Despite missing two games with an injury, senior Daniel Sobkowicz leads the Redbirds with 65 receptions for 842 yards and 14 touchdowns. His 36 TD catches are the most in ISU history. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
Earlier this week, Daniel Sobkowicz accepted an invitation to the inaugural FCS NFL Showcase in Nashville come January.
But the record-setting Illinois State senior isn’t ready to go there quite yet.
“It’s cool, but I’m not too worried about that kind of stuff right now,” Sobkowicz told Prairie State Pigskin. “My focus is on what’s still happening.”
For Sobkowicz and the Redbirds (10-4) that means a 4 p.m. Saturday rematch with No. 8 seed UC Davis (9-3) in the FCS quarterfinals.
The Aggies ended the Redbirds’ season a year ago with a 42-10 second-round victory.
“It’s extra motivation for us because we know we could have played a lot better. We came out sluggish last year and didn’t play well,” Sobkowicz said.
ISU certainly played well last weekend, upsetting No. 1 seed and defending national champion North Dakota State, 29-28, in Fargo.
Sobkowicz certainly played his part, catching three touchdown passes, including two in the game’s final 2 minutes, 44 seconds. His third came with 1 minute left on the clock to pull ISU to within a point of the Bison.
“We had some quick routes (called) and then (quarterback) Tommy (Rittenhouse) started rolling out right. I just knew we had to scramble and find an opening. We locked eye contact together and he found me,” Sobkowicz said.
Head coach Brock Spack’s decision to go for the two-point conversion momentarily caught Sobkowicz off guard.
“I didn’t think much of it in the moment. I was running off the field and then it was, ‘Get back out there.’ I just went with the flow,” he said. “We had just scored back-to-back touchdowns and everything was going our way. That was the perfect time to do it. Everyone was on board.”
Sobkowicz said the two-point play call was designed with senior tight end Scotty Presson Jr. as the primary target.
“We’d practiced that all week,” he said. “I knew I was the second or third option. The read was to the boundary first and then to the two-man side where I was.
“Scotty found the opening in the end zone. Tommy made the throw and Scotty made a good catch.”
Sobkowicz is a three-time All-Missouri Valley Football Conference selection. He earned first-team honors this fall after landing on the second team in 2023 and ‘24.
Despite missing two games with an injury, Sobkowicz leads the Redbirds with 65 receptions for 842 yards and 14 touchdowns. His 36 career TD catches are the most in ISU history.
This week’s opponent
UC Davis returns to the quarterfinals in consecutive years for the first time since 2001-02. … The Aggies knocked off No. 9 seed Rhode Island, 47-26, in their second-round matchup. … Freshman All-American quarterback Cade Pinnick threw five touchdowns while running back Jordan Fisher and receiver Samuel Gbatu Jr. each went over the 1,000-yard mark on the season in the victory. … Graduate student linebacker Nate Rutchena leads the team with 70 tackles. Harvard graduate transfer defensive lineman Jacob Psyk tops the Aggies with 15.5 tackles of loss and 9.5 sacks. … UC Davis (6-2) finished third in the Big Sky Conference behind Montana State (8-0) and Montana (7-1). All three remain alive in the postseason.
Kickoff: 4 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: WBNQ 101.5 FM/The Varsity Network
Key matchup to watch
ISU defense vs. UC Davis offense
The Redbird defense is coming off its best game of the season and strives to hold the potent Aggies in check. UC Davis averages nearly 33 points per game.
“They’re an excellent offensive team,” Spack said. “They’re balanced. They have no tendencies. They formation you to death. They do a lot of the same things, but off different formations with shifts and motions. It’s very interesting what they do.”
What’s at stake
A win puts ISU into the national semifinals for the first time since the Redbirds went all the way to the title game in 2014.
News and notes
Rittenhouse needs 260 yards to become the Redbird program’s fourth player to pass for 3,000 yards in a season. … Rittenhouse overcame five interceptions — three of which were tipped -– to throw three touchdown passes in the win over North Dakota State. The senior’s 31 TD tosses set the ISU single-season record. … Linebacker Dexter Niekamp was one of nine players from the Missouri Valley Football Conference named to the FCS Football Central Freshman All-American team. … Rittenhouse, linebacker Mason Kaplan and offensive lineman Ben Wallace were named to the MVFC All-Academic team. …The Redbirds have won their last seven road games against FCS opponents and have posted a 13-1 record against FCS foes away from Normal the last two seasons. UC Davis is the lone team that defeated ISU. … Running back Victor Dawson’s 69-yard run against North Dakota State was his longest of the season and the longest by a Redbird this year. … Dawson rushed for over 100 yards for the third time this fall with his season-best 137 against NDSU. … Senior defensive lineman Garret Steffen tied his career-high with two sacks against the Bison. His three tackles for loss set a personal best.
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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