2000 Illinois State Redbirds football team

The 2000 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Denver Johnson, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 4–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the Gateway.^[1] Illinois State was ranked No. 24 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of NCAA Division I-AA teams.^[2] The team played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

2000 Illinois State Redbirds football
Conference	Gateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 24
Record	7–4 (4–2 Gateway)
Head coach	Denver Johnson (1st season)
MVPs	Ryan Szokola Willie Watts
Home stadium	Hancock Stadium
Seasons ← 1999 2001 →

2000 Gateway Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 12 Western Illinois $^		5	–	1					9	–	3
No. 11 Youngstown State ^		4	–	2					9	–	3
No. 24 Illinois State		4	–	2					7	–	4
No. 19 Northern Iowa		3	–	3					7	–	4
Southwest Missouri State		2	–	4					5	–	6
Southern Illinois		2	–	4					3	–	8
Indiana State		1	–	5					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

In their opening game against West Virginia Tech an NCAA Division II team, the Redbirds scored 75 points, the most the team had scored in a game since 1937.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	6:30 p.m.	West Virginia Tech*	No. 5	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL		W 75–10	10,126	[3]
September 9	6:35 p.m.	at Northern Illinois*	No. 5	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		L 0–52	24,682	[4]
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at Southeast Missouri State*	No. 17	Houck Stadium Cape Girardeau, MO		L 25–28	8,125	[5]
September 30	4:00 p.m.	at No. 25 Northern Iowa	No. 23	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	Gateway TV	L 28–34	13,088	[6]
October 7	3:30 p.m.	No. 3 Youngstown State		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	Gateway TV	L 12–14	11,938	[7]
October 14	1:30 p.m.	at Indiana State		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN		W 21–0	5,287	[8]
October 21	1:00 p.m.	Prairie View A&M*		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL		W 64–0	7,841	[9]
October 28	1:00 p.m.	Southern Illinois		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL		W 27–17	13,011	[10]
November 4	1:05 p.m.	at No. 4 Western Illinois		Hanson Field Macomb, IL		W 25–18	10,147	[11]
November 11	1:00 p.m.	No. 20 Eastern Illinois		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL (rivalry)		W 44–41 2OT	8,540	[12]
November 18	1:00 p.m.	Southwest Missouri State		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL		W 40–7	6,527	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time