Coming off a thrilling 17-10 overtime win at home over No. 13 ranked Northern Iowa, Illinois State (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) will hit the road for the final time this weekend to North Dakota to take on the Fighting Hawks (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) at the Alerus Center.

For the third time this season, a Redbird defender took one to the house for a score as Clayton Isbell recorded a 40-yard pick six in the 17-10 overtime win over No. 13 Northern Iowa.

Linebacker Zeke Vandenburgh played the best game of his career when the Redbirds needed it the most to pick up their second-straight win over a ranked opponent. The junior from Freeport, Illinois, recorded a career-high 14 tackles, added two sacks and tallied a career-best 3 tackles-for-loss for the Redbirds in the  17-10 overtime win over No. 12 Northern Iowa. For his efforts, he was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week.

Freshman quarterback Jackson Waring struggled to get much going throughout the game against No. 13 Northern Iowa, but came up big in overtime when it counted the most. On the second play from scrimmage on the first possession of OT, Waring connected on a perfect 27-yard corner fade to the end zone with Austin Nagel to put the Redbirds up 17-10. That play would ultimately be the game winner for the Redbirds and marked the fourth touchdown pass of the season for the young signal caller. It was also the Redbirds' first OT winner since 2015.

The Fighting Hawks have posted a 4-5 overall record this season and a 2-4 mark in MVFC play. UND has been as close as it can come in its four conference losses this year, as the Hawks have lost by six, seven, three and four points. Additionally, all four came against teams inside the Top-25 in the current polls.