2018 Illinois State Redbirds football team
The 2018 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by tenth-year head coach Brock Spack and played their home games at Hancock Stadium. They are a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 3–5 in MVFC play to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place.
| 2018 Illinois State Redbirds football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | Missouri Valley Football Conference |
| 2018 record | 6–5 (3–5 MVFC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Kurt Beathard (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Travis Niekamp (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Hancock Stadium (Capacity: 13,391) |
| 2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 North Dakota State $^ | 8 | – | 0 | 15 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 South Dakota State ^ | 6 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 23 Northern Iowa ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana State | 5 | – | 3 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Illinois | 4 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois State | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Dakota | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri State | 2 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois | 1 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Previous season
The Redbirds finished the 2017 season 6–5, 4–4 in MVFC play to finish in a three-way tie for fifth place.
Preseason
Preseason MVFC poll
The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Redbirds predicted to finish in fifth place.[1]
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Dakota State | 390 (39) |
| 2 | South Dakota State | 270 |
| 3 | Northern Iowa | 258 |
| 4 | Youngstown State | 248 |
| 5 | Illinois State | 248 |
| 6 | South Dakota | 206 |
| 7 | Western Illinois | 163 |
| 8 | Southern Illinois | 139 |
| 9 | Missouri State | 90 |
| 10 | Indiana State | 41 |
Preseason All-MVFC Teams
The Redbirds placed five players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.[2]
|
Offense 1st team James Robinson – RB Spencer Schnell – WR Drew Himmelman – OL 2nd team Tylor Petkovich – TE |
Defense 2nd team Mitchell Brees – DB |
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | 6:30 p.m. | Saint Xavier* | No. 21 | NBCS CHIC+ ESPN+ | W 46–0 | 9,157 | |
| September 8 | 6:30 p.m. | Eastern Illinois* | No. 19 |
| NBCS CHIC+ ESPN+ | W 48–10 | 8,914 |
| September 22 | 2:00 p.m. | at Colorado State* | No. 16 | ATTSN | W 35–19 | 26,259 | |
| September 29 | 2:00 p.m. | at Missouri State | No. 9 | ESPN+ | L 21–24 | 12,224 | |
| October 6 | 2:00 p.m. | Western Illinois | No. 15 |
| NBCS CHIC ESPN+ | W 33–16 | 8,516 |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | Southern Illinois | No. 12 |
| ESPN3 | W 51–3 | 11,247 |
| October 20 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 1 North Dakota State | No. 8 | ESPN+ | L 14–28 | 18,553 | |
| October 27 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 7 South Dakota State | No. 11 |
| ESPN3 | L 28–38 | 12,144 |
| November 3 | 1:00 p.m. | at Northern Iowa | No. 14 | ESPN+ | L 16–26 | 10,838 | |
| November 10 | 12:00 p.m. | at Indiana State | No. 23 | ESPN3 | L 23–28 | 4,016 | |
| November 17 | 12:00 p.m. | Youngstown State |
| NBCS CHIC ESPN+ | W 35–28 | 6,072 | |
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- Source: Schedule
Game summaries
Saint Xavier
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cougars | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 21 Redbirds | 14 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 46 |
Eastern Illinois
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 19 Redbirds | 7 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 48 |
at Colorado State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 16 Redbirds | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
| Rams | 6 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 19 |
at Missouri State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
| Bears | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Western Illinois
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leathernecks | 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| No. 15 Redbirds | 2 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 33 |
Southern Illinois
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salukis | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| No. 12 Redbirds | 7 | 24 | 7 | 13 | 51 |
at North Dakota State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 8 Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| No. 1 Bison | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
South Dakota State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 7 Jackrabbits | 7 | 21 | 7 | 3 | 38 |
| No. 11 Redbirds | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 28 |
at Northern Iowa
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 14 Redbirds | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
| Panthers | 3 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 26 |
at Indiana State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 23 Redbirds | 10 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
| Sycamores | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
Youngstown State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penguins | 3 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 28 |
| Redbirds | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 35 |
Ranking movements
| Week | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final | |||||||
| STATS FCS | 21 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 9 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 23 | RV | RV | ||||||||
| Coaches | 20 | 19 | 18–T | 15 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 13 | 22 | RV | RV | ||||||||
References
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