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2025 Illinois State

12–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

Illinois State in 2025, game by game: lost at No. 18 Oklahoma 3–35; won vs. Morehead State 41–13; won at Eastern Illinois 42–30; won vs. North Alabama 38–36; lost vs. North Dakota State 16–33; won at Murray State 46–32; lost vs. Youngstown State 35–40; won at South Dakota 21–13; won vs. Northern Iowa 31–16; won at Indiana State 52–20; won at South Dakota State 35–21; lost vs. Southern Illinois 7–37; won at SE Louisiana 21–3; won at North Dakota State 29–28; won at UC Davis 42–31; won at Villanova 30–14; lost vs. Montana State 34–35+32−32Lost 3–35 at No. 18 Oklahoma-32No. 18 OklahomaWon 41–13 vs. Morehead State+28Morehead StateWon 42–30 at Eastern Illinois+12Eastern IllinoisWon 38–36 vs. North Alabama+2North AlabamaLost 16–33 vs. North Dakota State-17North Dakota St…Won 46–32 at Murray State+14Murray StateLost 35–40 vs. Youngstown State-5Youngstown StateWon 21–13 at South Dakota+8South DakotaWon 31–16 vs. Northern Iowa+15Northern IowaWon 52–20 at Indiana State+32Indiana StateWon 35–21 at South Dakota State+14South Dakota St…Lost 7–37 vs. Southern Illinois-30Southern Illino…Won 21–3 at SE Louisiana+18SE LouisianaWon 29–28 at North Dakota State+1North Dakota St…Won 42–31 at UC Davis+11UC DavisWon 30–14 at Villanova+16VillanovaLost 34–35 vs. Montana State-1Montana State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30at18OklahomaL 3–⁠3522%
Sep 6vsMorehead StateW 41–⁠1369%
Sep 13atEastern IllinoisW 42–⁠3065%
Sep 20vsNorth AlabamaW 38–⁠3680%
Oct 4vsNorth Dakota StateL 16–⁠3332%
Oct 11atMurray StateW 46–⁠3278%
Oct 18vsYoungstown StateL 35–⁠4071%
Oct 25atSouth DakotaW 21–⁠1334%
Nov 1vsNorthern IowaW 31–⁠1681%
Nov 8atIndiana StateW 52–⁠2065%
Nov 15atSouth Dakota StateW 35–⁠2137%
Nov 22vsSouthern IllinoisL 7–⁠3775%
Nov 29atSE LouisianaFCS Championship – First RoundW 21–⁠339%
Dec 6atNorth Dakota StateFCS Championship – Second RoundW 29–⁠2816%
Dec 13atUC DavisFCS Championship – Quarterfinals, CFP QuarterfinalW 42–⁠3137%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffatVillanovaFCS Championship – Semifinals, CFP SemifinalW 30–⁠1432%
Jan 5Bowls & playoffvsMontana StateFCS ChampionshipL 34–⁠3535%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Montana State 35–⁠34 in the FCS Championship; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 57 on file).

Record
12–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
523–⁠437
Coach
—
Elo
1538 +155 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−11.7 No. 7 of 129 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 197
Offensive coordinator
Tony Petersen
Defensive coordinator
Travis Niekamp
Captains
Dylan Calabrese, Tommy Rittenhouse and Tye Niekamp
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

Leaders

Passing yardsTommy Rittenhouse QB3,568 yds
Passing touchdownsTommy Rittenhouse QB40 TD
Rushing yardsVictor Dawson RB1,377 yds
Rushing touchdownsTommy Rittenhouse QB7 TD
Receiving yardsDaniel Sobkowicz WR1,141 yds
Receiving touchdownsDaniel Sobkowicz WR19 TD
TacklesTye Niekamp LB25 tkl
SacksMason Kaplan LB2 sacks
InterceptionsShadwell Nkuba II DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Mar’Quan Gary WR★★★No. 2110
Rico Clay CB★★★No. 2110
Chase Kwiatkowski QB★★★No. 2771
Luke Olson ATH★★★No. 2994
Ian Willis WR★★★No. 3126

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.820
Running backs12.00.790
Receivers32.70.810
Defensive backs32.30.800
Athletes and specialists22.50.800
Whole class102.50.804

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 112

The 2025 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2025 portal
Caleb Schmitz TE★★★from Cincinnati
Christian Lebrun S★★★from Massachusetts
Kaevion Mack WR★★★from Western Michigan
Logan Brasfield OL★★★from Coastal Carolina
Shadwell Nkuba II CB★★★from Louisiana
Trevell Mullen CB★★★from James Madison
Christian Lorenzo DL★★from Georgia State

Transfers out 6

Hunter Zambrano OL★★★★to Texas Tech
Steven Curtis DL★★★to Minnesota
Teon Parks CB★★★to Colorado
Xavier Loyd WR★★★to Missouri
Mark Cannon Jr. CB★★★to Bowling Green
Ian Wagner K★★to Arizona

2025 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State8–⁠012–⁠1
South Dakota6–⁠210–⁠5
Illinois State5–⁠312–⁠5
Youngstown State5–⁠38–⁠5
North Dakota5–⁠38–⁠6
South Dakota State4–⁠49–⁠5
Southern Illinois4–⁠47–⁠5
Indiana State1–⁠73–⁠9
Northern Iowa1–⁠73–⁠9
Murray State1–⁠71–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.