stats Perform on the annual list. Junior linebacker Tye Niekamp and senior longsnapper Dylan Calabrese were named First-Team selections, senior wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz and senior running back Wenkers Wright earned Second-Team honors, and senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse and junior defensive lineman Jake Anderson garnered Third-Team plaudits. The six Redbirds were among 102 All-Americans, who were spread across three teams. Illinois State and UIW share the high with six selections each, while defending national champion North Dakota State and South Dakota have five each. Six players return from last year's postseason first team, including Niekamp.

ILLINOIS STATE CONSENSUS NO. 6 PICK IN PRESEASON POLLS
After previously being selected the No. 6 team in the Stats Perform FCS preseason Top 25, the Illinois State football team found themselves in that same exact spot in the preseason AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl. Illinois State appeared in every AFCA FCS Coaches Poll last season, finishing as high as No. 10 in the final one of the year. The AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 will be released each Monday during the regular season and the final poll of the year comes after the FCS championship game.

FOUR REDBIRD STANDOUTS NAMED TO PRESEASON WATCH LISTS
A quartet of standout ISU players were named to FCS National Player of the Year Watch Lists during the preseason. On the offensive side, seniors Daniel Sobkowicz and Wenkers Wright were named to the Stats Perform 30-player preseason watch list for the 2025 Walter Payton Award, which is presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football. On the defensive side, juniors Tye Niekamp and Jake Anderson were named to the Stats Perform 30-player preseason watch list for the 2025 Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football.

LOTS OF FAMILIAR FACES
Fans who got to see the Redbirds in person last fall will notice a lot of familiar faces and names on the field Saturday in the season opener at Oklahoma, particularly on the offensive side of the football. ISU returns 43 letterwinners and 12 starters (8 offense, 4 defense) from last year's team that advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs. Many of those players saw significant action last season and with a full offseason in the weight room and work put in during spring and fall camp, this roster is expected to make back-to-back postseason appearances since 2015-16.

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Voted on by the team at the conclusion of fall camp, the Redbirds selected senor quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, junior linebacker Tye Niekamp and senior longsnapper Dylan Calabrese as their captains for the 2025 season. They will be joined at midfield by selected seniors voted on each week by the coaching staff as game captains.

THE STREAK CONTINUES
Redbird teams have been very successful in scoring on defense under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Thanks to a 30-yard pick six by Keondre Jackson and a 55-yard INT return for touchdown by Jake Anderson against Southeast Missouri State in the first round of the FCS playoffs, the Redbirds extended their streak to 16 straight seasons with at least one defensive TD.

RETURN TO THE POSTSEASON
For the first time since 2019, Illinois State was selected as to participate in the 24-team FCS Playoff field as the No. 12 overall seed in 2024. The Redbirds made their ninth appearance in the FCS playoffs (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2024) and sixth under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. ISU is 11-9 all-time in playoff games and Spack is 8-6 in the postseason as the head coach of the Redbirds.

ROAD WARRIORS
Illinois State overcame a lot of adversity in 2024 on way to nine regular-season wins, with devastating injuries and three losses at home. However one place the Redbirds have felt very comfortable was on the road, where ISU went 6-2 overall with five-straight wins over FCS opponents during the regular season. The lone road setback was in the season opener at Iowa, before the Redbirds ripped off wins at North Alabama, Southern Illinois, Murray State, Northern
Iowa and Indiana State to end the regular season and added one more road victory in the playoffs in Round 1 at Southeast Missouri State. The last time the Redbirds picked up six wins on the road was during the 2012 season, when they picked up wins at Eastern Michigan, Western Illinois, South Dakota, Northern Iowa and Indiana State before earning a win in the playoffs at Appalachian State. 

THAT'S A TON OF YARDS
With his 111 yards receiving against UC Davis in the second round of the FCS playoffs, wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz now has 2,418 receiving yards in his stellar career thus far. That puts him in sixth place overall on the ISU career receiving yards list, behind ISU Athletics Percy Family
Hall of Famer Clarence Collins (2,498) in fifth place. He also ranks fourth in career receptions (179) and fourth in career touchdown receptions (22) at Illinois State.

SPACK AMONG FCS BEST
For the third time in his career at Illinois State, head coach Brock Spack was named a finalist for the Stats Perform Eddie Robinson Award in 2024, which is presented annually to the national coach of the year in Division I FCS college football. One of 15 national finalists in 2024, Spack was also up for the honor in 2012 and 2014 after playoff seasons. Spack led the Redbirds to a 9-3 overall record and a 6-2 mark in Missouri Valley Football Conference play during the regular season, which earned his squad the No. 12 national seed in the FCS Playoffs.

THE WRIGHT STUFF
Running back Wenkers Wright recorded three-straight 100-yard rushing performances during the
non-conference portion of the schedule but had been held under the century mark through four
MVFC games. However, he got back to dominant ways in the month of November, as he eclipsed
the 100-yard rushing mark in three of his last four games to end the regular season. Wright tallied 104 yards on just 10 carries against Youngstown State and followed that up with a 109 yard effort in a win at UNI. He capped off the regular season with 118 yards in the win over North Dakota, which put him over the 1,000 yard mark on the season for the first time in his career. On the year, he led the team with 1,123 yards and 11 touchdowns which gave him the first 1,000 plus yard season since 2019 when James Robinson went for 1,899. With his 68 yards rushing in the second round FCS playoff game at UC Davis, Wright also moved over the 2,000 yard mark in his career making him just the 13th player in school history to achieve that mark.

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).