Dusty Burk passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns in his first start of the year and the Redbird defense limited the Sycamores to 189 yards of total offense as Illinois State snapped a four-game losing streak with a convincing 21-0 victory over Indiana State Saturday in Terre Haute.
Making his first start since guiding the Redbirds (2-4, 1-2) to the I-AA semifinals in 1999, Burk tossed three touchdown passes to lead Illinois State to its first victory since a 75-10 thrashing of West Virginia Tech in the season-opener on August 31.
Indiana State (0-7, 0-3) dropped its ninth-straight game overall and fourth-straight conference game dating back to last season.
Burk started the day slowly, completing only two of his first six passes before orchestrating an eight-play 93-yard scoring drive highlighted by a 31-yard touchdown pass to Wayne Riley with 20 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Birds jumped on the board again early in the second half when Burk connected with Vito Golson on a 39-yard scoring strike. Golson, also making his first start of the year, finished the game with five receptions for 109 yards.
Jon Laurenti, a favorite target of Burk last season, was the recipient of the sophomore quarterbacks third touchdown pass of the game when the two hooked up on a 29-yard strike to seal the game in the fourth quarter.
Defense has carried the Birds for much of the season and today was no exception as the Birds held the Sycamores to only 189 yards of total offense. The injury-depleted Redbird secondary, minus starters Sam Young, Armando Andrade and Lee Lafayette, rose to the occasion and limited the Sycamores to only 11 yards in the air.
Alfred Corbin picked off two passes from Sycamore quarterback Chris Lewis to help lead the Birds to their first shutout since a 29-0 victory over Southeast Missouri State in 1996. The victory also marked the Birds first shutout on the road since a 17-0 victory at Western Illinois in 1994.
Burk finished the day 16-of-27 for 310 yards and three touchdowns and Willie Watts led ISU on the ground with 61 yards on 12 carries.
The Birds return to action on October 21, when they host Prairie View A&M.
