Four road wins. Four straight upsets. And now, a chance at history. Illinois State has a chance to do the unthinkable, becoming the first unseeded team since 2002 to win the FCS title. That said, they’re facing No. 2 Montana State, who hope to hoist the trophy after falling short 35-32 to North Dakota State last year.
When the Redbirds (12-4) take the field tonight at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, they’ll cap the most improbable playoff run in modern FCS history. No team has ever won four consecutive road playoff games to reach the championship. Illinois State just did it, making it look like destiny.
Can Illinois State Complete the Unlikeliest FCS Championship Run Since 2002?
The math shouldn’t work. The Redbirds were among the last four teams selected to the 24-team bracket, fresh off a 37-7 beatdown by Southern Illinois on Senior Day. They entered the playoffs unseeded, unranked, and largely forgotten.
Then came Fargo.
Down 28-14 with under three minutes remaining against top-seeded, undefeated North Dakota State — the defending national champions and overwhelming title favorites — quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse did something extraordinary.
Despite throwing five interceptions, he connected with Daniel Sobkowicz for two touchdowns in the final 2:44. On fourth-and-goal with 51 seconds left, Rittenhouse found Sobkowicz for the score, then hit Scotty Presson Jr. on a gutsy two-point conversion call from head coach Brock Spack.
Redbirds 29, Bison 28.
The upset snapped Illinois State’s 14-game losing streak to NDSU and marked what some are calling the biggest upset in FCS playoff history.
Since then? A 42-31 dismantling of No. 8 UC Davis and a 30-14 throttling of No. 12 Villanova, the largest semifinal win by a road team in three decades.
The offensive formula has been electric. Rittenhouse (3,257 passing yards, 36 TDs, 12 INTs) has found chemistry with Sobkowicz, who’s been absolutely dominant in the postseason. The Second-Team All-American has hauled in eight touchdowns in four playoff games, more scoring catches than any Montana State receiver has all season.
Running back Victor Dawson, a Cincinnati transfer, has rushed for career-highs in each of the last three playoff games (137, 148, 155 yards), giving Illinois State the balanced attack it lacked during an inconsistent regular season.
Of course, Montana State (13-2) presents the stiffest challenge yet. The Bobcats are riding a 13-game winning streak since a 0-2 start and boast the only offense in the FCS with two 1,000-yard rushers in Julius Davis (1,100) and Adam Jones (1,047).
Transfer quarterback Justin Lamson’s 72.0% completion percentage ranks second nationally, and he’s thrown 24 touchdowns against just three interceptions.
This is Brent Vigen’s third trip to the title game in five seasons. The Bobcats lost to NDSU in 2021 (38-10) and again last year (35-32) in agonizing fashion. They haven’t won a national championship since 1984, a 40-year drought that gnaws at a program built for this moment.
But history favors the bold, and Spack’s Redbirds have been exactly that. Illinois State leads all FCS programs with nine playoff road wins since the bracket expanded to 24 teams in 2013. They’re 9-0 against FCS opponents on the road this season.
Should they win tonight, they’ll join Jack Harbaugh’s 2002 Western Kentucky squad as the only unseeded teams to claim the FCS crown. That Hilltoppers team started 2-3 before rattling off 10 straight wins, including playoff victories over second-seeded Western Illinois and third-seeded Georgia Southern.
Sound familiar?
The Redbirds came within 37 seconds of a championship in 2014, losing 29-27 to, who else, North Dakota State. Spack has built Illinois State into a consistent contender, but the ultimate prize has remained elusive.
Tonight, with a road-hardened roster that’s proven it can handle any environment, Normal has its best shot at making history. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
One win away.
