# 2015 Illinois State Redbirds football team

The 2015 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with North Dakota State for the second consecutive season. Illinois State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. After a first-round bye, the Redbirds defeated Western Illinois in the second round, before losing to Richmond in the quarterfinals. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 5 | 11:00 am | at Iowa* | No. 2 | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA | BTN | L 14–31 | 59,450 |
| September 12 | 6:30 pm | Morgan State* | No. 4 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | CSN+/ESPN3 | W 67–14 | 13,391 |
| September 19 | 6:00 pm | at Eastern Illinois* | No. 5 | O'Brien StadiumCharleston, IL (Mid-America Classic) | WMBD | W 34–31 $^{OT}$ | 8,104 |
| October 3 | 12:00 pm | No. 7 Northern Iowa | No. 4 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | MVC TV/ESPN3 | W 21–13 | 13,391 |
| October 10 | 6:00 pm | at No. 9 Youngstown State | No. 4 | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN3 | W 31–29 | 17,715 |
| October 17 | 2:00 pm | at Missouri State | No. 4 | Plaster Sports ComplexSpringfield, MO | ESPN3 | W 38–2 | 14,212 |
| October 24 | 2:00 pm | No. 20 Western Illinois | No. 3 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | CSNC/ESPN3 | W 48–28 | 13,391 |
| October 31 | 12:00 pm | No. 21 Indiana State | No. 3 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | CSNC/ESPN3 | W 27–24 | 7,498 |
| November 7 | 2:00 pm | at No. 11 South Dakota State | No. 2 | Coughlin–Alumni StadiumBrookings, SD | ESPN3 | L 20–25 | 9,081 |
| November 14 | 2:00 pm | at Southern Illinois | No. 6 | Saluki StadiumCarbondale, IL | MVC TV/ESPN3 | W 42–21 | 6,388 |
| November 21 | 12:00 pm | South Dakota | No. 6 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | CSNC/ESPN3 | W 46–0 | 5,210 |
| December 5 | 1:00 pm | Western Illinois* | No. 4 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN3 | W 36–19 | 6,124 |
| December 11 | 6:30 pm | No. 12 Richmond* | No. 4 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal) | ESPN3 | L 27–39 | 5,356 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### @ Iowa

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

### Morgan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| #4 Redbirds | 22 | 14 | 21 | 10 | 67 |

### @ Eastern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| #5 Redbirds | 10 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| Panthers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 31 |

### Northern Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #7 Panthers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 13 |
| #4 Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |

### @ Youngstown State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #4 Redbirds | 7 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 31 |
| #9 Penguins | 6 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 29 |

### @ Missouri State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #4 Redbirds | 14 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 38 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |

### Western Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #20 Leathernecks | 7 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
| #3 Redbirds | 14 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 48 |

### Indiana State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #21 Sycamores | 0 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| #3 Redbirds | 2 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 27 |

### @ South Dakota State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #2 Redbirds | 7 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| #11 Jackrabbits | 0 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 25 |

### @ Southern Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #6 Redbirds | 0 | 14 | 21 | 7 | 42 |
| Salukis | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 21 |

### South Dakota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Coyotes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #6 Redbirds | 3 | 20 | 13 | 10 | 46 |

### Western Illinois—NCAA Division I Second Round

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Leathernecks | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
| #4 Redbirds | 7 | 0 | 8 | 21 | 36 |

### Richmond—NCAA Division I Quarterfinal

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #12 Spiders | 10 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 39 |
| #4 Redbirds | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 27 |

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place 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 | 2 (3) | 4 (20) | 5 (6) | 4 (2) | 4 (2) | 4 (1) | 4 (1) | 3 (6) | 3 (3) | 2 (18) | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| Coaches | 2 | 5 (6) | 6 (1) | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 (2) | 3 (20) | 2 (3) | 6 | 6 | 4 | 5 |