iStockphoto / © Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
We have a Cinderella story in the 2025 FCS Playoffs. The Illinois State football team will play for a national championship in early January.
The Redbirds are on an unprecedented postseason run that includes an upset of the nation’s top-ranked program. They have a chance to make more history in their final game.
Illinois State was not on the radar in terms of national title talk at the start of the playoffs. In fact, they entered the postseason unseeded.
The Redbirds went 8-4 in the regular season. They limped into the field with a 30-point loss to Southern Illinois on Senior Day.
It forced them into a situation where they’d have to play each playoff contest on the road. Prior to 2025, no team had ever won four straight games away games in the postseason. The Redbirds became the first.
Illinois State football will play for a national championship.
The Redbirds booked their ticket to the title game with a convincing win over 12th-ranked Villanova. That came after victories over 16th-seeded Southeastern Louisiana, No. 8 UC Davis, and top overall team North Dakota State.
They will now look to close out the improbable run with a win over No. 2 Montana State.
Illinois State’s advancement to the national championship game has been exciting. It’s been able to grab the attention of college football fans that don’t typically follow the FCS.
It’s also created controversy.
Should the Redbirds have had the opportunity to win a title?
They were very clearly not the best college football program in the 2025 FCS season. They slipped into the postseason with a somewhat average resume that included a 2-3 mark against Top 25 teams.
They have earned their right to play for a championship, but there are some that would argue they never should’ve been given the chance.
Joel Klatt went viral earlier this postseason for his hot take on the College Football Playoff. He does not want to see a Cinderella story.
🔥HOT TAKE from @joelklatt🔥
“We don’t want Cinderellas. We want the best teams playing each other at the end… The NCAA basketball tournament is a joke. It’s the dumbest tournament and the least fair tournament in all of sports.” pic.twitter.com/8eMwoC8b4N
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) December 15, 2025
“We don’t want Cinderellas. We want the best teams playing each other at the end,” he said in reference to James Madison and Tulane’s CFP inclusion.
“The NCAA basketball tournament is a joke. It’s the dumbest tournament and the least fair tournament in all of sports.”
Klatt is wrong in his assertion that football fans don’t want Cinderellas. The Illinois State football team has proven that.
He is correct, however, in his reasoning for opposing the current CFP system.
The playoff should determine the best team.
It’s been the case throughout the history of college football. Initially, champions were determined by regular season performance.
A bowl game win could solidify a team’s championship standing. The system was later adjusted to pit the No. 1 and No. 2 teams directly against one another, further emphasizing the desire to find a “true” champion.
The 4-team playoff largely kept that goal intact, though there was more inclusion. The 12-team setup is trending away from that thinking, though.
And future expansion seems likely.
Yes, that’s great for TV viewership. One regular season loss does not end a program’s national title pursuit. Fans are invested in their schools for longer periods of time.
There’s also more opportunity for the “little guys.” Upsets, like we see in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, drive viewership numbers up.
Is it exciting? Absolutely. Is it the best avenue of rewarding on-field performance and crowning the best national champion? No.
Illinois State could very well prove this in the upcoming national title contest. A win would ensure that the best FCS football team did not hoist the trophy.