2018 Illinois State Redbirds football team

The 2018 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for sixth in the MVFC. Illinois State played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

2018 Illinois State Redbirds football
ConferenceMissouri Valley Football Conference
Record6–5 (3–5 MVFC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorKurt Beathard (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorTravis Niekamp (1st season)
MVPZackary Mathews, Spencer Schnell
CaptainLuther Kirk, Spencer Schnell, Nick Kielbasa
Home stadiumHancock Stadium
(capacity: 13,391)
2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
ConfOverall
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  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

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)
1North Dakota State390 (39)
2South Dakota State270
3Northern Iowa258
4Youngstown State248
5Illinois State248
6South Dakota206
7Western Illinois163
8Southern Illinois139
9Missouri State90
10Indiana State41

Preseason All-MVFC Teams

The Redbirds placed five players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.[2]

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 16:30 p.m.Saint Xavier*No. 21
NBCS CHIC+, ESPN+W 46–09,157
September 86:30 p.m.Eastern Illinois*No. 19
NBCS CHIC+, ESPN+W 48–108,914
September 222:00 p.m.at Colorado State*No. 16
ATTSNW 35–1926,259
September 292:00 p.m.at Missouri StateNo. 9
ESPN+L 21–2412,224
October 62:00 p.m.Western IllinoisNo. 15
  • Hancock Stadium
  • Normal, IL
NBCS CHIC, ESPN+W 33–168,516
October 132:00 p.m.Southern IllinoisdaggerNo. 12
  • Hancock Stadium
  • Normal, IL
ESPN3W 51–311,247
October 202:30 p.m.at No. 1 North Dakota StateNo. 8
ESPN+L 14–2818,553
October 2712:00 p.m.No. 7 South Dakota StateNo. 11
  • Hancock Stadium
  • Normal, IL
ESPN3L 28–3812,144
November 31:00 p.m.at Northern IowaNo. 14
ESPN+L 16–2610,838
November 1012:00 p.m.at Indiana StateNo. 23
ESPN3L 23–284,016
November 1712:00 p.m.Youngstown State
  • Hancock Stadium
  • Normal, IL
NBCS CHIC, ESPN+W 35–286,072
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[3][4]

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
See also: 2018 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team and Mid-America Classic

At Colorado State
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 16 Redbirds 0 14 7 14 35
Rams 6 0 7 6 19
See also: 2018 Colorado State Rams football team

At Missouri State
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 9 Redbirds 0 0 14 7 21
Bears 3 7 7 7 24
See also: 2018 Missouri State Bears football team

Western Illinois
1 2 3 4 Total
Leathernecks 6 7 3 0 16
No. 15 Redbirds 2 10 0 21 33
See also: 2018 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

Southern Illinois
1 2 3 4 Total
Salukis 0 0 3 0 3
No. 12 Redbirds 7 24 7 13 51
See also: 2018 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

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
See also: 2018 North Dakota State Bison football team

South Dakota State
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 7 Jackrabbits 7 21 7 3 38
No. 11 Redbirds 7 0 0 21 28
See also: 2018 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

At Northern Iowa
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 14 Redbirds 3 0 0 13 16
Panthers 3 16 7 0 26
See also: 2018 Northern Iowa Panthers football team

At Indiana State
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 23 Redbirds 10 0 7 6 23
Sycamores 0 21 0 7 28
See also: 2018 Indiana State Sycamores football team

Youngstown State
1 2 3 4 Total
Penguins 3 10 8 7 28
Redbirds 7 7 7 14 35
See also: 2018 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below.
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS FCS21191916915128111423RVRV
Coaches201918–T15101412991322RVRV

References
  1. "North Dakota State Picked to Win 2018 MVFC Title".
  2. "Preseason All-Conf and Team (PDF) - Missouri Valley Football Conference" (PDF).
  3. "Illinois State Redbirds Schedule 2018". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
  4. "2018 Football Schedule". Illinois State University. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
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