Redbirds crack both polls at No. 18         

[OCT. 25, 2005]  PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Proving that its 61-35 humbling of No. 1 Southern Illinois wasn't a fluke, the Illinois State football team bounced back to silence No. 13 Northern Iowa 38-3, for its worst defeat to a I-AA team since 1983. With the back-to-back dominating efforts over highly touted teams, the Redbirds, ranked for the first time since 2003, find themselves at No. 18 in both The Sports Network and ESPN/USA Today I-AA Top 25 polls.

"I think that earning the respect of the voters is good for our kids and gives them positive reinforcement," said head coach Denver Johnson. "We have repeatedly talked about winning one game at a time and [that] each and every game stands alone. Obviously we have played ourselves into contention, but we are not talking about rankings, winning conference or making the playoffs. We are talking about winning our next game, and Western Illinois is the most important game on our schedule right now because it's our next game."

Illinois State's No. 18 ranking is its highest since 2001, when the 'Birds were No. 16 on Aug. 30. The Redbirds have flirted with the top 25 for most of the season but were surprisingly left out last week after knocking off the nation's No. 1 team at Southern Illinois. The 'Birds No. 26 ranking last week was their previous best this season.

ISU's spot in both polls marks the first ranking for the Redbirds since a No. 23 ranking on Sept. 23, 2003. The Redbirds claimed their No. 23 ranking in 2003 after a 21-14 win at No. 18 Eastern Illinois. ISU's time in the poll was short-lived, however, as the Redbirds fell 28-10 at home the following week to an unranked Florida Atlantic squad, which eventually went on to the semifinals of the NCAA I-AA playoffs that season.

The No. 18 Redbirds will attempt to move up in the rankings on Saturday, as Illinois State hosts Western Illinois at Hancock Stadium at 1:30 p.m.

[Illinois State University news release]

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