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
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Record	6–5 (3–5 MVFC)
Head coach	Brock Spack (10th season)
Offensive coordinator	Kurt Beathard (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Travis Niekamp (1st season)
MVP	Zackary Mathews, Spencer Schnell
Captain	Luther Kirk, Spencer Schnell, Nick Kielbasa
Home stadium	Hancock Stadium
Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	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
$ – 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)
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	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	NBCS CHIC+, ESPN+	W 46–0	9,157
September 8	6:30 p.m.	Eastern Illinois*	No. 19	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL (Mid-America Classic)	NBCS CHIC+, ESPN+	W 48–10	8,914
September 22	2:00 p.m.	at Colorado State*	No. 16	Canvas Stadium Fort Collins, CO	ATTSN	W 35–19	26,259
September 29	2:00 p.m.	at Missouri State	No. 9	Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO	ESPN+	L 21–24	12,224
October 6	2:00 p.m.	Western Illinois	No. 15	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	NBCS CHIC, ESPN+	W 33–16	8,516
October 13	2:00 p.m.	Southern Illinois	No. 12	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN3	W 51–3	11,247
October 20	2:30 p.m.	at No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 8	Fargodome Fargo, ND	ESPN+	L 14–28	18,553
October 27	12:00 p.m.	No. 7 South Dakota State	No. 11	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN3	L 28–38	12,144
November 3	1:00 p.m.	at Northern Iowa	No. 14	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	ESPN+	L 16–26	10,838
November 10	12:00 p.m.	at Indiana State	No. 23	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	ESPN3	L 23–28	4,016
November 17	12:00 p.m.	Youngstown State		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	NBCS CHIC, ESPN+	W 35–28	6,072
*Non-conference game Homecoming 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
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

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.