2012 Illinois State Redbirds football team

2012 Illinois State Redbirds football
NCAA Division I Quarterfinal, L 35–51 vs. Eastern Washington
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 8
FCS Coaches	No. 9
Record	9–4 (5–3 MVFC)
Head coach	Brock Spack (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Luke Huard (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Brock Spack (1st season)
MVP	Matt Brown, Colton Underwood
Captain	Matt Brown, Nate Palmer
Home stadium	Hancock Stadium

2012 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 North Dakota State $^		7	–	1					14	–	1
No. 14 South Dakota State ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 8 Illinois State ^		5	–	3					9	–	4
Indiana State		5	–	3					7	–	4
Southern Illinois		5	–	3					6	–	5
Youngstown State		4	–	4					7	–	4
Northern Iowa		4	–	4					5	–	6
Missouri State		3	–	5					3	–	8
Western Illinois		1	–	7					3	–	8
South Dakota		0	–	8					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2012 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Brock Spack, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the MVFC. Illinois State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs. After a first-round bye, the Redbirds defeated Appalachian State in the second round before falling to Eastern Washington in the quarterfinals. The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

Illinois State averaged 6,511 fans per home game in 2012 while the East Side of Hancock Stadium was being renovated. Two games were sold out, against Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	12:00 pm	Dayton*	No. 19	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL		W 56–14	4,840
September 8	1:00 pm	at Eastern Michigan*	No. 18	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	CSNC	W 31–14	7,654
September 15	1:00 pm	Eastern Illinois*	No. 15	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL (Mid-America Classic)		W 54–51 ^2OT	7,700
September 22	3:00 pm	at Western Illinois	No. 15	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	CSNC	W 23–3	16,033
September 29	2:00 pm	at South Dakota	No. 13	DakotaDome Vermillion, SD		W 34–31	7,863
October 6	1:00 pm	Southern Illinois	No. 9	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	CSNC	L 0–17	8,000
October 13	1:00 pm	No. 8 Youngstown State	No. 14	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	CSNC	W 35–28	5,557
October 20	1:00 pm	Missouri State	No. 11	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL		L 17–24	6,180
October 27	4:00 pm	at Northern Iowa	No. 17	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	CSNC	W 33–21	9,946
November 3	1:00 pm	at No. 14 Indiana State	No. 17	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	CSNC	W 17–10	6,008
November 17	1:00 pm	No. 1 North Dakota State	No. 11	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	ESPN3	L 20–38	6,793	[1]
December 1	1:00 pm	at No. 7 Appalachian State*	No. 16	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	W 38–37 ^OT	16,719
December 8	5:00 pm	at No. 4 Eastern Washington*	No. 16	Roos Field Cheney, WA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN3	L 35–51	7,512
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

[2][3]

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
Sports Network	19	18	15	15	13	9	14	11	17	17	15	11	16	8
Coaches	20	19	17	15	12	11	16	13	17	15	15	11	15	9

Players drafted in the NFL

Draft year	Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
2013	Nate Palmer	LB	6	193	Green Bay Packers

References

1. "Bisons' 4th-quarter surge sinks Redbirds". The Pantagraph. November 28, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Illinois State Redbirds Schedule 2012". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
3. "2012 Football Schedule". Illinois State University. Retrieved November 29, 2022.