2005 Illinois State Redbirds football team

The 2005 Illinois State Redbirds football team represented Illinois State University as a member of the Gateway Football Conference during the 2005 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Denver Johnson, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 4–3 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the Gateway.^[1] The team was ranked No. 22 in The Sports Network's postseason NCAA Division I-AA rankings.^[2] Illinois State played home games at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Illinois.

2005 Illinois State Redbirds football
Conference	Gateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 22
Record	7–4 (4–3 Gateway)
Head coach	Denver Johnson (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Justin Fuente (2nd season)
MVPs	Brent Hawkins Laurent Robinson
Captain	Game captains
Home stadium	Hancock Stadium
Seasons ← 2004 2006 →

2005 Gateway Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Northern Iowa +^		5	–	2					11	–	4
No. 7 Southern Illinois +^		5	–	2					9	–	4
No. 14 Youngstown State +		5	–	2					8	–	3
No. 22 Illinois State		4	–	3					7	–	4
Western Kentucky		4	–	3					6	–	5
Western Illinois		3	–	4					5	–	6
Missouri State		2	–	5					4	–	6
Indiana State		0	–	7					0	–	11
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	6:00 p.m.	at Iowa State*		Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA	L 21–32	44,058	[3]
September 10	6:30 p.m.	Drake*		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 56–19	8,188	[4]
September 17	6:00 p.m.	at Eastern Illinois*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL (rivalry)	W 27–6	6,785	[5]
September 24	6:30 p.m.	Murray State*		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 42–0	7,233	[6]
October 1	6:00 p.m.	at Youngstown State		Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH	L 20–17	16,809	[7]
October 8	2:30 p.m.	No. 3 Western Kentucky		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 34–37 OT	10,416	[8]
October 15	6:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Southern Illinois		McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 61–35	11,381	[9]
October 22	1:30 p.m.	No. 13 Northern Iowa		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 38–3	12,626	[10]
October 29	1:30 p.m.	Western Illinois	No. 18	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	L 17–31	9,007	[11]
November 5	1:00 p.m.	at Missouri State		Plaster Sports Complex Springfield, MO	W 48–23	7,155	[12]
November 12	1:30 p.m.	Indiana State		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL	W 70–28	7,034	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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