To those in the FCS know, it’s no secret that Illinois State faces a herculean task this weekend. After soundly beating Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond last Saturday, the Redbirds are again sent on the road
for the second round of the playoffs. This time their travels take them to the hardest place and situation to win a ball game in all of college football; a duel with the Bison in Fargo in December. It’s a battle that many, many teams have tried their hand at and that few (only one to be exact) have come out the other side of. While the challenge is a mighty one, however, if any team might have just a tinge more hope in this scenario, it’s this ISU squad.
Playing in the same conference, Illinois State and North Dakota State see a whole lot of each other. They met earlier this year with the Redbirds actually giving the Bison one of their better games, a 33-16 result back in Week 6. Beyond meeting nearly every year in Missouri Valley play, though, fate has pitted these two against each other quite a bit in the playoffs too. Between an epic FCS title game back in 2014 and a low scoring quarterfinal bout six years ago, ISU and NDSU are very familiar with each other. Two common threads that should give Redbirds fans hope, too, is that both of those games were close and head coach Brock Spack was behind the headset for each one.
Spack, who is now in his 17th season leading the program, has as much experience as any head coach in the FCS right now. He himself has seen these Bison plenty over the years but, like most others, he has seen little success. In his career, Spack is just 2-14 against North Dakota State and both of those wins came in his first two seasons back in 2009 and 2010 before the dynasty got off the ground. Despite coming in with 14 straight losses to them, however, there is still something to be said for that kind of familiarity. Whether or not it will make a difference come Saturday remains to be seen but Spack, at the very least, has had lots and lots of practice at game planning for the Bison. This is not new territory for him like it would be for many others.
A lot of guys on this year’s ISU roster also have plenty of experience in playing NDSU. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, who has been the team’s starter since late 2022, has matched up with them several times now as has running back Wenkers Wright and receiver Daniel Sobkowicz. Junior linebacker Tye Niekamp is not a stranger to the Bison either. Practically all of Illinois State’s big playmakers have crossed paths with the boys from Fargo multiple times now.
Knowing each other that well, though, goes both ways. North Dakota State is probably better than anyone right now at handling what Spack and the Redbirds can throw out there. When they played back in early October, NDSU held Rittenhouse to under 200 passing yards and picked him off once. They stuffed Wright to 53 yards on the ground and kept Sobkowicz largely in check with 75 through the air. A year ago when this game was last played in Fargo, the Bison romped Illinois State to the tune of 42-10.
So, when the two programs come together for what will be their 19th overall meeting this weekend, there won’t be any secrets left between them. North Dakota State, checking in at the #1 overall seed, is obviously a heavy favorite. Right now Illinois State is a 23.5-point underdog and the line will probably move more before kickoff. The Redbirds, though, likely won’t flinch the same way other teams not as accustomed to the Bison might. And that alone could be huge.
ISU and NDSU will kick off at 1:00 PM (ET) on Saturday. The game can be watched on ESPN+.
