For the second straight week, No. 16 Illinois State will face off against another ranked FCS foe as the Redbirds welcome in No. 25 Missouri State for a home game at Hancock Stadium on Saturday. T

The Redbirds head into the contest after picking up a big 45-10 road win at Southern Illinois last weekend, while the Bears come into the game refreshed after a bye week.

ISU  linebacker Tye Niekamp had a stellar day for the No. 18 Redbirds in their 45-10 road win at No. 19 Southern Illinois, and for his efforts he was named the Stats Perform FCS National Defensive Player of the Week and the MVFC Defensive Player of the Week. The Normal, Illinois, native was all over the field for ISU and recorded a season-best 11 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, and one pass break up against SIU. 

The Illinois State offense had another big day in its 45-10 win over No. 19 Southern Illinois, spreading the ball around while scoring touchdowns in impressive fashion. None of the Redbirds' six touchdowns came cheaply, with each being scored on plays of 20 yards or more. ISU scored on passes of 38, 28 and 20 yards from quarterbacks Tommy Rittenhouse and Jake Rubley and wideout Daniel Sobkowicz, and tallied touchdowns on runs of 36, 29 and 26 yards by Rittenhouse, freshman Matt Lawson and transfer Seth Glatz. In all, six different Redbirds scored touchdowns in the victory and Rittenhouse (1 pass, 1 rush) and Sobkowicz (1 receiving, 1 pass) each accounted for two.

The Bears have cracked the American Football Coaches Association FCS Top 25 this week, debuting in Monday's poll at No. 25. MSU was last ranked in the October 3, 2022 poll. MSU is off to a 3-2 start to the season and are coming off a bye week. The Bears are winners of three-straight games after dropping their first two contests of the year at Montana and against FBS foe Ball State.

Game time is noon on Saturday.