Rashad Rochelle scored all three Indiana State touchdowns on a kickoff return and two on pass plays to lead the Sycamores to a 24-12 upset of South Dakota State Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
Indiana State improved to 3-6 overall and picked up its first Missouri Valley Football Conference win of the season after four defeats. The Jackrabbits, who entered the game tied for fourth in the Stats Perform media rankings and fifth in the American Football Coaches Association poll, dropped their second game in a row to fall to 7-2 overall and 3-2 in league play.
SDSU took the opening kickoff and marched 50 yards on nine plays before tallying the first points of the contest on a 44-yard field goal by Eli Stader.
Rochelle quickly turned the tide in the Sycamores’ favor as he faked a handoff on the ensuing kickoff before cutting up the left hash for a 95-yard touchdown.
The Sycamores added to their lead after forcing the first of three SDSU turnovers on the day. The Jackrabbits successfully executed a fake punt near midfield as punter Max Pelham lofted a pass downfield to Koby Bretz for a 28-yard gain, but Bretz was stripped of the football by Nic Yatsko, with Yatsko recovering at the INS 29. A combination of short passes and effective running by quarterback Keegan Patterson set up a 46-yard field goal by Sebastian Lopez in the first minute of the second quarter.
Stader answered with a 46-yard field goal of his own on the next Jackrabbit drive to pull SDSU within 10-6.
After forcing the Jackrabbits to turn the ball over on downs on their first possession of the second half, Indiana State pushed its lead to 17-6 with its longest scoring drive of the day. Patterson completed five of his pass attempts on the nine-play, 64-yard drive, the last of which to Rochelle covered 14 yards for a touchdown.
SDSU again made it a one-score game at the 8:36 mark of the fourth quarter with a 10-play, 81-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Luke Marble, who was again filling in for an injured Chase Mason, connected with Alex Bullock for a 26-yard gain on the first play of the drive, then hooked up again with Bullock on a 27-yard touchdown pass in the right corner of the end zone. The two-point attempt failed.
The Jackrabbit defense came up with a quick three-and-out to give the offense the ball back with just under eighth minutes remaining. After picking up a pair of first downs to enter INS territory, the SDSU drive again stalled and the Jackrabbits failed to convert on a fourth-down play for the fourth time in the contest.
Indiana State then came up with the dagger as Rochelle got open over the middle for a 57-yard touchdown pass from Patterson. Rochelle ended the afternoon with 179 all-purpose yards by way of his 95-yard kickoff return and 84 receiving yards on four catches.
Keshon Singleton added five catches for 40 yards for the Sycamores, while Patterson completed 15-of-25 passes for 188 yards and tallied a team-best 34 rushing yards on six attempts.
SDSU lost despite holding a 441-228 advantage in total offense and a season-best 41 minutes and 12 seconds in time of possession. Marble completed 17-of-29 passes for 181 yards, with Jack Henry finishing the game by connecting on 6-of-12 passes for 70 yards. Both quarterbacks were intercepted once as SDSU turned the ball over a season-high three times and went 0-for-5 on fourth-down attempts.
Josiah Johnson led the Jackrabbits in the rushing department with 75 yards on 14 carries. Fellow true freshman James Basinger gained 57 yards on 14 attempts.
Bullock led all receivers with seven catches for 107 yards.
Kimal Clark led all players with 15 tackles for Indiana State. Yatsko contributed 14 tackles, including two for loss.
For SDSU, Isaiah Johnson registered a team-high seven tackles, followed by six stops from Dontay Johnson.
UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits go back on the road Nov. 8 for the Interstate Series matchup at South Dakota. Kickoff before a national television audience on ESPN is set for 3 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.
NOTES
- SDSU leads the all-time series, 10-3, and had won the previous eight meetings
- The Jackrabbits lost back-to-back games for the first time since late in the 2019 season and dropped consecutive home games for the first time since 2021
- SDSU did not force a turnover for the first time this season
- Bullock turned in his second 100-yard receiving performance of the season and now has 49 catches for 634 yards and three touchdowns
- Jack Smith racked up 136 all-purpose yards with eight receiving yards on one catch and 128 yards on four kickoff returns, including a 50-yarder in the fourth quarter
- The Jackrabbits allowed a kickoff return for touchdown for the first time since a 2017 game against Illinois State
- Stader’s longest field goal of the season prior to Saturday was 36 yards
- Indiana State logged 11 tackles for loss, including five sacks, and broke up eight passes
- Attendance was 15,842
Story Provided by GoJacks.com
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