Rockford native Brock Spack has led Illinois State to the playoff seven times in his 17 seasons in Normal. He is the program’s leader with 119 career wins, 75 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. (Photo by Barry Bottino, PrairieStatePigskin.com)
By Dan Verdun
When Illinois State takes the field at noon Saturday at Southeastern Louisiana, the Redbirds will be making their 10th FCS playoff appearance.
Seven of those have been under head coach Brock Spack, who took over the program in 2009.
“Should have been nine, but who’s counting?” Spack told Prairie State Pigskin, referencing two years the 17-year head coach felt his team was passed over by the NCAA selection committee.
Regardless, the Redbirds are in this fall’s 24-team field, gaining one of 13 at-large bids by virtue of their 8-4 overall record and 5-3 mark in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The MVFC tied last season’s high-water mark with six bids, the most of any FCS conference.
ISU will face No. 16 seed Southeastern Louisiana (9-3 overall, 7-1 Southland Conference). Both teams are ranked No. 17 in this week’s Stats Perform Top 25 poll.
The winner of Saturday’s game will advance to play at No. 1 seed North Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 6.
When Spack, a Rockford native, was hired by Illinois State, he openly talked about the program being “a sleeping giant.” Four years later, Spack – a former Purdue linebacker and defensive coordinator – led the Redbirds into the 2012 playoffs.
That team – led by quarterback Matt Brown and future NFL players Shelby Harris and James O’Shaughnessy – scored a 38-37 overtime win at No. 6 Appalachian State before losing the following week at second-seeded Eastern Washington.
It also served as the building blocks of Spack’s program, one that would make postseason appearances in three of the following four years.
His 2014 team scored a pair of road wins en route to a berth in the national championship game where it came within 98 seconds of winning the title. North Dakota State spoiled the party when future No. 2 overall NFL draft choice Carson Wentz scored the game-winning touchdown with 37 seconds remaining.
After its three-year playoff run (2014-2016) ended, Illinois State appeared in the postseason just once (2019) until last fall.
“We’ve learned a lot,” Spack said of the playoff appearances under his watch. “We learned to be grateful that you come from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. You’re playoff ready.”
Spack has an 8-6 record in the postseason. His teams are 5-1 in first-round games and 6-4 on the road.
“You play tough road games in the league, so I think you’re ready for this,” Spack said. “You never know, but that’s what I’ve learned.”
This week’s opponent
Southeastern Louisiana is one of three Southland Conference teams in this year’s playoff field. The Lions are making their ninth postseason appearance and fourth in the last five years.
Southeastern Louisiana, ranked No. 15 in the American Football Coaches Association poll, employs a two-quarterback system under head coach Frank Scelfo.
Redshirt sophomore Kyle Lowe is the running QB, ranking second on the team with 429 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Lowe has also thrown for eight touchdowns and completed nearly 68% of his passes.
Normal West High School graduate Carson Camp has thrown for 1,674 yards and 14 touchdowns compared to four interceptions. Camp previously played in the MVFC at South Dakota (2021-22) and at Sacramento State (2023-24).
The Lions’ strength is in their defense. Southeastern Louisiana ranks 12th in FCS scoring defense, allowing 17.75 points per game.
“They are fast on defense,” Spack said.
Defensive lineman Kaleb Proctor boasts a team-best 12 tackles for loss and eight sacks. The senior was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and is one of 30 finalists for the Buck Buchanan Award, annually given to the top defensive FCS player.
Senior linebacker K.K. Reno, the Southland’s Defensive Player of the Year, leads the team with 119 tackles, 10 for loss.
Kickoff: Noon; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WJBC.com.
Key matchup to watch
ISU run game vs. SLU defense
The Lions rank 30th among FCS leaders in run defense, giving up 133.1 yards per game.
In last Saturday’s 37-7 loss to rival Southern Illinois, the Redbirds struggled to run the ball effectively. Senior Victor Dawson is ISU’s leading rusher with 739 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games.
Senior Wenkers Wright (529 yards, 5 TDs) has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. It remains to be seen if he plays Saturday.
Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse is the team’s third-leading rusher with 326 yards and six rushing touchdowns.
What’s at stake
A win sends Illinois State into the second round where the Redbirds would face undefeated and No. 1 overall seed North Dakota State.
News and notes
ISU junior linebacker Tye Niekamp has produced back-to-back 16-tackle games, the highest of his career. Niekamp leads the Redbirds with 126 stops, tops in his career. He is a finalist for the Buchanan Award. … Dawson, a transfer from FBS Cincinnati after beginning his career at FCS Merrimack, leads Illinois State with 830 all-purpose yards. … Illinois State and Southeastern Louisiana will meet for the second time in program history, with the Lions leading the series, 1-0. The two teams met on September 27, 1980, at Hancock Stadium with SLU coming away with a 28-21 victory. … The Redbirds made their first playoff appearance in 1998 when Todd Berry was the head coach. ISU returned to the postseason again in 1999, making a run to the semifinals before falling to eventual national champion Georgia Southern. … ISU defensive coordinator Travis Niekamp served as outside linebacker, safeties and defensive tackles coach for Berry during that stretch. Niekamp, a former ISU defensive lineman, also coached under Berry at FBS Army and Louisiana-Monroe. Niekamp is the father of Redbird players Tye and Dexter Niekamp. … Denver Johnson took Illinois State to the 2006 postseason, winning a first-round game at Eastern Illinois before losing at Youngstown State. … The Redbirds hold an 11-9 record in FCS playoff games. … Last season, ISU picked up a first-round playoff win at Southeast Missouri before falling in the second round on the road to No. 5 seed UC Davis.
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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