The Illinois State was selected as to participate in the 24-team FCS Playoff field as the No. 12 overall seed and will have a first-round road matchup at Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 30 at 11 a.m. CT.
The Redbirds (9-3, 6-2 MVFC) will be making their ninth appearance in the FCS playoffs and sixth under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack. ISU, which was ranked No. 13 in the final regular-season poll released Sunday by Stats Perform, is 10-8 all-time in playoff games and will be making its first appearance in the FCS playoffs since 2019. During that 2019 run to the FCS Quarterfinals, the Redbirds also began that run with a road contest at SEMO.
Illinois State finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak and as winners of six of its last seven contests.
Game time is 11 am local time on Saturday. The Redbirds are on the road in the first round of the playoffs despite being the higher seed because of the IHSA football championships being held at Hancock Stadium this weekend.
