Redbirds Soar Into Top 10 In Both National FCS Polls

[October 14, 2014]  PHILADELPHIA – Coming off a thrilling come-from-behind 20-18 win on the road against nationally-ranked Indiana State, Illinois State (5-0, 2-0 MVFC) soared into the Top 10 in both national Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) polls released Monday.

The Redbirds, one of just five remaining FCS teams still undefeated in 2014, moved up six spots to No. 9 in the FCS Coaches Poll and moved up five spots to No. 10 in The Sports Network FCS Top 25 after the tough road win against the Sycamores. The No. 9 national ranking is the highest for ISU since 2012, when the Redbirds were also ranked No. 9 in early October.

The win was the third of the season over a ranked FCS opponent for the Redbirds, who rank No. 5 in the country in scoring offense with 43.2 points per game, and No. 2 in FCS football in scoring defense, allowing just 9.8 points per game.

Illinois State made the biggest jump in the FCS Coaches Poll, moving up six spots after the 20-18 defeat of the then No. 22-ranked Sycamores, who dropped one spot in this week’s poll to No. 23. Fellow Missouri Valley Football Conference member North Dakota State (6-0, 2-0 MVFC) was the unanimous No. 1 pick this week, receiving all 26 first-place votes for a total of 650 points. South Dakota State moved up to No. 16, following a 32-28 win at Missouri State, and Southern Illinois (No.17) and Youngstown State (No. 19) both dropped after losses last weekend. Northern Iowa rounds out the MVFC representatives in the FCS Coaches Poll at No. 21.

The Redbirds also made the biggest move of the week in The Sports Network FCS Top 25, moving up to No. 10 from their No. 15 spot in last week’s poll. North Dakota State also took the top spot in the TSN poll, after the Bison collected 156 of the 160 first-place votes in this week's Top 25. No. 14 Southern Illinois (5-2), No. 18 South Dakota State (4-2), No. 20 Northern Iowa (3-3), No. 21 Youngstown State (4-2) and No. 22 Indiana State (4-2) rounded out the league’s representatives.

ISU returns to action Saturday, Oct. 18, when the Redbirds travel to Macomb, Illinois, for an in-state matchup against Western Illinois (3-4, 1-2 MVFC). Kickoff at Hanson Field is scheduled for 3 p.m.

[Michael Williams, Illinois State University]GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics, tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.