McLean County Times

Illinois State University’s football team, the Redbirds, will face off against Eastern Illinois University’s Panthers in the 113th Mid-America Classic on September 13, 2025. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT at O'Brien Field in Charleston, Illinois, which has a capacity of 10,000.

The rivalry between the two programs is one of the longest in FCS football. Illinois State leads the all-time series with a record of 60-43-9 and has dominated recent matchups, winning six of the last seven games and eight out of the last ten. Under head coach Brock Spack, who is in his 17th season with a record of 112-75, the Redbirds are 10-5 against Eastern Illinois and have won four out of their last five contests in Charleston.

Spack has led Illinois State to back-to-back shares of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) title in 2014 and 2015 and guided them to an appearance in the FCS Championship game in 2014. He also became the program's all-time wins leader in 2021.

Eastern Illinois is coached by Chris Wilkerson, now in his fourth season at his alma mater with a record of 14-22. Wilkerson was named OVC-Big South Coach of the Year in 2023 after leading EIU to an 8-3 record that season.

The Redbird football program has made nine FCS playoff appearances (most recently in 2024), reached the quarterfinals six times, semifinals twice, and played once for an FCS Championship. At home under Spack’s leadership, ISU holds a strong record (68-24 overall; 51-18 since Hancock Stadium's renovation).

Eastern Illinois enters this week with a record of 1-1 after opening with a win over Dayton but losing to Indiana State. Running back Charles Kellom rushed for two touchdowns against Indiana State but EIU was held to just 239 yards of total offense while allowing Indiana State to accumulate over 400 yards.

Quarterback Cole LaCrue had a notable debut for EIU by rushing for a school-record 193 yards as a quarterback during their victory over Dayton.

In their previous meeting on September 21, 2024, Illinois State defeated Eastern Illinois by a score of 31-7 at Hancock Stadium. Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse threw three touchdown passes while running back Wenkers Wright rushed for another score.

Two Redbird players received MVFC weekly honors following Week Two: placekicker Matt Maldonado was named Special Teams Player of the Week after making all field goal and extra point attempts against Morehead State; offensive tackle Jake Pope earned Offensive Lineman of the Week after grading out at ninety-two percent and recording eleven pancake blocks as ISU rushed for over two hundred yards without allowing any sacks.

Several newcomers scored their first career touchdowns during ISU’s home opener against Morehead State. Wide receiver Luke Mailander caught his first touchdown pass from Rittenhouse; transfer tight end Nick True scored on his first catch; defensive back Cam Wilson returned a fumble for his first defensive touchdown; quarterback Beckham Pellant threw his first career touchdown pass to Daniel Sobkowicz.

ISU has been successful in home openers under Spack’s leadership—now holding a record of sixteen wins and one loss in such games since he took over as head coach.

With Wilson’s defensive touchdown return against Morehead State, ISU extended its streak to seventeen consecutive seasons with at least one defensive score.

Wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz moved into fifth place on ISU’s all-time receiving yards list with his performance against Morehead State and ranks among career leaders for receptions and touchdown catches at Illinois State.

Earlier this season, ISU played before its largest-ever crowd when facing Oklahoma—83,218 spectators attended that game—surpassing previous attendance records set at Wisconsin (73,727) and Iowa (69,250) within recent years.

This year’s roster features many returning players: forty-three letterwinners including twelve starters from last year’s team that reached round two of the FCS playoffs. Team captains selected by player vote are senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, junior linebacker Tye Niekamp, and senior longsnapper Dylan Calabrese.