CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Southern Illinois

4–⁠7 (2–⁠6 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

Southern Illinois in 2017, game by game: won vs. Mississippi Valley State 55–3; won vs. Southeast Missouri State 35–17; lost at Memphis 31–44; lost vs. Northern Iowa 17–24; lost at South Dakota State 14–49; won vs. Illinois State 42–7; won at Indiana State 45–24; lost at South Dakota 0–42; lost vs. Missouri State 28–36; lost vs. Youngstown State 20–28; lost at Western Illinois 14–28+52−42Won 55–3 vs. Mississippi Valley State+52Mississippi Val…Won 35–17 vs. Southeast Missouri State+18Southeast Misso…Lost 31–44 at Memphis-13MemphisLost 17–24 vs. Northern Iowa-7Northern IowaLost 14–49 at South Dakota State-35South Dakota St…Won 42–7 vs. Illinois State+35Illinois StateWon 45–24 at Indiana State+21Indiana StateLost 0–42 at South Dakota-42South DakotaLost 28–36 vs. Missouri State-8Missouri StateLost 20–28 vs. Youngstown State-8Youngstown StateLost 14–28 at Western Illinois-14Western Illinois
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9vsMississippi Valley StateW 55–⁠378%
Sep 16vsSoutheast Missouri StateW 35–⁠1761%
Sep 23atMemphisL 31–⁠4415%
Sep 30vsNorthern IowaL 17–⁠2452%
Oct 7atSouth Dakota StateL 14–⁠4923%
Oct 14vsIllinois StateW 42–⁠739%
Oct 21atIndiana StateW 45–⁠2458%
Oct 28atSouth DakotaL 0–⁠4233%
Nov 4vsMissouri StateL 28–⁠3673%
Nov 11vsYoungstown StateL 20–⁠2842%
Nov 18atWestern IllinoisL 14–⁠2821%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Western Illinois 28–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 62 on file).

Record
4–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 8th in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
301–⁠302
Coach
—
Elo
1269 −21 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−15.6 No. 27 of 124 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 137
Offensive coordinator
John Van Dam
Defensive coordinator
Kraig Paulson

Leaders

Passing yardsSam Straub QB290 yds
Passing touchdownsSam Straub QB4 TD
Rushing yardsDaquan Isom RB49 yds
Receiving yardsConnor Iwema WR118 yds
Receiving touchdownsDarrell James WR2 TD
TacklesRyan Neal S10 tkl

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Sam Skinner WDE★★★No. 1304
Brandon George DUAL★★★No. 1582
Calvin Francis OC★★★No. 1741
Emare Hogan WR★★No. 2227
Reece Goddard OLB★★No. 2474

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.822
Receivers22.00.781
Offensive line13.00.816
Defensive line22.50.800
Linebackers32.00.773
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class102.30.789

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.

2017 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State7–⁠114–⁠1
South Dakota State7–⁠211–⁠3
Northern Iowa6–⁠38–⁠5
Western Illinois5–⁠38–⁠4
South Dakota4–⁠48–⁠5
Illinois State4–⁠46–⁠5
Youngstown State4–⁠46–⁠5
Southern Illinois2–⁠64–⁠7
Missouri State2–⁠63–⁠8
Indiana State0–⁠80–⁠11

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