The Illinois State University football team showed promise early in its NCAA Football Championship Subdivision [FCS] game Saturday in Davis, California, but those hopes were short-lived.
The No. 12-seeded Redbird surrendered 28 unanswered points in a 42-10 loss to No. 5 California-Davis at UC Davis Health Stadium.
Tommy Rittenhouse connected with Eddie Kasper on an 8 yard scoring pass early in the first quarter as ISU jumped out to a 7-0 lead. It was Kasper’s first touchdown of the season.
The Aggies took the head for good on the first play of the second quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Miles Hastings to CJ Hutton.
The Redbirds trailed 28-10 at halftime and were unable to mount a second half comeback.
ISU ends the season at 10-4 after advancing to the FCS playoffs for the first time since 2019.
The Redbirds were one of four Missouri Valley Football Conference schools to make the postseason. Widely considered the best FCS conference, The Valley has three teams advancing to the quarterfinals: two-time defending FCS champion South Dakota State, North Dakota State and South Dakota.
