Redbirds and Panthers Set To Face Off In 114th Mid-America Classic

SETTING THE SCENE
Date: September 19, 2026
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Normal, Ill.
Facility: Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium
Capacity: 12,440
Series: ISU leads 61-43-9
Last: ISU won 42-30 (Sept. 13, 2025)
Watch/Stream: ESPN+
Listen: WJBC 1230 AM / 102.1 FM / 98.9 FM WJEZ/ The Varsity Network

THE GAME
Illinois State secured its fourth FBS win last week under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, courtesy of its 28-24 win at Northern Illinois. However, the No. 4 ranked Redbirds (3-0) will have to turn the page quickly, as they welcome in longtime in-state rival Eastern Illinois (1-2) on Saturday for the annual Mid-America Class at Hancock Stadium as part of Family Weekend.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Eastern Illinois will meet for the 114th time in program history, with the Redbirds leading the all-time series 61-43-9 over the Panthers. ISU has owned the series of late, winning seven of the last seven meetings and nine out of the last 11 overall. The Redbirds are 11-5 against the Panthers under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack, and have won the six out of the last seven against EIU at Hancock Stadium.

THE COACHES
Illinois State: Brock Spack (Purdue, 1983) is in his 18th season as the head coach at Illinois State (126-79). 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.

Eastern Illinois: Chris Wilkerson (Eastern Illinois, 1995) is in his fifth season as the head coach at Eastern Illinois (17-32) and his 14th (68-59) as a collegiate head coach. Wilkerson was named the Big South-OVC Football Coach of the Year in 2023, after leading the Panthers from two wins in 2022 to eight wins in 2023 and No. 24 FCS Coaches Poll final ranking.

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 16-1 against FCS opponents on the road the past three seasons; have won 11 straight games on the road overall (longest current streak in the country)
• The team is 71-27 in 18 seasons at home under Spack's guidance

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT

• Eastern Illinois University is located in Charleston, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 7,561. The Panthers are members of the Ohio Valley Conference and play their home games at O'Brien Field (10,000).
• The Panthers are off to a 1-2 start to the season, following a thrilling comeback bid came up just short in a 42-35 loss to regional rival Indiana State last Saturday night at O'Brien Field. EIU fell behind 35-7 with 11:11 to play in the third quarter before eventually trimming the lead down to 42-35 late in the fourth quarter.
• Quarterback Cole LaCrue and linebacker Ja'Wuan Nickson each earned Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honors for their performances against Indiana State. LaCrue rushed for 65 yards and one score while throwing for 267 yards and three touchdowns against the Sycamores to help fuel the EIU comeback. Nickson finished with a team-high ten tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss and a half sack against Indiana State.
• EIU picked up a win over MVFC opponent Murray State in Week 1 of the season, as senior running back Charles Kellom rushed for a career-high 171 yards and three touchdowns in the victory over the Racers.
• Kellom leads EIU in rushing with 99.0 yards per contest and has scored four times on the ground. LaCrue has been solid behind center, completing nearly 60 percent of his passes for 419 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions to start the year.
• Nickson is the defensive leader for EIU, with a team-best 13 stops on the year to go along with 4.5 TFLs in three contests. Saipeti Maiava Jr. is right behind with 11 tackles, while Aidan Archibald leads with two sacks on the year.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE PANTHERS (SEPT. 13, 2025)
Eastern Illinois was within a touchdown of visiting Illinois State in the fourth quarter, however the Redbirds pulled away late with two touchdowns in the final six minutes to defeat the Panthers at O'Brien Field. EIU cut the ISU lead to 28-23 with 8:30 to play in the game, but a 16-yard touchdown run by Wenkers Wright and a 22-yard TD reception by Daniel Sobkowicz put the game away for the Redbirds over the next five minutes. Wright finished the game with 94 yards and scored three TDs on the ground, while Rittenhouse throw for 299 yards and three scores to help ISU hold onto the Mid-America Classic Trophy.

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. This year, the Redbirds are off to a 2-0 start with wins at Western Illinois and Northern Illinois, with games against Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois upcoming.

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.

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 17-3 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. ISU's road winning streak moved to 11 in a row after the team's 28-24 road win at Northern Illinois last week, extending the longest road winning streak in all of Division I football following Oregon's road loss last weekend.

REDBIRD DUO EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Not only did a pair of Redbirds earn weekly honors from the MVFC following the team's road win at NIU, but linebacker Tye Niekamp was also named the Stats Perform National FCS Defensive Player of the Week. He was joined as a weekly MVFC honoree by quarterback Gage Roy, who was named the league's Newcomer of the Week. Niekamp came up huge for the Redbirds, posting 11 tackles, two sacks and 3.0 tackles-for-loss in a win over NIU. Roy earned his first career start at ISU and completed 20-of-23 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over the Huskies, including the game-winning touchdown throw late in the fourth quarter.

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.

HERRERA COMES UP BIG 
Just three 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. 

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 12.3 yards per catch on the year early on and has added another weapon to the passing game that already includes standouts Dylan Lord and Luke Mailander.

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.

BIRDS PICKED SECOND; 12 REDBIRDS LAND ON 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 PRE-SEASON 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.

THE WATCH IS ON FOR NIEKAMP AND DAWSON
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. Senior running back Victor Dawson has also 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 yards.

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.