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2019 Illinois State

10–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

Illinois State in 2019, game by game: lost at Northern Illinois 10–24; won vs. Morehead State 42–14; won at Eastern Illinois 21–3; won vs. Northern Arizona 40–27; lost vs. North Dakota State 3–37; won at Southern Illinois 21–7; won at Western Illinois 28–14; won vs. Indiana State 24–7; lost vs. Northern Iowa 10–27; won at South Dakota State 27–18; won vs. Missouri State 17–12; lost at Youngstown State 3–21; won at Southeast Missouri State 24–6; won at Central Arkansas 24–14; lost at North Dakota State 3–9+28−34Lost 10–24 at Northern Illinois-14Northern Illino…Won 42–14 vs. Morehead State+28Morehead StateWon 21–3 at Eastern Illinois+18Eastern IllinoisWon 40–27 vs. Northern Arizona+13Northern ArizonaLost 3–37 vs. North Dakota State-34North Dakota St…Won 21–7 at Southern Illinois+14Southern Illino…Won 28–14 at Western Illinois+14Western IllinoisWon 24–7 vs. Indiana State+17Indiana StateLost 10–27 vs. Northern Iowa-17Northern IowaWon 27–18 at South Dakota State+9South Dakota St…Won 17–12 vs. Missouri State+5Missouri StateLost 3–21 at Youngstown State-18Youngstown StateWon 24–6 at Southeast Missouri State+18Southeast Misso…Won 24–14 at Central Arkansas+10Central ArkansasLost 3–9 at North Dakota State-6North Dakota St…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atNorthern IllinoisL 10–⁠2425%
Sep 7vsMorehead StateW 42–⁠1477%
Sep 14atEastern IllinoisW 21–⁠362%
Sep 21vsNorthern ArizonaW 40–⁠2769%
Oct 5vsNorth Dakota StateL 3–⁠3728%
Oct 12atSouthern IllinoisW 21–⁠754%
Oct 19atWestern IllinoisW 28–⁠1470%
Oct 26vsIndiana StateW 24–⁠775%
Nov 2vsNorthern IowaL 10–⁠2759%
Nov 9atSouth Dakota StateW 27–⁠1825%
Nov 16vsMissouri StateW 17–⁠1287%
Nov 23atYoungstown StateL 3–⁠2164%
Nov 30atSoutheast Missouri StateFCS Championship – First RoundW 24–⁠637%
Dec 7atCentral ArkansasFCS Championship – Second RoundW 24–⁠1447%
Dec 14atNorth Dakota StateFCS Championship – Quarterfinals, CFP QuarterfinalL 3–⁠915%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Dakota State 9–⁠3 in the FCS Championship – Quarterfinals, CFP Quarterfinal; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 57 on file).

Record
10–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
297–⁠240
Coach
—
Elo
1460 +100 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−15.4 No. 17 of 126 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 149
Offensive coordinator
Kurt Beathard
Defensive coordinator
Travis Niekamp
Captains
Brady Davis, Luther Kirk and J.T. Bohlken
Most valuable player
Ty DeForest and James Robinson

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Jabari Khepera WR★★★No. 1887
Dallas Culpepper DT★★★No. 2291
Matthew Wedig WDE★★★No. 2562
Pha’leak Brown RB★★No. 2722
Brannon Webb ATH★★No. 3390

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.750
Running backs22.00.779
Receivers13.00.826
Defensive line23.00.805
Linebackers12.00.740
Athletes and specialists12.00.779
Whole class82.40.783

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.

2019 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State8–⁠016–⁠0
Northern Iowa6–⁠210–⁠5
Illinois State5–⁠310–⁠5
South Dakota State5–⁠38–⁠5
Southern Illinois5–⁠37–⁠5
South Dakota4–⁠45–⁠7
Indiana State3–⁠55–⁠7
Youngstown State2–⁠66–⁠6
Missouri State1–⁠71–⁠10
Western Illinois1–⁠71–⁠11

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