Linebacker Dexter Niekamp and his Illinois State teammates celebrate a big play in Saturday’s 29-28 victory against No. 1 playoff seed North Dakota State. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Barry Bottino
Two weeks ago, Illinois State’s defense walked off the Hancock Stadium turf for the last time this season facing plenty of questions.
The Redbirds had allowed 296 rushing yards in a 37-7 loss to in-state rival Southern Illinois.
After two weeks of the FCS playoffs – including a stunning 29-28 victory at No. 1 North Dakota State on Saturday – ISU head coach Brock Spack said his defense has provided plenty of answers about who it really is.
“I don’t know who that team was,” he said of the loss to SIU.
Defensive lineman Garret Steffen, who had two sacks against NDSU, added: “It was a wakeup call that we weren’t invincible.”
Since then, the Redbirds (10-4) have allowed 17 points on defense in eight quarters during the playoffs.
That included only one touchdown in the final 57-plus minutes against the previously undefeated Bison.
“It wasn’t anything earth shattering,” Spack said of ISU’s defensive approach against NDSU. “Guys just made play after play after play.”
Those plays included limiting NDSU to 2-for-13 on third down, allowing only six first downs, sacking Walter Payton Award finalist/NDSU quarterback Cole Payton four times and limiting the Bison (12-1) to 2.2 yards a carry.
“We’ve got special guys on this team,” Steffen said. “It was one of the craziest experiences of my life.”
Saturday’s wild ride in Fargo came after Payton threw a 78-yard TD pass to Bryce Lance on NDSU’s first offensive play and the Bison twice leading by 14 points, including 28-14 late in the fourth quarter.
After Lance’s long TD, linebacker Tye Niekamp said he thought, “We might be in trouble. But we played clean football for the rest of the game. I can’t describe the feeling. It’s a shock.”
Among quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse’s improbable five interceptions Saturday, three of the turnovers allowed NDSU to start with the ball in ISU territory.
Regardless of those scenarios, the defense kept responding.
“We got put in tough situations and we kept making plays and getting off the field,” Niekamp said.
Despite the defense’s impressive performance, Niekamp said he believed ISU would pull off the win at one specific juncture.
“When we went up 29-28,” he joked.
Up next for the Redbirds is a return playoff trip to UC Davis, which defeated ISU, 42-10, last season in the second round.
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.
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