Will Cook County News

By Claude Martinez.

Normal – Illinois State University (ISU) is one step away from winning a football national championship; the FCS National Championship Game will take place on January 5, 2026, at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Of the players on the roster, 15 Redbirds are from Will and Cook Counties.

Despite multiple successful seasons, Illinois State has never won a national championship at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level.

“Overall, it’ll be Illinois State’s first FCS Championship game appearance since 2014. The Redbirds have never won a national championship, wrote the NCAA on December 20, 2025. The NCAA continued to add saying “Illinois State becomes the first team in the 24-team FCS playoff era to make the national championship game after playing all road games and only the second unseeded team in the 24-team era to make the national championship game.”

The Division I NCAA RedBirds were placed as an unranked team in the 2025-2026 College Football Playoffs but overcame all odds.

First, ISU took down #16 Southeastern Louisiana by a score of 21-3 on November 29.

The RedBirds then followed up with a 29-28 win over the defending #1 seeded national champions, the North Dakota State Bison, on December 6.

From there, ISU made quick work of #8 University of California, Davis (42-31) and #12 Villanova (30-14).

Now, the RedBirds (12-4) will face the Montana State University Bobcats (13-2) at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville on January 5, 2026.

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Here are some ISU players who will be playing in the national championship game from the Will and Cook County high school area teams:

#2 Daniel Sobkowicz
WR – Senior – Arlington Heights, IL – Rolling Meadows HS

#12 Jashawn Echols
Redshirt Freshman – Frankfort, IL – Lincoln-Way East HS

#27 Tyler Lofton
RB – Freshman – Crete, IL – Brother Rice HS

#30 Emmanuel Ofosu
Redshirt Freshman – Chicago, IL – Loyola Academy

#34 Dallas Amos
WR – Freshman – Evanston, IL – Evanston Township HS

#59 Ryan McGarry
OL – Freshman – Oak Brook, IL – Hinsdale Central HS

#63 Chris Hill Jr.
OL – Senior – Braidwood, IL – Reed Custer HS / Millikin

#65 Jack McGarry
OL – Junior – Oak Brook, IL – Hinsdale Central HS / Missouri

#80 Nick Arogundade
Redshirt Freshman – Chicago, IL – Loyola Academy

#80 Michael Cosentino
K – Junior – Northbrook, IL – Glenbrook North HS / Elon

#81 Luke Olson
WR – Freshman – Chicago, IL – Notre Dame College Prep

#88 Travis Stamm
WR – Freshman – Willow Springs, IL – Lyons Township HS

#93 Jack Bochenczak
Redshirt Freshman – New Lenox, IL – Providence Catholic HS

#96 Bryce Waszczyk
LS – Freshman – Park Ridge, IL – Maine South HS

#98 Ari Daniels
Redshirt Freshman – Frankfort, IL – Lincoln-Way East HS

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The FCS National Championship Game will be broadcast live on ESPN at 6:30 p.m. CT on Monday, January 5, 2026.

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