Illinois State took advantage of a rash of South Dakota State miscues in the first quarter, blitzing the Jackrabbits with a 28-point opening stanza en route to a 35-21 victory Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
The Redbirds, ranked 13th in the Football Championship Subdivision coaches’ poll and 14th in the Stats Perform media poll, ran their winning streak to four games to improve to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. SDSU dropped its fourth consecutive game to fall to 7-4 overall and 3-4 in league play.
Illinois State scored touchdowns on each of its first three possessions, including putting together an eight-play, 62-yard scoring drive after receiving the opening kickoff. The drive was aided by a Jackrabbit personal foul penalty before Daniel Sobkowicz caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rittenhouse a minute and 55 seconds into the contest.
The Redbird lead quickly grew to 14-0 a minute later when SDSU quarterback Jack Henry’s attempt of a screen pass deep in his own territory was picked off at the 5-yard line by Patricks Bauer and returned for a touchdown.
Things went from bad to worse for the Jackrabbits when the ensuing kickoff was mishandled and Illinois State recovered at the SDSU 28. Five plays later, Rittenhouse connected on a 2-yard touchdown pass to Sobkowicz giving the Redbirds a 21-0 lead less than five minutes into the game.
Another unforced mistake on special teams set up Illinois State for its fourth touchdown of the opening quarter. A snap back to SDSU punter Max Pelham was fumbled, with the Redbirds taking over at the Jackrabbit 25. Rittenhouse then finished off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run.
The Redbirds upped their lead to 35-0 with 10:15 remaining in the first half when Sobkowicz became Illinois State’s all-time leader in receiving touchdowns with his third of the game and 33rd of his career. This one, on a slant route, covered nine yards and completed a nine-play, 63-yard drive.
SDSU didn’t pick up a first down until the first play of the game’s next drive on a 27-yard pass from Henry to tight end Coleman Kuntz. That play helped spark a Jackrabbit offense that dominated the statistical categories the remainder of the game as Henry finished off a 10-play, 75 drive with a 14-yard touchdown run.
The Jackrabbits cut the margin to 35-13 with their longest drive of the season in a two-minute situation to close out the first half. SDSU converted twice on fourth-down plays in covering 96 yards in 15 plays. First, Henry found Jack Smith for a 15-yard pass play on fourth-and-6 before throwing a 4-yard touchdown pass to Brayden Delahoyde on fourth-and-goal. The two-point attempt failed.
In the third quarter, the SDSU defense limited Illinois State to one first down and the Jackrabbit offense bridged a 16-play, 80-yard drive between the final two quarters before Josiah Johnson scored from two yards out on the second play of the fourth quarter. The Jackrabbits converted on the two-point play this time on a pass play from Henry to tight end Greyton Gannon.
The SDSU defense continued to rise to the occasion in the fourth quarter and the Jackrabbit offense continued to put pressure on Illinois State. However, each of the next three SDSU drives ended by turning the ball over on downs in Redbird territory.
Rittenhouse ended the afternoon 17-of-32 passing for 141 yards, with Sobkowicz recording five catches for 55 yards, including his three touchdowns. Victor Dawson paced the Redbirds’ rushing attack with 98 yards on 20 carries.
Henry completed 32-of-51 passes for 254 yards and also was the Jackrabbits’ leading rusher with 41 yards on 18 carries. SDSU finished with a 320-275 advantage in total offense.
Alex Bullock caught nine passes for 68 yards, sharing game-high honors with Gannon, who recorded 63 yards on a career-best nine receptions.
Tye Niekamp led all players with 16 tackles for Illinois State, followed by Doreon Dubose with 11 tackles. Dexter Niekamp notched two of the Redbirds’ five sacks.
For SDSU, linebackers Joe Ollman and Bryce Johnson each posted career highs with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. Fellow linebacker Kytan Fyfe also registered a career-best eight stops.
NOTES
- South Dakota State leads the all-time series, 7-6
- The Jackrabbits have lost four games in a row for the first time since 2011
- SDSU entered the game ranked 15th in the coaches’ poll and 16th by the media
- Bullock has five or more receptions in eight of the team’s 11 games this season as he upped his season total to a team-best 61
- Both of Delahoyde’s receptions this season have resulted in touchdowns
- Henry’s 32 completions were the most in a game by a Jackrabbit since Taryn Christion completed 33 passes against Illinois State in 2016
- The Jackrabbits had been 0-for their last 12 on fourth-down plays prior to converting on three consecutive attempts on their two touchdown drives in the second quarter
- SDSU finished the game 6-for-10 on fourth-down attempts
- Attendance was 11,407
Story Provided by GoJacks.com
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