# 2016 Illinois State Redbirds football team

The 2016 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 6–6 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for fourth place the MVFC. For the third straight season, Illinois State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where the Redbirds lost in the first round to Central Arkansas. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 6:00 pm | Valparaiso* | No. 10 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | ESPN3 | W 50–13 | 10,026 |
| September 10 | 2:30 pm | at Northwestern* | No. 10 | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | BTN | W 9–7 | 30,748 |
| September 17 | 2:00 pm | Eastern Illinois* | No. 5 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL (Mid-America Classic) | CSN CH | L 21–24 | 13,391 |
| September 24 | 2:00 pm | Indiana State | No. 9 | Memorial StadiumTerre Haute, IN | ESPN3 | L 31–34 | 6,561 |
| October 1 | 1:00 pm | at No. 1 North Dakota State | No. 18 | FargodomeFargo, ND | ESPN3 | L 10–31 | 18,907 |
| October 8 | 2:00 pm | No. 15 Youngstown State | No. 23 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | CSN CH | L 6–20 | 12,570 |
| October 15 | 6:00 pm | Southern Illinois | | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | CSN CH | W 31–28 | 10,211 |
| October 22 | 2:00 pm | at South Dakota | | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | ESPN3 | L 24–27 | 7,416 |
| October 29 | 2:00 pm | No. 7 South Dakota State | | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | CSN CH | W 38–21 | 7,595 |
| November 5 | 1:00 pm | at No. 12 Western Illinois | | Hanson FieldMacomb, IL | ESPN3 | W 31–26 | 3,589 |
| November 12 | 12:00 pm | Missouri State | | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | ESPN3 | W 37–0 | 7,144 |
| November 26 | 2:00 pm | at No. 14 Central Arkansas* | | Estes StadiumConway, AR (NCAA Division I First Round) | ESPN3 | L 24–31 | 3,165 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### Valparaiso

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Crusaders | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| #10 Redbirds | 7 | 27 | 9 | 7 | 50 |

### @ Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #10 Redbirds | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
The Redbirds beat the Wildcats 9–7. The win came on an Illinois State field goal as time expired. This was ISU's first-ever victory over a Big Ten team.

### Eastern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Panthers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| #5 Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |

### @ Indiana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #9 Redbirds | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 31 |
| Sycamores | 7 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 34 |

### @ North Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #18 Redbirds | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| #1 Bison | 7 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 31 |

### Youngstown State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #15 Penguins | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 20 |
| #23 Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |

### Southern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Salukis | 10 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 28 |
| Redbirds | 7 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 31 |

### @ South Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redbirds | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| Coyotes | 17 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 27 |

### South Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #7 Jackrabbits | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Redbirds | 14 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 38 |

### @ Western Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redbirds | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| #12 Leathernecks | 0 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 26 |

### Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Redbirds | 3 | 14 | 17 | 3 | 37 |

### Central Arkansas—NCAA Division I First Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Redbirds | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| #14 Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 24 | 31 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
| STATS FCS | 10 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 18 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | |
| Coaches | 8 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 20 | 23 | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | 25 | RV | |