North Dakota at No. 14/13 Illinois State
Normal, Ill. (Hancock Stadium)
UND holds a 3-0 series lead
Kickoff: Noon (CT)
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Fighting Hawks Radio Network (Pregame Show @ 11 a.m. CT)
GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota will visit No. 14/13 Illinois State at Noon this Saturday. The game will be exclusively streamed on ESPN+. It will also be carried on the Fighting Hawks Radio Network with a pregame show starting at 11 a.m.
The Fighting Hawks are 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the MVFC after falling to No. 5 South Dakota, 42-36, inside the Alerus Center last weekend. USD scored the first 25 points after intermission to build a 42-21 lead with 10 minutes to go. The Fighting Hawks clawed their way back into the game and trailed just 42-36 with 23 seconds left in the contest before the final onside kick was ruled Coyote ball and allowed USD to escape with the victory. The 36 points scored were the most given up by the Coyote defense so far this season.
Sawyer Seidl was the most impressive Hawk of the game, finishing with five plays of 20+ yards or more, including a 51-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the game and a 51-yard kickoff return early in the second quarter.
The Redbirds come into the contest with an 8-3 record and a 5-2 mark in conference action after defeating Indiana State, 31-19, at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Illinois State scored 31 points between the second quarter and start of the fourth quarter to win the game. It was ISU's fifth-straight road win. Tommy Rittenhouse was 29-for-41 passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the win, while Daniel Sobkowicz had a game-high 156 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
North Dakota has a 3-0 series lead between the two teams, with all three games being played in Grand Forks. Last season, the Fighting Hawks fought their way to a 22-21 victory in the closing seconds to keep their FCS playoff hopes alive. UND also won the first game as MVFC opponents in 2021, 14-7, and won the first-ever contest between the two squads, 20-0, in 1979.
FULL GAME NOTES ARE HERE.
