Illinois State head coach Brock Spack celebrates the Redbirds’ 28-24 win at Northern Illinois Saturday night. The victory was the fourth against an FBS opponent in Spack’s 18-year tenure at ISU. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Dan Verdun
DeKALB – Nationally ranked Illinois State landed a big feather in its nest with a victory at Northern Illinois Saturday night at Huskie Stadium.
The 28-24 win was the fourth over an FBS opponent in the 18-year tenure of ISU head coach Brock Spack.
But don’t ask him to rank it.
“It’s a great win, it’s hard to say,” Spack said after the Redbirds’ triumph over NIU. “All those wins are great. Going out to Colorado State (in 2018) and winning big there (35-19) and Northwestern (9-7 in 2016) was pretty special.”
Spack’s Redbirds also knocked off Eastern Michigan, 31-14, in 2012.
“This is no different. It’s the same thing. It’s very special for us. I really can’t rank them. They’re all really cool. We have fewer scholarships (than FBS teams) and that kind of thing,” Spack said.
Middle linebacker Tye Niekamp collected 11 tackles, three of which went for losses. The senior also was credited with two sacks and a roughing the passer penalty.
“A lot of people say that FBS is better than FCS, but a lot of FCS teams can compete with FBS anytime,” Niekamp said.
Defensive back Doreon Dubose capped the ISU win with an interception of NIU quarterback Taron Dickens, a Western Carolina transfer who led the FCS with a 74.2% completion percentage last fall.
“We take our preparation very heavily,” Dubose said. “We believe the battle is won before it’s fought.”
Lost momentum
ISU held a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. However, a Northern Illinois interception return for a touchdown switched momentum to the Huskie sideline.
On the final play of the first half, NIU receiver DeAree Rogers took a flipped forward pass in the backfield from Dickens and outraced the ISU defense into the left corner of the end zone on a 4th and goal from the 2-yard line.
The score sliced the ISU lead to 21-17 at halftime.
“That’s football,” Niekamp said. “It’s crazy how it can happen . . . I wouldn’t say it was shellshock, but we went into the locker room and got the guys going again.”
NIU appeared on the verge of victory when it strung together a fourth-quarter drive that went 78 yards on eight plays. Running back Telly Johnson Jr. scored on a 1-yard run, lifting the Huskies into a 24-21 lead with 7:24 remaining.
Yet, Illinois State remained undaunted. The Redbirds marched 75 yards on 11 plays to score what proved to be the winning touchdown. Tight end Alex Herrera’s 13-yard catch-and-run from quarterback Gage Roy inside two minutes put the Redbirds back on top.
“That’s what a good team does. We persevered. A good team is going to keep fighting,” Herrera said.
Niekamp said: “We let them score, but then the offense had our backs and responded. It was a team game. It’s a really, really good win for us.”
The Redbirds host Eastern Illinois (1-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday in the annual Mid-America Classic rivalry game. EIU lost its home opener to regional rival Indiana State, 42-35, on Saturday night.
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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