Illinois State cornerback Shadwel Nkuba has four interceptions in his first four games in a Redbird uniform. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Barry Bottino
Interceptions have been a weekly habit for Shadwel Nkuba this fall.
The Illinois State cornerback has had a pick in every game this season and is tied for the national lead with four.
“I’ve waited my whole college career for this moment,” said Nkuba, a transfer from FBS Louisiana. “I’m taking advantage of every opportunity that’s coming my way.”
Throughout his career, however, interceptions have been anything but usual.
“I hadn’t had an interception since my sophomore year in high school,” he said. “I’ve had to wait. It feels good, but I’m not satisfied. I want to do more.”
Doing more is what No. 6 Illinois State (3-1) will need Saturday night in its home game against No. 1 North Dakota State (4-0, 1-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference), the defending national champion.
Nkuba will be tasked with helping slow down a big-play NDSU offense.
“He’s worked hard at learning our system,” ISU head coach Brock Spack said of Nkuba. “He’s done a very nice job.”
Saturday will mark the 11th time in Spack’s tenure that ISU has faced the nation’s top-ranked team. The Redbirds are 1-9 in those games.
Though he’s new to the MVFC, Nkuba is well aware of the Bison.
“I’ve heard about North Dakota State a lot,” he said. “It’s a very important game to us. We’re trying to show the nation that we are who we say we are.”
The Bison have been picking up yardage in chunks on offense this season. NDSU has 37 plays of 20 or more yards thus far, with All-America wide receiver Bryce Lance (seven) leading the way.
Running back Barika Kpeenu has five big plays for the Bison, while five other players have at least three 20-yard gains.
Matching up with Lance is an opportunity that Nkuba relishes.
“I like facing the people that everyone thinks is the top dog,” Nkuba said. “That just brings attention to me. He’s a good player. I’m a good player, too. May the best man win the battle.”
Spack said the Redbirds have a variety of options to challenge Lance, such as disrupting his release off the line of scrimmage.
“Some people will play with a safety over the top and a corner underneath,” he said. “But that takes one or two guys away from the rest of the guys you’ve got to defend. You have to be careful.”
This week’s opponent
The Bison opened MVFC play last week with a 51-13 win against South Dakota. NDSU has not trailed in a game this season and did not allow a point until the fourth quarter of its Week 2 game against Tennessee State. … A key to NDSU’s scoring defense of 7.5 points a game, which ranks No. 2 nationally? “The D-line set the tone and tempo (against South Dakota),” NDSU head coach Tim Polasek said. “They dictated the terms of what kind of fight that was going to be.” Through three quarters, against the Coyotes, NDSU’s defense allowed three points and 170 total yards. … Polasek credited the team’s improved pass protection thus far, which he said was “a concern” before the season. Left tackle Beau Johnson and right tackle Josh Magin are both new starters. According to Polasek, this season marks the first time in 10 years that the Bison have two new starting tackles at the same time. … There’s one key benefit of a night game Saturday in Normal for the Bison. “It cultivates an opportunity for us to recruit in Chicago on Friday night,” Polasek said.
Kickoff: 6 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WJBC.com
Key matchup to watch
ISU rushing attack vs. NDSU defense: The last time ISU surpassed 100 yards rushing against NDSU was March 13, 2020. During that 21-13 loss in Fargo, former Redbird Nigel White gained 87 yards on 15 carries to lead the team. This season, Illinois State needs to have a consistent ground game to maintain drives and keep the big-play NDSU offense off the field. Polasek is particularly impressed with Redbird senior running back Wenkers Wright, ISU’s leading rusher (309 yards, four TDs). “He is the best back that we’ve seen to date,” he said. “We don’t want him to get started.”
What’s at stake?
An Illinois State win would be the first for the Redbirds against NDSU since 2010 and would boost the Redbirds in the national polls. A victory would also be a massive plus during any potential playoff seeding discussions by the FCS postseason committee.
Quick hits
With six players on offense who have started at least 18 games, Spack said his veterans won’t be phased by a big night game matchup. “They’ve seen it before,” he said. “You expect your veteran players to be able to handle all this because they’ve played at Oklahoma, at NDSU, at Iowa. There will be a little more comfort playing at home.” … The ISU pass rush lost a key piece of the puzzle this week when Spack confirmed 6-foot-6 redshirt freshman Ben Harman was “done for the season” with what the coach called a lower body injury. The Redbirds have nine sacks in four games. Five of those sacks came in one game, against FCS non-scholarship Morehead State. Defensive lineman Travis Jones leads the team with 1.5 sacks. … Saturday’s game will mark the 40th career start at Illinois State for wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz. … The Illinois State offensive line has allowed three sacks this season in four games, the same number allowed by NDSU. Only seven FCS teams in the country have allowed fewer sacks this season. … Junior linebacker Tye Niekamp ranks 12th nationally with 10.8 tackles per game. He ranks second in the MVFC in tackles per game behind Murray State’s Dylan Rowsey (14.3).
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
Find us on social media!
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/PSPigskin
Facebook: Prairie State Pigskin
Instagram: Prairiestatepigskin
Blue Sky: PSPigskin
Prairie State Pigskin 
Leave a comment