Big Road Test Awaits No. 8 Illinois State At No. 11 North Dakota

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: November 7, 2026
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Site: Grand Forks, North Dakota
Facility: Alerus Center
Capacity: 12,283
Series: UND leads 3-1
Last: ILS won 35-13 (Nov. 23, 2024)
Watch/Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ/ The Varsity Network

THE GAME
In football season, they say you always remember the games in November and for Illinois State, the November slate is one of the toughest in the country as the Redbirds will face off against three teams in the next three weeks that are ranked in the top 15 in the FCS. The first test will come Saturday in Grand Forks, North Dakota, against No. 11/15 North Dakota for the Redbirds.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and North Dakota will meet for the fifth time in the series history on Saturday, with the Fighting Hawks leading 3-1. The lone win for the Redbirds came in the last meeting between the two squads, as the Redbirds picked up a 35-13 win over UND in the 2024 regular season finale at Hancock Stadium. UND had won the previous three meetings, with the first dating back to 1979 and with two recent wins over the Redbirds at the Alerus Center in 2021 and 2023 by a combined eight points.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 18th season as the head coach at Illinois State (130-81). 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.

North Dakota: Eric Schmidt (North Dakota, 2002) is in his second season as the head coach at his alma mater (14-10). In his first season as head coach at UND, Schmidt guided the Fighting Hawks to an 8-6 record, including a 5-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and an at-large berth in the FCS playoffs.

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 74-28 in 18 seasons at home under Spack's guidance

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• The University of North Dakota is located in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and has an enrollment of 15,844 students. The Fighting Hawks are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Alerus Center (12,283).
• The Fighting Hawks slid in both national FCS polls, falling to No. 11 in the Stats Perform poll and to No. 15 in the AFCA Coaches' poll following a 31-28 loss at No. 4/4 Youngstown State last Saturday.
• UND has had some hard fought losses, including two in the last week on the road to ranked FCS opponents in South Dakota and Youngstown. The other FCS loss came at Northern Iowa, who is undefeated at home and also has win over the Redbirds in the UNI-Dome.
• Youngstown State staged a late rally to knock off visiting No. 9/11 North Dakota by a final score of 31-28 at Stambaugh Field. Fighting Hawk quarterback Jerry Kaminski threw, caught and rushed for a touchdown to help the visitors lead by as many as 14 on a pair of occasions, but it was not enough to fend off the Penguins.
• Kaminski is tied for second in the MVFC with 22 touchdown passes on the year, and is averaging 218.9 passing yards per contest ... the Fighting Hawks offense also features a two-headed rushing attack that features former Redbird Matt Lawson, who ranks second on the team with 541 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns.
• Braden Mohr has been a game-wrecker on the defensive front for UND, as he leads the team with 8.5 sacks and 10 TFLs on the year ... Ethan Boll leads the team with 66 tackles on the year, to go along with 2.0 sacks and 5.0 TFLs for the Fighting Hawks.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE FIGHTING HAWKS (NOV. 23, 2024)
It was close game at halftime between No. 13 Illinois State and North Dakota, with ISU holding a slim 14-10 advantage over UND. However, the Redbirds buckled down in the second half thanks to a strong running attack and stingy defense to run away from the Fighting Hawks for a 35-13 victory at Hancock Stadium on Senior Day. Wenkers Wright tallied his sixth 100-plus yard rushing performance of the year with 118 yards on 21 carries and surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the year for ISU, and Xavier Loyd Loyd recorded his second 100-yard receiving effort of the year with 121 yards on eight receptions including the first-quarter touchdown catch from Eddie Kasper. Keondre Jackson finished the game with nine tackles to go along with his two forced fumbles in the contest, while Tye Niekamp led the Redbird defense with 10 stops, a sack and three pass breakups.

NO LOSS HERE
After missing time to start the season due to an injury sustained in training camp, Ethan Loss has returned to the Redbird lineup and has been a big force of late. Against Indiana State, he caught a season-high five passes for 58 yards and then followed that up with two big catches in the win over Murray State. His first catch of the day went for 67 yards and his second was a 50-yard touchdown catch from Beckham Pellant on a flea flicker.  Loss now has over 200yards on the season and figures to be a big factor in the passing game down the stretch for ISU.

RICO MAKES GOOD
Given an opportunity for more playing time due to injury, sophomore Rico Clay came up big for the Redbirds in their win over Murray State. Not only did he record a pair of tackles, but he also picked off the first pass of his career for the Redbirds, one of two on the day. 

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.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
The Redbird offense has been potent so far in 2026, ranking fourth in the Valley and No. 18 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. 10 in the country and No. 2 in the MVFC with just 296.6 yards allowed per game. ISU comes in at No. 6 in the country and No. 1 in the Valley with 16.0 points allowed per contest, and has been particularly strong in the red zone defense, ranking first in the league and No. 1 in the FCS (.520), and against the run ranking first in the league and No. 7 in the FCS with just 103.4 yards allowed per game on the ground. 

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. 3 in the FCS in third-down conversion percentage (.516) and No. 11 in fourth-down conversion percentage (.733) on the year. The team has posted 24 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.

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. He now sits at 413 career tackles and 46 TFLs, which puts him at No. 2 all-time on the record books behind John Kropke (54).

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.

HERRERA COMES UP BIG 
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. 

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.