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2024 Illinois State

10–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

Illinois State in 2024, game by game: lost at No. 25 Iowa 0–40; won at North Alabama 24–17; won vs. Western Illinois 51–34; won vs. Eastern Illinois 31–7; lost vs. North Dakota State 10–42; won at Southern Illinois 45–10; lost vs. Missouri State 7–41; won at Murray State 40–32; won vs. Youngstown State 23–16; won at Northern Iowa 31–9; won at Indiana State 31–19; won vs. North Dakota 35–13; won at Southeast Missouri State 35–27; lost at UC Davis 10–42+35−40Lost 0–40 at No. 25 Iowa-40No. 25 IowaWon 24–17 at North Alabama+7North AlabamaWon 51–34 vs. Western Illinois+17Western IllinoisWon 31–7 vs. Eastern Illinois+24Eastern IllinoisLost 10–42 vs. North Dakota State-32North Dakota St…Won 45–10 at Southern Illinois+35Southern Illino…Lost 7–41 vs. Missouri State-34Missouri StateWon 40–32 at Murray State+8Murray StateWon 23–16 vs. Youngstown State+7Youngstown StateWon 31–9 at Northern Iowa+22Northern IowaWon 31–19 at Indiana State+12Indiana StateWon 35–13 vs. North Dakota+22North DakotaWon 35–27 at Southeast Missouri State+8Southeast Misso…Lost 10–42 at UC Davis-32UC Davis
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31at25IowaL 0–⁠4015%
Sep 7atNorth AlabamaW 24–⁠1762%
Sep 14vsWestern IllinoisW 51–⁠3485%
Sep 21vsEastern IllinoisW 31–⁠766%
Sep 28vsNorth Dakota StateL 10–⁠4241%
Oct 5atSouthern IllinoisW 45–⁠1043%
Oct 12vsMissouri StateL 7–⁠4162%
Oct 19atMurray StateW 40–⁠3267%
Nov 2vsYoungstown StateW 23–⁠1663%
Nov 9atNorthern IowaW 31–⁠957%
Nov 16atIndiana StateW 31–⁠1969%
Nov 23vsNorth DakotaW 35–⁠1367%
Nov 30atSoutheast Missouri StateFCS Championship – First RoundW 35–⁠2747%
Dec 7atUC DavisFCS Championship – Second RoundL 10–⁠4238%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UC Davis 42–⁠10 in the FCS Championship – Second Round; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 57 on file).

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 4th in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
373–⁠349
Coach
—
Elo
1424 +89 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−19.4 No. 18 of 129 in FCS
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Tony Petersen
Defensive coordinator
Travis Niekamp

Leaders

Passing yardsTommy Rittenhouse QB2,819 yds
Passing touchdownsTommy Rittenhouse QB17 TD
Rushing yardsWenkers Wright RB1,093 yds
Rushing touchdownsWenkers Wright RB11 TD
Receiving yardsDaniel Sobkowicz WR1,091 yds
Receiving touchdownsDaniel Sobkowicz WR9 TD
TacklesKeondre Jackson DB11 tkl
InterceptionsTye Niekamp LB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Harlen Summers OL★★★No. 2492
Ben Cooper LB★★★No. 2850
Quinten Johnson WR★★No. 3084
Tono Cornell DL★★No. 3084
C.J. Richard Jr. S

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

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers12.00.780
Offensive line13.00.820
Defensive line12.00.780
Linebackers13.00.800
Whole class42.50.795

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.

Transfers in 4

The 2024 portal
J.J. Guedet OT★★★from Minnesota
Jake Rubley QB★★★from Kansas State
Brandon Smith OL★★from Western Michigan
Xavier Loyd WRfrom Kansas State

Transfers out 1

Joshua Ficklin RBno new school on file

2024 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State7–⁠114–⁠2
South Dakota State7–⁠112–⁠3
South Dakota7–⁠111–⁠3–⁠1
Illinois State6–⁠210–⁠4
Missouri State6–⁠28–⁠4
Youngstown State3–⁠54–⁠8
Indiana State3–⁠54–⁠8
North Dakota2–⁠65–⁠7
Southern Illinois2–⁠64–⁠8
Northern Iowa1–⁠73–⁠9
Murray State0–⁠81–⁠11

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