Illinois State junior linebacker Tye Niekamp earned Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. Eleven of his 14 tackles were solo as well as a career high. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
All wins are not equal.
Take Saturday’s No. 18 Illinois State victory at No. 21 South Dakota, a team the Redbirds are contending with for an at-large FCS playoff spot.
“It was (important),” ISU head coach Brock Spack said of the 21-13 victory. “They were a ranked team. You need those on your profile when the committee is sitting down to put a field together for the playoffs.”
A road win, especially in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, generally plays well in the selection process.
“It was a big win for us, especially off the disappointment of the week before,” Spack said, referencing the 40-35 home loss to Youngstown State.
What made the difference?
“Let’s just say I got after them a little on Tuesday,” Spack said with a chuckle. “These guys are good guys, but sometimes we all need a wake-up call. They’re just kids, but you’ve got to make sure they know what they’re doing in preparation.”
Sam Herder of Hero Sports lists the Redbirds (5-3 overall, 2-2 MVFC) as an at-large bid team in his latest FCS playoff bracket projection.
Zach McKinnell, Senior Editor & Owner: FCS Football Central on Sports Illustrated, highlighted ISU’s win in his weekly FCS recap noting it was “an important ranked win.”
Spack, a former Big Ten linebacker and defensive coordinator, took delight in ISU’s solid defensive performance against South Dakota, particularly in the second half.
The Redbirds allowed the Coyotes just a field goal after halftime.
“The defensive line was really good Saturday. They put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. We didn’t get a bunch of sacks, but we got him to move off his platform,” Spack said. “We were destructive up front and all our linebackers played well.”
Junior Tye Niekamp, one of those linebackers, again reached his career-high 14 tackles. Moreover, 11 of his stops were solo. Niekamp registered one tackle for loss.
“Tye tackled really well, and we needed that against this back,” Spack of South Dakota’s L.J. Phillips Jr., the top rusher in FCS, who still managed 129 yards but did not reach the end zone.
Niekamp was selected as the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. It was the second time this season he has won the award.
News & notes
Illinois State hosts Northern Iowa at 2 p.m. Saturday. Southern Illinois defeated UNI, 31-17, over the weekend. … The Redbirds are ranked 17th in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25 and 18th in the American Football Coaches Association poll, both of which came out Monday. … With leading receiver Daniel Sobkowicz out with an injury, Dylan Lord and Rylan Crawford each set career-highs in receptions in Saturday’s win. Lord, a redshirt freshman whose season was cut short by injury last year, led ISU with eight catches for 82 yards. Crawford, a redshirt junior, caught six balls for 44 yards. … Running back Wenkers Wright moved past the 2,500-yard career mark. Wright needs 13 yards to pass Larry Spinks for seventh place on the all-time ISU list.
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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