Illinois State head coach Brock Spack won his 100th career game with a one-point win at Missouri State. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
Illinois State’s season was perhaps best summed up in a series of near misses, resulting in a 6-5 overall record.
Four of the Redbirds’ losses came by an average of two points, including a pair of one-point defeats.
ISU finished 4-4 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which placed it in a seventh-place tie with Southern Illinois in the 12-team league. The Redbirds and Salukis did not play each other this season.
Here’s our look back on Illinois State’s 2023 season:
Head coach: Brock Spack
Biggest win: A video review reversed an incomplete pass call on the field and gave ISU a 36-35 win at Missouri State. The victory was the 100th in Spack’s coaching career.
Most frustrating loss: There is no shortage of candidates here with late-game losses to Eastern Illinois, Youngstown State and Northern Iowa. However, a 22-21 loss at playoff-bound North Dakota in the regular season finale is the choice. UND scored the game-winner with 25 seconds left.
All-MVFC:
Newcomer of the Year: RB Mason Blakemore
Freshman of the Year: LB Tye Niekamp, who finished fourth in the Jerry Rice Award balloting for national Freshman of the Year
First Team: RB Blakemore, TE Cam Grandy, LB Amir Abdullah
Second Team: WR Daniel Sobkowicz, OL Hunter Zambrano, DT Josh Dinga
Honorable Mention: QB Zack Annexstad, S Keondre Jackson, LB Niekamp
Breakout players:
Offense – Blakemore rushed for a team-best 983 yards. The Northern Illinois transfer’s 14 touchdowns and 98.3 yards-per-game average led the MVFC.
Defense – Abdullah, a transfer from Division II Nebraska-Kearney, finished in a tie for second in the MVFC Defensive Player of the Year voting. The Chicago native tied for the league lead with 9.5 sacks and led the conference with 14 tackles for loss. He was a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award as the top defender in FCS.
Players ISU will most miss:
Offense – Annexstad, in his second year in Normal after transferring from FBS Minnesota, completed 69.7 percent of his passes for 2,114 yards and 17 touchdowns. He missed the final two games of the season with an injury.
Defense – Dinga ranked second on the Redbirds with a career-high seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss. The sixth-year senior recorded 37 tackles.
2024 season opener: Illinois State opens at the University of Iowa Aug. 31.
Next up: Barry Bottino examines 5 Burning Questions facing Illinois State football.
Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.
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