Valley Rundown: It’s Illinois State’s time to shine – can the Redbirds reach their second title game?

And then there was one! 

The MVFC is down to one representative in this year’s FCS Playoffs. It’s up to Illinois State to carry the Valley torch onward to Philadelphia for a semifinal showdown against 12th-seeded Villanova. This is Illinois State’s first FCS semifinal appearance since 2014 and its third in program history. 

The Redbirds’ playoff path up to this point has been a perfect encapsulation of what has happened on their side of the bracket: chaos. At the start of the postseason, NDSU was a near-unanimous pick to emerge from the left side of the bracket following an undefeated regular season. 

Illinois State simply disagreed. The Redbirds also decided to knock off UC Davis in the quarterfinals, the eighth seed. Let me remind of the fact that the committee had ISU as one of the last four teams in on selection day.   

After NDSU bowed out, fourth-seeded Tarleton State seemed like a solid favorite to make the title game, especially following a convincing 31-13 victory over North Dakota. 

Villanova had something to say about that. 

This leads us to the first FCS semifinal matchup to not feature a Dakota or Montana school since James Madison and Sam Houston (now FBS sides) in 2021. So, who will be making the trip to Nashville in a few weeks?  

Last week

Although the final score of 42-31 suggested Illinois State and UC Davis were in a much closer affair, the game tells another story. 

After the two came flying out of the gate – combining for 38 points in the first quarter alone – things immediately died down with nobody scoring for the rest of the half, with Illinois State holding a 21-17 advantage. But the Redbirds’ 21 straight points in the second half put them up 42-17 with a little over three and a half minutes to go. 

Yes, UC Davis scored 14 garbage-time points, but this was Illinois State’s game. Tommy Rittenhouse eased up on the interceptions and only threw one in addition to 266 and three TDs through the air, completing 75% of his passes. One-fifty of those yards went to Daniel Sobkowicz, along with two of the three scores. Victor Dawson ran for 148 of the Redbirds’ 266 total yards on the ground. 

The defense also forced two turnovers, courtesy of a pick from CJ Richard Jr. and a forced fumble from Shadwell Nkuba II. ISU scored 14 points off those two turnovers, in addition to a 91-yard kickoff return touchdown from Chris Taylor. 

This is the Redbirds’ eighth straight road victory against an FCS opponent in 2025, which will be important when they walk into Villanova Stadium, a venue that hasn’t witnessed a Wildcat loss in 22 straight games. 

What’s it gonna take for Illinois State? 

Well, offensively, the Redbirds should just keep doing what they’ve been doing. They’ve averaged over 30 points per game, and their point total has increased over their three playoff games. Like he did last week after throwing nine interceptions in his first two postseason games, Rittenhouse needs to limit the interceptions. 

However, this game may turn into a defensive slugfest like Nova’s second-round matchup with Lehigh that ended 14-7. Regardless, defensively for Illinois State, I actually think there is an area to exploit when it comes to Wildcat QB Pat McQuaide. 

Many times last week, McQuaide made a lot of questionable throws. While he only ended the game with one interception (a pick in the endzone, no less), Tarleton State probably could have forced him into at least one or two more interceptions, perhaps more. 

Illinois State should do everything it can to force McQuaide into pressure plays. Make him make a play, because multiple times last week it ended in a near-turnover. If the Redbirds can win the turnover battle, it would go a long way toward ending that 22-game home winning streak. 

But at this rate, what’s the point in predicting what will happen? The left side of the bracket has been so chaotic, which probably plays into ISU’s favor. Regardless, FCS fans should enjoy two teams with past success vying to climb the mountain again.