Illinois State defensive standouts Tye Niekamp (46), Garret Steffen (56) and Dexter Niekamp (44) have played major roles in the Redbirds’ run to the national championship game. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
Make that four straight playoff games that unseeded Illinois State has forced opposing quarterbacks into a lackluster game.
And coincidently, make that an FCS-record four straight road playoff wins for Brock Spack’s Redbirds.
Most importantly, it also moved ISU into its second FCS championship game appearance. The Redbirds will face No. 2 seed Montana State at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 5 in Nashville.
In Saturday’s 30-14 win at No. 12 seed Villanova, ISU again sparkled on defense.
“Our defense is getting better and better as we go through the season,” Spack said.
ISU defensive coordinator Travis Niekamp’s unit held the Wildcats to a paltry 1-of-10 on third down.
“That’s impressive. We talk about third downs every single day,” said linebacker Tye Niekamp, Travis’s son. “It’s huge. It’s what changes games. That and the red zone.”
Spack said: “We mixed our coverages a little bit and some of the pressures that we had.”
The Redbirds recorded four tackles for loss and two sacks.
“When we’re able to go out there and rush that passer, it speeds him up and gives our defensive backs less time that they have to cover. Then they go out and make plays,” defensive lineman Jake Anderson said.
ISU forced Villanova quarterback Pat McQuaide, who only threw three interceptions in the preceding 14 games, into one of his worst games of the season. McQuaide completed a season-low 43.3% of his passes. The graduate student was sacked twice and intercepted once.
Tye Niekamp credited the play of the defensive front.
“They got home to the quarterback a lot and forced him to throw a lot of incompletions,” he said. “We got him off his platform. He kind of struggled throwing the ball off the run.”
Travis Niekamp, who played on the defensive line at ISU in the mid-1990s, can also take pride in the vital contributions of his sons – linebackers Tye and Dexter, who combined for seven tackles and a sack against Villanova.
The song remains the same
Saturday’s game continued a theme of a ball-control offense that produced big plays coupled with a rock-solid defense that has developed into a winning formula.
In its four straight postseason wins, Illinois State has registered nine sacks and snagged five interceptions.
In their first-round win at Southeastern Louisiana, the Redbirds intercepted the Carson Camp-Kyle Lowe QB combination four times.
In its upset of No. 1 seed and previously unbeaten North Dakota State, ISU made Walter Payton Award finalist Cole Payton look pedestrian with a 4-for-12, 101-passing yard performance. The Redbirds also sacked the All-American four times.
In last weekend’s quarterfinal win at No. 8 seed UC Davis, the ISU defense forced freshman sensation Caden Pinnick into early errors as the Redbirds built a big early lead en route to a 42-31 victory.
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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