2017 Illinois State Redbirds football team

The 2017 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for fifth in the MVFC. Illinois State played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

2017 Illinois State Redbirds football
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Record	6–5 (4–4 MVFC)
Head coach	Brock Spack (9th season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Dan Clark (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Billy Dicken (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Spence Nowinsky (4th season)
MVP	Dalton Keene, James Robinson
Captain	Jake Kolbe, Dalton Keene, Brannon Barry
Home stadium	Hancock Stadium

2017 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 3 South Dakota State ^		6	–	2					11	–	3
No. 19 Northern Iowa ^		6	–	2					8	–	5
No. 13 Western Illinois ^		5	–	3					8	–	4
No. 15 South Dakota ^		4	–	4					8	–	5
Illinois State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Youngstown State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Southern Illinois		2	–	6					4	–	7
Missouri State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Indiana State		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:30 p.m.	Butler*	No. 20	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN3	W 45–0	10,840
September 16	2:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois*	No. 18	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL (Mid-America Classic)	OVCDN	W 44–13	7,031
September 23	2:00 p.m.	at Missouri State	No. 14	Plaster Sports Complex Springfield, MO	ESPN3	W 34–9	7,183
September 30	6:30 p.m.	Indiana State	No. 12	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN3	W 24–13	13,391
October 7	6:00 p.m.	at Northern Arizona*	No. 11	Walkup Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	FCSP, Pluto TV	L 16–37	10,420
October 14	2:00 p.m.	at Southern Illinois	No. 17	Saluki Stadium Carbondale, IL	ESPN3	L 7–42	8,121
October 21	2:00 p.m.	No. 4 South Dakota	No. 24	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN3, NBCS CH	W 37–21	12,113
October 28	1:00 p.m.	at No. 21 Youngstown State	No. 16	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	ESPN3	W 35–0	12,723
November 4	Noon	No. 15 Western Illinois	No. 12	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN3	L 14–31	13,192
November 11	2:00 p.m.	at No. 6 South Dakota State	No. 17	Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium Brookings, SD	ESPN3	L 24–27 OT	9,458
November 18	Noon	No. 4 North Dakota State	No. 21	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN3 NBCS CH	L 7–20	7,664
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

Butler

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	0	0	0	0	0
No. 20 Redbirds	0	17	21	7	45

See also: 2017 Butler Bulldogs football team

At Eastern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 18 Redbirds	10	17	10	7	44
Panthers	0	6	7	0	13

See also: 2017 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team and Mid-America Classic

At Missouri State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Redbirds	3	3	28	0	34
Bears	6	0	0	3	9

See also: 2017 Missouri State Bears football team

Indiana State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Sycamores	0	0	13	0	13
No. 12 Redbirds	10	14	0	0	24

See also: 2017 Indiana State Sycamores football team

At Northern Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 11 Redbirds	0	6	3	7	16
Lumberjacks	0	13	14	10	37

See also: 2017 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks football team

At Southern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 17 Redbirds	0	0	7	0	7
Salukis	7	14	7	14	42

See also: 2017 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

South Dakota

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Coyotes	0	14	0	7	21
No. 24 Redbirds	14	3	7	13	37

See also: 2017 South Dakota Coyotes football team

At Youngstown State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Redbirds	14	7	7	7	35
No. 21 Penguins	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2017 Youngstown State Penguins football team

Western Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 15 Leathernecks	0	0	17	14	31
No. 12 Redbirds	7	7	0	0	14

See also: 2017 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team

At South Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 17 Redbirds	7	10	0	7	0	24
No. 6 Jackrabbits	7	10	0	7	3	27

See also: 2017 South Dakota State Jackrabbits football team

North Dakota State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Bison	0	0	13	7	20
No. 21 Redbirds	0	0	0	7	7

See also: 2017 North Dakota State Bison football team

Redbirds drafted

Draft Year	Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL Team
2018	Davontae Harris	CB	5	151	Cincinnati Bengals

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked 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	20	18	18	14	12	11	17	24	16	12	17	21	23	RV
Coaches	18	15	14	12	8–T	7	15	24	21	13	20	25	RV	—