Illinois State players and coaches learned Sunday they would be heading to Hammond, La., for an FCS first-round playoff game against Southeastern Louisiana while watching the selection show. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
In the Hancock Stadium locker room after a lopsided loss Saturday to one of its biggest rivals, Illinois State head coach Brock Spack delivered a clear message.
“Coach Spack brought up a great point by talking about the 2019 team that laid an egg in its last (regular-season) game and then made a (playoff) run. That’s kind of going to be our focus,” junior linebacker Tye Niekamp said.
That 2019 ISU team lost, 21-3, at Youngstown State before knocking off two ranked teams en route to the FCS quarterfinals.
Fast forward to this season, which included the Redbirds being manhandled, 37-7, by Southern Illinois on Saturday.
“We’ll see how this crew responds. It will be very interesting to see,” Spack said. “They’ve responded well all year, but today wasn’t our day.”
“We sucked, that’s just the facts of it. I don’t know if anyone on the team played well,” said Niekamp, who tied his career high with 16 tackles.
Before Saturday’s loss, the Redbirds had won four straight games. Three of those victories came on the road, something that ISU will need to do again to advance in the 24-team postseason bracket.
Illinois State (8-4) visits 16th-seeded Southeastern Louisiana (9-3) at noon Saturday, Nov. 29. The Redbirds produced a 5-1 road record this season with the lone loss coming in the season opener at FBS Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, Southeastern Louisiana boasts a 5-0 home record at 7,408-seat Strawberry Stadium, which was built in 1937.
The Redbirds are making their 10th FCS playoff appearance, seven of which have come under Spack.
The Illinois State-Southeastern Louisiana winner advances to meet No. 1 overall seed and defending national champion North Dakota State (12-0).
When Spack’s Redbirds went on their playoff run six years ago, they won two games and advanced to the quarterfinal round, where top-ranked NDSU was waiting. The Bison won that game, 9-3.
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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