# 2014 Illinois State Redbirds football team

The 2014 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 13–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with North Dakota State. Illinois State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. After a first-round bye, the Redbirds defeated Northern Iowa in the second round, Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals, and New Hampshire in the semifinals before losing to North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I Championship Game. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 6 | 6:30 pm | Mississippi Valley State* | | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | CSNC | W 62–0 | 10,243 |
| September 13 | 12:00 pm | No. 25 Eastern Illinois* | | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL (Mid-America Classic) | CSNC | W 34–15 | 12,570 |
| September 27 | 6:30 pm | Austin Peay* | No. 23 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | RTV | W 55–6 | 8,443 |
| October 4 | 2:00 pm | No. 9 South Dakota State | No. 22 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | RTV | W 45–10 | 10,919 |
| October 11 | 2:00 pm | at No. 20 Indiana State | No. 15 | Memorial StadiumTerre Haute, IN | CSNC | W 20–18 | 7,534 |
| October 18 | 3:00 pm | at Western Illinois | No. 10 | Hanson FieldMacomb, IL | WIUtv3 | W 37–34 | 4,641 |
| October 25 | 6:00 pm | Missouri State | No. 9 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | RTV | W 21–7 | 10,164 |
| November 1 | 4:00 pm | at No. 22 Northern Iowa | No. 7 | UNI-DomeCedar Falls, IA | RTV | L 28–42 | 12,154 |
| November 8 | 1:00 pm | No. 10 Youngstown State | No. 12 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | RTV | W 35–21 | 8,271 |
| November 15 | 1:00 pm | at South Dakota | No. 8 | DakotaDomeVermillion, SD | RTV | W 45–26 | 6,712 |
| November 22 | 1:00 pm | Southern Illinois | No. 8 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | CSNC | W 44–29 | 7,295 |
| December 6 | 1:00 pm | No. 10 Northern Iowa* | No. 7 | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL (NCAA Division I Second Round) | ESPN3 | W 41–21 | 5,575 |
| December 13 | 3:00 pm | at No. 4 Eastern Washington* | No. 7 | Roos FieldCheney, WA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal) | ESPN3 | W 59–46 | 6,239 |
| December 20 | 1:00 pm | at No. 1 New Hampshire* | No. 7 | Cowell StadiumDurham, NH (NCAA Division I Semifinal) | ESPNU | W 21–18 | 9,497 |
| January 10 | 12:00 pm | vs. No. 2 North Dakota State | No. 7 | Toyota StadiumFrisco, TX (NCAA Division I Championship Game) | ESPN2 | L 27–29 | 20,918 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Ranking movements

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | Week | 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 | 13 | Final |
| Sports Network | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 22 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 2 |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 |

## Redbirds drafted

| Draft Year | Player | Position | Round | Overall | NFL Team |
| 2015 | James O'Shaughnessy | TE | 5 | 173 | Kansas City Chiefs |