CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Illinois State

13–⁠2 (8–⁠1 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

Illinois State in 2014, game by game: won vs. Mississippi Valley State 62–0; won vs. Eastern Illinois 34–15; won vs. Austin Peay 55–6; won vs. South Dakota State 45–10; won at Indiana State 20–18; won at Western Illinois 37–34; won vs. Missouri State 21–7; lost at Northern Iowa 28–42; won vs. Youngstown State 35–21; won at South Dakota 45–26; won vs. Southern Illinois 44–29; won vs. Northern Iowa 41–21; won at Eastern Washington 59–46; won at New Hampshire 21–18; lost vs. North Dakota State 27–29+62−14Won 62–0 vs. Mississippi Valley State+62Mississippi Val…Won 34–15 vs. Eastern Illinois+19Eastern IllinoisWon 55–6 vs. Austin Peay+49Austin PeayWon 45–10 vs. South Dakota State+35South Dakota St…Won 20–18 at Indiana State+2Indiana StateWon 37–34 at Western Illinois+3Western IllinoisWon 21–7 vs. Missouri State+14Missouri StateLost 28–42 at Northern Iowa-14Northern IowaWon 35–21 vs. Youngstown State+14Youngstown StateWon 45–26 at South Dakota+19South DakotaWon 44–29 vs. Southern Illinois+15Southern Illino…Won 41–21 vs. Northern Iowa+20Northern IowaWon 59–46 at Eastern Washington+13Eastern Washing…Won 21–18 at New Hampshire+3New HampshireLost 27–29 vs. North Dakota State-2North Dakota St…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsMississippi Valley StateW 62–⁠075%
Sep 13vsEastern IllinoisW 34–⁠1562%
Sep 27vsAustin PeayW 55–⁠683%
Oct 4vsSouth Dakota StateW 45–⁠1046%
Oct 11atIndiana StateW 20–⁠1856%
Oct 18atWestern IllinoisW 37–⁠3465%
Oct 25vsMissouri StateW 21–⁠770%
Nov 1atNorthern IowaL 28–⁠4250%
Nov 8vsYoungstown StateW 35–⁠2157%
Nov 15atSouth DakotaW 45–⁠2678%
Nov 22vsSouthern IllinoisW 44–⁠2973%
Dec 6vsNorthern IowaW 41–⁠2151%
Dec 13atEastern WashingtonW 59–⁠4637%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffatNew HampshireW 21–⁠1837%
Jan 10Bowls & playoffvsNorth Dakota StateL 27–⁠2937%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Dakota State 29–⁠27; unranked in the final AP poll; Missouri Valley Football Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 57 on file).

Missouri Valley Football Conference champions8–⁠1 in the conference, shared with North Dakota State

Record
13–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠1 shared first in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
574–⁠322
Coach
—
Elo
1555 +221 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−2.6 No. 3 of 124 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 130
Offensive coordinator
Kurt Beathard
Defensive coordinator
Spence Nowinsky
Captains
Chris Highland, Dontae McCoy and Marshaun Coprich
Most valuable player
Tre Roberson and Mike Banks

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Dequone Shaw WDE★★★No. 1325
George Moreira RB★★★No. 1339
David Kornack TE★★★No. 1642
Matt Swaine WDE★★No. 2648
Christian Gibbs WR★★No. 2648

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.50.779
Receivers32.30.781
Defensive line22.50.797
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs12.00.767
Whole class92.30.781

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2015

The 2015 draft
Rd 5James O’Shaughnessy TEKansas City Chiefs

2014 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State8–⁠115–⁠1
Illinois State8–⁠113–⁠2
Northern Iowa6–⁠39–⁠5
South Dakota State5–⁠49–⁠5
Youngstown State4–⁠47–⁠5
Indiana State4–⁠48–⁠6
Southern Illinois3–⁠56–⁠6
Western Illinois3–⁠55–⁠7
Missouri State1–⁠74–⁠8
South Dakota0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.