2021 Illinois State
4–7 (2–6 Missouri Valley Football Conference). Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Butler 49–7Sep 4
By 42 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Western Michigan 0–28Sep 11
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs Butler | W 49–7 | 81% |
| Sep 11 | at Western Michigan | L 0–28 | 27% |
| Sep 18 | at Eastern Illinois | W 31–24 | 66% |
| Sep 25 | at Southern Illinois | L 17–35 | 33% |
| Oct 2 | vs Missouri State | L 20–41 | 60% |
| Oct 16 | vs North Dakota State | L 0–20 | 24% |
| Oct 23 | at South Dakota | W 20–14 | 27% |
| Oct 30 | at Western Illinois | L 31–38 | 63% |
| Nov 6 | vs Northern Iowa | W 17–10 | 37% |
| Nov 13 | at North Dakota | L 7–14 | 36% |
| Nov 20 | vs Indiana State | L 10–15 | 65% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Indiana State 15–10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
In program history: The 33rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 57 on file).
- Record
- 4–7
- Conference
- 2–6 tied for 9th in Missouri Valley Football Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 202–246
- Coach
- —
- Elo
- 1272 −68 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- −17.2 No. 35 of 128 in FCS
- Recruiting class
- —
- Offensive coordinators
- C.J. Irvin and Ghaali Muhammad-Lankford
- Defensive coordinator
- Travis Niekamp
- Captains
- Bryce Jefferson, Zeke Vandenburgh and J.T. Bohlken
- Most valuable player
- Cole Mueller and Jacob Powell
Transfers in 3
The 2021 portal Micah Jones WR | ★★★★ | from  Notre Dame |
 Noah Hickcox DT | ★★★ | from  Minnesota |
 Jarious Abercrombie OT | from  Tennessee |
Transfers out 2
 Charles Woods CB | ★★★ | to  SMU |
| John Ridgeway DL | ★★★ | to  Arkansas |
2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State | 7–1 | 14–1 | |
| Missouri State | 6–2 | 8–4 | |
 South Dakota State | 5–3 | 11–4 | |
| Southern Illinois | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
| South Dakota | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
| Northern Iowa | 4–4 | 6–6 | |
| Indiana State | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| North Dakota | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| Illinois State | 2–6 | 4–7 | |
 Youngstown State | 2–6 | 3–7 | |
| Western Illinois | 2–6 | 2–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.