Redbirds and Leathernecks Renew Rivalry On Saturday In Macomb

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: September 5, 2026
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Site: Macomb, Ill.
Facility: Hanson Field
Capacity: 16,368
Series: Series tied 52-52-3
Last: Illinois State won 51-34 (Sept. 14, 2024)
Watch/Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ/ The Varsity Network

THE GAME
Coming off scoring the second most points in program history, the Redbirds (1-0) will renew its second-longest rivalry in program history this weekend when they travel to Macomb, Illinois, to take on the Western Illinois Fighting Leathernecks (1-0) at Hanson Field on Saturday. Both teams won handily in Week 1, so this week's game should be a better test for both squads.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Western Illinois will meet for the 108th time on the gridiron on Saturday. The series dates back to 1904 and is tied at 52-52-3 all-time. However, Illinois State has controlled things under the direction of head coach Brock Spack going 14-3 since 2009 with wins in the last three contests and six out of the last seven overall. ISU has won three of the last four games in Macomb, with the most recent coming in 2023 (34-18 win).

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 18th season as the head coach at Illinois State (124-79). 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.

Western Illinois: Joe Davis (Adrian College, 2002) is in his third season as the head coach at Western Illinois (9-16). Last season, Davis led the Leathernecks to wins in three of their last four game and his eight wins in his first two seasons at the helm are the most for the program since the 2017-2018 seasons. 

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 qualifier (2014, 2025)
• ISU is 15-1 against FCS opponents on the road the past two seasons
• The team is 71-27 at home under Spack's guidance

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Western Illinois University is located in Macomb, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 4,269. The Fighting Leathernecks are members of the Ohio Valley Conference and play their home games at Hanson Field (16,368).
• The Leathernecks opened the 2026 season in impressive fashion last Thursday night, defeating Northwestern College, 65-14, at Hanson Field. Kennedy McGill accounted for five WIU touchdowns (3 rushing, 2 passing) while throwing for 194 yards. McGill was also the team's leading rusher, rambling for 98 yards and the three scores on the ground. 
• The Western Illinois defense was paced by Justin Buckner with seven stops and Jamesly Jean Louis had four stops with 2.5 TFLs. Jake Kruger also had three tackles and two interceptions in the contest for the Leathernecks.
• WIU entered the season with experience across all three phases, highlighted by 11 selections to the 2026 Phil Steele Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Teams. The Leathernecks were led by five First Team selections, including sophomore quarterback Cason Carswell, wide receiver Christian Anaya, offensive lineman James Durand, defensive back DonPaul Keith and punter Luke Droegemueller.
• Carswell returns after earning OVC Freshman of the Year honors in 2025. He closed his rookie campaign with a strong performance in Western Illinois' season-ending victory at Gardner-Webb, completing 18-of-31 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for a score.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE LEATHERNECKS (SEPT. 14, 2024)
The first two quarters of the game between No. 18 Illinois State and in-state rival Western Illinois were closely contested, with the two teams going score for score and the Redbirds holding just a three-point lead over the Leathernecks at halftime. However, a special teams touchdown to start the third quarter and two more scores helped ISU pull away in the second half and pick up a 51-34 win over WIU at Hancock Stadium in front of a sellout crowd of 12,440 on Family Day. Running back Wenkers Wright finished the game with 106 yards on 16 carries with a score and transfer wide receiver Xavier Loyd had four catches for 85 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown catch from Tommy Rittenhouse. Lavoise-Deontae McCoy and Mark Cannon Jr. tied for the team lead with 12 tackles apiece for the Redbirds, while Tye Niekamp added 10 with a TFL, a forced fumble and an interception.

SUCCESS IN HOME OPENERS
The Redbirds have been very good at home under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, especially in the first home game of each season. Thanks to their 76-0 win over St. Francis (lll.) to open the 2026 slate, ISU is 17-1 in the first home game of the season at Hancock Stadium under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack.

THAT'S A LOT OF REDBIRDS
With the new NCAA eligiblity rules changing to the 5-for-5 model, one could figure that a lot more players who would have been redshirts in previous years were going to take the field for Illinois State in the home opener against St. Francis (Ill.). ISU head coach Brock Spack took full advantage of the opportunity, as he played a total of 86 players in the game including several true freshman who got their first playing time as Redbirds.

FINDING THE END ZONE FOR THE FIRST TIME
As can happen early in the season, newcomers to a football team can record a lot of "firsts" in a Redbird uniform. In the team's home opening win St. Francis (Ill.), several Redbirds scored their first touchdowns in the victory over the Saints. Running back Tyler Lofton found the end zone three times, twice on the ground and one through the air, and fellow running back Albert Gooden III also scored his first career touchdown on the ground. Wide receivers Stevan Gavric and Travis Stamm also hauled in their first career TD receptions in the contest, while quarterbacks Gage Roy and Chase Kwiatkowski each threw their first touchdown passes. 

IMPRESSIVE START TO THE YEAR
The No. 4 team in the country certainly played like that in the season opener against St. Francis (Ill.), as the Redbirds scored 76 points on way to a shutout win over the Fighting Saints. The 76 points scored are the second-most in program history (80 vs. Eureka in 1937 is the record) and the most ever scored inside Hancock Stadium. ISU racked up 589 yards of total offense in the win, with 353 of those coming on the ground. The defense also forced an interception and held the Saints to just 14 yards rushing in the contest, as 13 different players caught passes in the victory for the Redbirds. The Redbirds also started the game scoring touchdowns on its first 10 possessions and scored TDs on 11 of the 13 total drives on the game.

NO SEPARATION AT QUARTERBACK
The Redbirds headed into the season with the competition at starting quarterback still up for grabs, and the results from the season opener against St. Francis (Ill.) certainly did not help bring much clarity to the situation. Both of the Redbirds' primary quarterbacks were stellar in the contest, with starter Beckham Pellant going 6-for-6 for 114 yards and two touchdown passes and Gage Roy finishing 10-for-10 for 85 yards and three touchdowns in the contest. Not only did those two play well but so did third-string QB Chase Kwiatkowski, who was 5-for-7 for 37 yards and a touchdown while addeing 35 yards rushing on the ground. 

ILLINOIS BRAGGING RIGHTS ON THE LINE
As Route 66 celebrates its 100th anniversary this year in towns all across the state of Illinois, the Redbirds will be looking to cement themselves as one of the top programs in the state in 2026. For the first time since 2019, the Redbirds will take on Western Illinois, Eastern Illinois, Northern Illinois and Southern Illinois in the same season. That year, the Redbirds went 3-1 against the teams with the lone loss coming to the Huskies of NIU by a score of 24-10 in the season opener. This year, ISU take on WIU, EIU and NIU in three-consecutive weekends to start the month of September, before they wrap up the Land of Lincoln contests on the road against Southern Illinois on national television in October.

BIRDS PICKED SECOND; 14 REDBIRDS NAMED TO MVFC WATCH LIST
Illinois State was picked second in the annual Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll, at the league's media day in Sioux Falls. South Dakota State was picked as the league favorite, as the Jackrabbits received 28 of a possible 36 first-place votes and 312 total points to outdistance the 2026 national runner-up Redbirds, who received three first-place votes and 256 points. Youngstown State (235 points), North Dakota (211 points) and South Dakota (196) points rounded out the top five in the poll. In addition, the MVFC released a player "Watch List" to highlight the league's top student-athletes heading into fall camp. Running back Victor Dawson, wide receivers Luke Mailander and Dylan Lord, offensive linemen Logan Brasfield and Landon Woodard, defensive lineman Ben Harman, linebackers Tye Niekamp, Dexter Niekamp and Mason Kaplan, safety La'Shavion Brown, punter Hayden Futch and all-purpose WR/KR Mar'quan Gary were the Redbird standouts named to the list.

FIVE REDBIRDS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
A quartet of Illinois State standouts were tabbed as preseason FCS All-Americans by Stats Perform. Senior linebacker Tye Niekamp was named a First-Team selection, senior running back Victor Dawson and senior running earned Second-Team honors, and senior offensive lineman Landon Woodard and senior safety La'Shavion Brown garnered Third-Team plaudits. In addition, wide receiver Luke Mailander was named a fourth-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele.

ILLINOIS STATE NO. 4 IN PRESEASON POLLS
After being selected the No. 4 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. Illinois State appeared in every AFCA FCS Coaches Poll last season, finishing as high as No. 2 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.

NIEKAMP MAINTAINS HIS SPOT AMONG BEST FCS DEFENDERS
Already a three-time All-American in his career, Illinois State linebacker Tye Niekamp has earned a spot among the best defenders in the FCS, as he was named to the Stats Perform 30-player preseason watch list for the 2026 Buck Buchanan Award, presented annually to the national defensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football. Niekamp is one of five returning finalists from 2025 on this year's watch list, as he finished eighth in the Buck Buchanan Award voting following last season. He was a consensus First-Team All-American selection, earning honors from Stats Perform, FCS Football Central on SI, The Associated Press, the AFCA, the Walter Camp Football Foundation and Phil Steele. The Normal, Illinois, native was one of 11 players named to the 13th annual 2025 Football Championship Subdivision Athletics Directors Association's (FCS ADA) All-America Team, as the top linebacker in the country.

DAWSON ON WATCH FOR THE PAYTON 
Illinois State senior running back Victor Dawson has earned a spot among the best offensive players in the country, as he was named to the Stats Perform 30-player preseason watch list for the iconic Walter Payton Award, which is presented annually to the national offensive player of the year in Division I FCS college football and is celebrating its 40th Anniversary season. Dawson was a 2025 MVFC All-Newcomer Team selection and ranked third in the MVFC in rushing yards with 1,377. The Akron, Ohio, native ranked No. 9 in the FCS in rushing yards and tied for second on the team with five rushing touchdowns. He averaged 81.0 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry in 17 games played, while recording six games with over 100 yards rushing, including four-straight 100-yard efforts to end the year in the FCS playoffs.

O CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN
Voted on by the team at the conclusion of fall camp, the Redbirds' senior linebacker Tye Niekamp, senior running back Victor Dawson and senior punter Hayden Futch as their captains for the 2026 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 scoring on defense under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. Thanks to a 27-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the 2025 home opening win over Morehead State by Cam Wilson, the Redbirds extended their streak to 17 straight seasons with at least one defensive score. 

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 15-3 on the road with two of those losses coming to FBS foes in 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 after their 30-14 semifinal win at Villanova. In the 13-year history of the 24-team bracket (since 2013), Illinois State has more playoff road wins (9) than any other FCS team.

LORD RETURNS TO THE NEST 
After missing the majority of his freshman season due to injury, Dylan Lord had a resurgent year for the Redbirds in 2025 and saved his best performance of the season for the biggest stage of them all. Lord set career-highs in receptions (13), receiving yards (161) and touchdowns (2) in a breakout effort for the Redbirds in the FCS National Championship game against Montana State, scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and a TD in the overtime period as well. Following the game, Lord dipped his toes into the transfer portal, but chose to return to the Redbirds for his third season to help the team get back to Nashville. As one of two returning starters at wideout, Lord looks to team 2025 MVFC Freshman of the Year Luke Mailander to form one of the best receiving tandems in the league and the FCS.