Idle Redbirds climb FCS rankings

Posted on September 12, 2017
Hancock Stadium
Illinois State is ranked No. 14 in this week’s FCS Coaches Poll. (WJBC file photo)

By ISU Sports Information

NORMAL – Despite being idle during the second week of the college football season, the Illinois State football team still moved up a spot in the NCAA FCS Coaches Poll and remained steady in the STATS FCS Top 25 Poll when the newest rankings were released Monday.

The Redbirds moved up one spot to No. 14 in the FCS Coaches Poll and remained at No. 18 in the STATS FCS poll heading into week three and a matchup against in-state rival Eastern Illinois in Charleston this Saturday.

For the second time in league history, three MVFC teams are ranked in the Top 5 in a weekly top-25 poll, as No. 2 North Dakota State, No. 4 South Dakota State and No. 5 Youngstown State represent the league in the FCS Coaches poll. Overall, seven MVFC teams were ranked, marking the 12th time that’s happened in league history.

No. 14 Illinois State, No. 18 Northern Iowa, No. 22 Western Illinois and No. 23 South Dakota rounded out the Valley Football representatives in the FCS Coaches Poll.

The addition of South Dakota, which beat FBS foe Bowling Green 35-27 on Saturday, also gave the MVFC a poll-high seven teams in the STATS FCS weekly ranking. That’s three more than the next-closest conference, CAA Football, led by No. 1 James Madison, and the Southern Conference.

Four of the MVFC teams, No. 2 North Dakota State, No. 4 South Dakota State, No. 20 Western Illinois and No. 21 Northern Iowa, won games in the Big Sky/MVFC Challenge Series last week. No. 6 Youngstown State, last year’s national runner-up, shut out Robert Morris on Saturday while the Redbirds had an open week.

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