Aggies to host Illinois State Saturday in FCS playoff

Redbirds earn spot with first-round win over Southeast Missouri

No. 5 UC Davis will open the 2024 Football Championship Subdivision playoff at home Dec. 7, facing a determined group of Redbirds, not Redhawks.

That pairing was determined last Saturday when the No. 12 Illinois State Redbirds defeated the Southeast Missouri Redhawks, 35-27, in a first-round game in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Game time Saturday in UC Davis Health Stadium is 1 p.m.

The Aggies will need to win four straight games to claim their first national championship in football at any level.

UCD reached the Division II title game in 1982, but dropped a 34-9 decision to Southwest Texas State in the Palm Bowl in McAllen, Texas.

Working your way through the 24-team FCS playoff is an arduous journey, with every new opponent seemingly stronger than the last.

As the No. 5 seed, the Aggies earned a first-round bye and home field advantage that goes to the top eight seeded teams.

Seeds 9 through 16 hosted first-round games last Saturday, with the exception of Illinois State, whose home field had already been reserved for the state high school playoffs.

As Aggie head coach Tim Plough noted while assessing the playoff field, "At this point, anyone you play is going to be a very good team. They've all earned their way here."

Illinois State is a member of the powerful Missouri Valley Football Conference that features No. 2 North Dakota State, No. 3 South Dakota State and No. 4 South Dakota.

The MVFC has won a remarkable 11 of the last 13 FCS national championships, nine of those by North Dakota State and the last two by South Dakota State.

Illinois State finished 6-2 in the Missouri Valley, while North Dakota State, South Dakota State and South Dakota were all co-champions at 7-1.