SETTING THE SCENE
Date: October 31, 2026
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Ill.
Facility: Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 12,440
Series: ILS leads 8-1
Last: ILS won 46-32 (Oct. 11, 2025)
Watch/Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ/ The Varsity Network
THE GAME
With a pair of consecutive wins after the bye week, No. 9/10 Illinois State (6-2, 2-2 MVFC) will look to increase that win streak to three on Saturday, when the Redbirds host the Murray State Racers (1-7, 0-4 MVFC) to cap off the month of October at Hancock Stadium.
THE SERIES
Illinois State and Murray State will meet for the 10th time in the series history on Saturday, with the Redbirds leading the all-time series 8-1. The lone loss for the Redbirds came in the first game in the series in 2001, a 32-17 defeat to the Racers in Kentucky. Since that time, the Redbirds have won eight straight, with three wins against the Racers since they joined the Missouri Valley Football Conference for the 2023 season. ISU has averaged 43.3 points per game against Murray State in those wins, the last two of which came on the road. Overall, the Birds are 4-0 against the Racers at Hancock Stadium.
THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 18th season as the head coach at Illinois State (129-81). Spack guided the Redbirds to back-to-back shares of the MVFC title in 2014-15 and a pair of FCS Championship game appearances (2014, 2025). He has led the ISU to seven playoff appearances overall and became the program's all-time wins leader in 2021.
Murray State: Jody Wright (Jacksonville State, 2005) is in his third season as the head coach at Murray State (3-29). Prior to taking over the program at Murray State, Wright served as tight ends coach at South Carolina for two seasons under head coach Shane Beamer and also spent time in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants.
THE REDBIRD FOOTBALL PROGRAM
- 10 FCS playoff appearances (1998, 1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2024, 2025)
- 7-time FCS quarterfinalists (1999, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2019, 2025)
- 3-time FCS semifinalists (1999, 2014, 2025)
- 2-time FCS Championship game participant (2014, 2025)
- ISU is 17-2 against FCS opponents on the road the past three seasons
- The team is 73-28 in 18 seasons at home under Spack's guidance
THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
- Murray State University is located in Murray, Kentucky, and has an enrollment of 10,020 students. The Racers are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Roy Stewart Stadium (16,800).
- The Racers head into the game with a 1-7 overall record and a 0-4 mark in MVFC action. last week, kicker Tyler Dorn hit three field goals, including a 51-yarder, for the Racers as they fell to the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 42-9, in Brookings, S.D.
- Quarterback Baxter Wright went 21-of-34 for 174 yards, while Jawaun Northington led the rushing attack with 45 yards on 10 carries against the Jack. Trey Firestone led the team with 6 catches and a career-high 78 yards, while Jaxon Potter had 5 catches for 63 yards. Ryan McCall led the Racers with 9 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 sack, all career highs.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE RACERS (OCTOBER 11, 2025)
The Illinois State offense was firing on all cylinders, as the No. 9 ranked Redbirds scored 21 first-quarter points and never looked back in a 46-32 win over the Racers at Roy Stewart Stadium. Wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz finished the game with eight catches for 162 yards, just shy of his career high of 170, and quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse was stellar going 21-for-25 (.840) with 338 yards and a career-high four passing touchdowns. The 300-yard effort was his first of the season and the third of his career at Illinois State. Tye Niekamp led the way for the Redbird defense with eight tackles, while Reese Edwards and Patrick Bauer each contributed sacks for the defense.
KEY TAKES IT TO THE HOUSE
All week cornerback Key Crowell had been studying tape of a particular pass play from Indiana State and worked in practice several times on how to defend it. Against the Sycamores, he recognized that formation and jumped the pass route to intercept a pass and return it 48 yards for a pick six against the Trees. It was his first interception as a Redbird, and was the second INT return for touchdown by the Redbirds this season (Jack Oliver at NIU was the other). That interception was one of three takeaways in the game for ISU in a 17-10 win over Indiana State.
NIEKAMP MOVES UP THE RECORD BOOKS
Tye Niekamp will go down as one of the most decorated players in program history following his senior season in 2026, and he eclipsed a big milestone after his performance against Indiana State. The middle linebacker tallied 12 tackles to now give him 407 career tackles, making him just the just the fifth player in program history to record 400 or more tackles in his career, joining Chris Stevens (443), Wilbert Brown (470), Galen Scott (579) and Boomer Grigsby (580). He was also credited with at TFL against the Sycamores, which puts him in a tie with former teammate Zeke Vandenburgh (43.5) for fourth on the career list.
BIG DAY FOR BECKHAM
After playing well in the first two games of the season for Illinois State, quarterback Beckham Pellant was limited in games 3-6 as the Redbird offense continued to find a rhythm. However, in game 7 at Southern Illinois, it was once again Pellant's time to take the reigns as he started the game against the Salukis and proceeded to lead the team to their first conference win with a 35-14 defeat of the Dawgs. Pellant set career highs in completions (16), attempts (25), passing yards (191) and tied his career best with two touchdown passes in the contest against the Salukis, while also running for the first touchdown of his career in the contest.
COMPASS CHAMPS
It was a rare year for the Redbirds, with the four Illinois directional schools all on the schedule in the same campaign. The last time that happened was in 2019, as the Redbirds went 3-1 against NIU, WIU, EIU and SIU with the lone loss coming at NIU. However, the 2026 slate saw the Redbirds go 4-0 against their in-state directional counterparts with the final win coming at SIU by a final score of 35-14. It marked the first time since 1940 that the Redbirds picked up wins against the four schools in the same season.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Redbird offense has been potent so far in 2026, ranking fourth in the Valley and No. 16 in the country in scoring offense with 35.1 points per game. However, the Redbirds have put themselves in playoff contention once again thanks to dominant effort on defense, as the team ranks No. 9 in the country and No. 2 in the MVFC with just 295.6 yards allowed per game. ISU comes in at No. 8 in the country and No. 2 in the Valley with 16.3 points allowed per contest, and has been particularly strong in the red zone defense, ranking first in the league and No. 2 in the FCS (.545), and against the run ranking first in the league and No. 8 in the FCS with just 104.4 yards allowed per game on the ground.Â
CONVERTING WHEN IT COUNTS
The Illinois State offense is one of the top in the country this season, and a lot of that has to due with the team's ability to keep drives going. ISU currently ranks No. 2 in the FCS in third-down conversion percentage (.523) and No. 8 in fourth-down conversion percentage (.769) on the year. The team has posted 22 drives on the year of 10 plays or more, with a long of 17 plays at UNI, and posted three drives of over seven minutes in time of possession on the year that led to points for the Redbirds.
HERRERA COMES UP BIGÂ
Just seven games into his career at Illinois State following a transfer from Eastern Illinois, tight end Alex Herrera is already making an immediate impact for the Redbirds. Herrera caught his first touchdown in a Redbird uniform in the road win in Week 2 at Western Illinois, and then followed that up with the biggest catch of his ISU career to date in the road win at Northern Illinois. Down 24-21 with under two minutes to play, Herrera caught a pass in the flat and rumbled his way 16 yards into the end zone for what woudl be the winning score in an FBS win over the Huskies. He also added a TD catch against his former team Eastern Illinois in Week 4 and one in Week 5 at UNI to give him four in as many games for the Redbirds.
THE TROPHY STAYS WHERE IT BELONGS
In what is usually a battle between Illinois State and Eastern Illinois in the annual Mid-America Classic, this year's matchup was lopsided in favor of the Redbirds as ISU held onto the trophy for the third-straight season and have now won eight of the last nine games overall against the Panthers. ISU won the game 49-13, which was the most points scored against EIU since 2012 when it scored 54 in a win at home, and the Redbird offense racked up 556 yards of total offense. The ISU defense was particulary stingy, allowing the Panthers just 66 yards on the ground while holding EIU to just 216 yards of total offense in the contest.
LORD GOES THE DISTANCE
Not only is junior wide receiver Dylan Lord one of the most explosive receivers in the FCS, but he is also proving to be a big threat returning punts for the Redbirds. Lord is averaging 28.3 yards per return and became the first Redbird to return a punt for a touchdown since 2015, when Anthony Warrum returned one for a score, in the win over EIU. Lord tallied a 79-yard punt return for a touchdown in the win, while also leading the team with 77 yards on six receptions. That performance earned him MVFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors
FINDING THE END ZONE FOR THE FIRST TIME
Coming off one of the most memorable years in program history in 2025, the Redbirds returned with several key returners and some new faces on the offense. Through six games this year, 10 players have scored their first career touchdowns as Redbirds. Tyler Lofton has been the biggest contributor with four rushing touchdowns and one more through the air, while Chase Kwiatkowski, Anthony Hall, and Albert Gooden III have all scored on the ground. Transfer QB Gage Roy has been stellar as well, with eight TD passes in his first four games for ISU, with three of those to transfer tight end Alex Herrera. Mar'Quan Gary is the most recent addition to the list with his TD catch against Eastern Illinois.
HOMETOWN KID MAKES GOOD
Playing just across town at Normal Community High School, Mar'Quan Gary had his sights set on making big plays for the Redbirds someday. That day came against Eastern Illinois, as Gary caught the first touchdown pass of his career in the win over the Panthers. Quarterback Beckham Pellant found Gary wide open for a 37-yard TD against the Panthers, the first of what he hopes will be many in his career at Hancock Stadium for his hometown team.
ROAD WARRIORS
Over the past three seasons, Illinois State has been very comfortable going on the road picking up key victories away from home. In the past three years, ISU is 18-4 on the road with two of those losses coming to FBS foes Iowa (2024) and Oklahoma (2025). In 2024, the Redbirds won six-straight FCS road games before suffering a second-round playoff loss to UC Davis and in 2025, the Redbirds went 9-0 on the road against FCS foes. ISU's road winning streak moved to 11 in a row after the team's 28-24 road win at Northern Illinois in Week 3, but the streak came to an end with a loss at UNI in Week 5.Â
THE STREAK CONTINUES
Redbird teams have been very successful scoring on defense under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Thanks to a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jack Oliver in the road win at NIU, the Redbirds extended their streak to 18 straight seasons with at least one defensive touchdown scored.
FEAR THE FCS
Illinois State is one of five FCS programs to record a win over an FBS foe so far this season, following their come-from-behind 28-24 road win at Northern Illinois. The win was the fourth for the Redbirds under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack and their first since 2018, when ISU earned a road win at Colorado State. The Redbirds also have FBS wins over Eastern Michigan (2012) and at Northwestern (2016) since 2009.
GAVRIC MAKING AN IMPACT
After redshirting as a true freshman last season, Stevan Gavric had the opportunity to learn from one of the best wide receivers in FCS football in Dan Sobkowicz and hone his skills alongside one of the best to ever do it at Illinois State. That experience seems to be paying off for Gavric early on in 2026, as he has recorded a touchdown in each of the first two wins for ISU. He caught the first of his career in the opener against St. Francis, and then followed that up with a 36-yard touchdown catch from Gage Roy in the road victory at Eastern Illinois. He's averaging 13.8 yards per catch on the year early on and has added another weapon to the passing game.
