SI

Unranked Illinois State Stuns No. 1 North Dakota State in FCS Playoffs With Gutsy Two-Point Call

The Redbirds went for the win with a minute left.

Dan Lyons

Tommy Rittenhouse’s late two-point conversion completion put Illinois State up one with a minute left at North Dakota State. They’d finish off the win and stun the undefeated Bison in the FCS playoffs.
Tommy Rittenhouse’s late two-point conversion completion put Illinois State up one with a minute left at North Dakota State. They’d finish off the win and stun the undefeated Bison in the FCS playoffs. / via ESPN+
In this story:

North Dakota State is one of college football’s great dynasties, but the madness that is usually reserved for March struck a few months early at the Fargodome.

Hosting unranked Illinois State in the second round of the FCS playoffs, the undefeated, No. 1-ranked Bison turned the Redbirds over five times and held them to just 6-of-18 on third down, but could get nothing going on offense, finishing with just 179 yards on the day, with six total first downs.

Even so, NDSU led most of the way, holding a 28–14 edge with under three minutes left in the game. Illinois State Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse found Daniel Sobkowicz for an eight-yard touchdown with 2:44 remaining, and the Redbirds quickly got the ball back three plays later, recovering a fumble by Bison quarterback Cole Payton deep in North Dakota State territory.

A 13-yard run by Victor Dawson set up first-and-goal from the Bison 10-yard line, and after a four-yard gain bracketed by two incompletions, Rittenhouse made a clutch fourth-down throw to Sobkowicz for their second consecutive touchdown connection and third of the game.

Rather than set up for overtime, coach Brock Spack went for the win, and Rittenhouse found Scotty Presson Jr. on a two-point conversion, giving the Redbirds a 29–28 lead with one minute on the clock.

North Dakota State tabbed quarterback Nathan Hayes for the final drive, but he went just 2-for-6 on the series, turning it over on downs at the team’s own 44-yard line to seal a massive upset win for the Redbirds.

The Bison hadn’t seen their season end before the quarterfinal of the FCS playoffs since 2009, when the program went 3–8. They would win their first of 10 FCS national championships two years later.

After taking down the No. 1 seed, Illinois State will now face the winner of No. 8 UC Davis and No. 9 Rhode Island in the quarterfinals—the Redbirds’ first trip to that round since 2019.

More College Football on Sports Illustrated

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark

feed

Published |Modified
Dan Lyons
DAN LYONS

Dan Lyons is a staff writer and editor on Sports Illustrated's Breaking and Trending News team. He joined SI for his second stint in November 2024 after a stint as a senior college football writer at Athlon Sports, and a previous run with SI spanning multiple years as a writer and editor. Outside of sports, you can find Dan at an indie concert venue or movie theater.

Home/College Football