NORMAL, Ill. – Following its 41-13 home opening win over Morehead State on Saturday to improve to 1-1 on the season, Illinois State jumped three spots to No. 4 in this week's AFCA FCS Coaches Poll, presented by Hudl. The Redbirds were one of seven Missouri Valley Football Conference teams ranked in this week's poll.
The Top 5 ranking is the highest for the Redbirds since 2015, when the Birds were ranked as high as No. 2 in the country. ISU was also ranked in this week's Stats Perform FCS Top 25 Poll, coming in at No. 7 for the second-straight week.
North Dakota State remains the No. 1 team in the Coaches Poll with 24 first-place votes, followed by South Dakota State in second and the Redbirds in fourth. Southern Illinois (No. 14), North Dakota (No. 17), South Dakota (No. 20) and Youngstown State (No. 25) round out this week's MVFC representatives in the poll.
Illinois State (1-1) returns to action on Saturday, when the Redbirds travel to Charleston, Illinois, to take on longtime in-state rival Eastern Illinois (1-1) in the 113th meeting of the Mid-America Classic. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. at O'Brien Field.
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