# 2022 Illinois State Redbirds football team

The 2022 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2022 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 14th-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the MVFC. Illinois State played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 18 (FBS) Wisconsin* | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | FS1 | L 0–38 | 73,727 |
| September 10 | 6:30 p.m. | Valparaiso* | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | Marquee/ESPN+ | W 28–21 | 6,937 |
| September 17 | 6:30 p.m. | Eastern Illinois* | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL (Mid-America Classic) | Marquee/ESPN+ | W 35–7 | 8,208 |
| October 1 | 6:30 p.m. | No. 19 Southern Illinois | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | Marquee/ESPN+ | L 14–19 | 11,127 |
| October 8 | 4:00 p.m. | at Northern Iowa | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | ESPN+ | W 23–21 | 9,306 |
| October 15 | 2:00 p.m. | South Dakota | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | ESPN3 | W 12–10 | 9,302 |
| October 22 | 12:00 p.m. | at Indiana State | Memorial StadiumTerre Haute, IN | ESPN3 | W 27–21 | 5,182 |
| October 29 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 4 North Dakota State | FargodomeFargo, ND | ESPN+ | L 7–24 | 16,172 |
| November 5 | 2:00 p.m. | Youngstown State | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | Marquee/ESPN+ | L 17–19 | 4,989 |
| November 12 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 1 South Dakota State | Dana J. Dykhouse StadiumBrookings, SD | ESPN+ | L 7–31 | 8,160 |
| November 19 | 11:00 a.m. | Western Illinois | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | Marquee/ESPN+ | W 20–13 $^{OT}$ | 2,579 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Game summaries
### At No. 18 (FBS) Wisconsin

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 18 (FBS) Badgers | 7 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
at Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
* Date: September 3, 2022
* Game time: 6:10 p.m.
* Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C); Cloudy; Wind at NE10 MPH
* Game attendance: 73,727
* Referee: Larry Smith
* TV announcers (FS1): Tim Brando (play-by-play), Spencer Tillman (analyst)
Game information :
First quarter
WIS – John Torchio 100-yard interception return (Vito Calvaruso kick), 1:52 Wisconsin 7–0
Second quarter
WIS – Braelon Allen 96-yard run (Vito Calvaruso kick), 13:15 Wisconsin 14–0 Drive: 1 play, 96 yards, 0:44.
WIS – Vito Calvaruso 28-yard field goal, 3:11. Wisconsin 17–0. Drive: 13 plays, 68 yards, 7:42.
Third quarter
WIS – Braelon Allen 1-yard run (Vito Calvaruso kick), 9:36 Wisconsin 24–0 Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 5:18.
WIS – Chimere Dike 16-yard pass from Graham Mertz (Vito Calvaruso kick), 2:55. Wisconsin 31–0. Drive: 4 plays, 93 yards, 1:50.
Fourth quarter
WIS – Isaac Guerendo 1-yard run (Vito Calvaruso kick), 8:57 Wisconsin 38–0 Drive: 14 plays, 76 yards, 7:26.
Top passers
ISU – Zack Annexstad – 16/24, 186 yards, 2 INT
WIS – Graham Mertz – 14/16, 219 yards, TD
Top rushers
ISU – Nigel White – 4 rushes, 22 yards
WIS – Braelon Allen – 14 rushes, 148 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
ISU – Daniel Sobkowicz – 2 receptions, 41 yards
WIS – Chimere Dike – 3 receptions, 106 yards, TD
Top defenders
ISU – Zeke Vandenburgh – 10 tackles, TFL, sack
WIS – John Torchio – 3 tackles, TFL, sack, INT, TD :

### Valparaiso

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Beacons | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Redbirds | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |

### Eastern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Redbirds | 7 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 35 |

### No. 19 Southern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 19 Huskies | 0 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |

### At Northern Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redbirds | 10 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Panthers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |

### South Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Coyotes | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Redbirds | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 12 |

### At Indiana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redbirds | 20 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
| Sycamores | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |

### At No. 4 North Dakota State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redbirds | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 4 Bison | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
at Fargodome, Fargo, ND
* Date: October 29, 2022
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. (CT)
* Game weather: Indoors; 70 °F (21 °C)
* Game attendance: 16,172
* Referee: Grant Henderson
* TV: ESPN+
| Statistics | Illinois State | North Dakota State |
| First downs | 10 | 21 |
| Plays–yards | 50–219 | 68–373 |
| Rushes–yards | 28–76 | 37–192 |
| Passing yards | 143 | 181 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 16–21–1 | 21–31–0 |
| Time of possession | 25:54 | 34:06 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Illinois State | Passing | Zack Annexstad | 16/22, 143 yds, TD, INT |
| Illinois State | Rushing | Pha'leak Brown | 13 car, 41 yds |
| Illinois State | Receiving | Jalen Carr | 4 rec, 42 yds |
| North Dakota State | Passing | Cam Miller | 20/30, 174 yds, TD |
| North Dakota State | Rushing | Kobe Johnson | 10 car, 51 yds |
| North Dakota State | Receiving | Braylon Henderson | 4 rec, 67 yds |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | ILL ST | NDSU |
| 1st | 3:24 | 9 | 75 | 4:17 | ILL ST | Daniel Sobkowicz (#12) 13-yard touchdown reception from Zack Annexstad (#5), Ian Wagner (#31) kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 1st | 0:43 | 6 | 75 | 2:41 | NDSU | Hunter Luepke (#44) 20-yard touchdown reception from Cam Miller (#7), Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2nd | 0:04 | 9 | 41 | 2:00 | NDSU | 29-yard field goal by Griffin Crosa (#39) | 7 | 10 |
| 3rd | 7:45 | 6 | 44 | 2:58 | NDSU | Cam Miller (#7) 4-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good | 7 | 17 |
| 4th | 7:30 | 11 | 52 | 5:20 | NDSU | Cole Payton (#15) 12-yard touchdown run, Griffin Crosa (#39) kick good | 7 | 24 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 7 | 24 |

### Youngstown State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Penguins | 7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
| Redbirds | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

### At No. 1 South Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redbirds | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 1 Jackrabbits | 0 | 13 | 15 | 3 | 31 |
| Statistics | ISU | SDSU |
| First downs | 7 | 23 |
| Total yards | 100 | 431 |
| Rushing yards | 45 | 148 |
| Passing yards | 55 | 283 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 20:26 | 39:34 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Illinois State | Passing | Tommy Rittenhouse | 9/20, 55 yards, INT |
| Illinois State | Rushing | Tommy Rittenhouse | 9 carries, 18 yards |
| Illinois State | Receiving | Daniel Sobkowicz | 4 receptions, 32 yards |
| South Dakota State | Passing | Mark Gronowski | 20/28, 283 yards, TD, INT |
| South Dakota State | Rushing | Isaiah Davis | 16 carries, 50 yards, TD |
| South Dakota State | Receiving | Jadon Janke | 5 receptions, 129 yards |

### Western Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| Leathernecks | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Redbirds | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 20 |