NORMAL, Ill. - A big hit by senior E.J. Jones in the third quarter forced a fumble and turned the game in Illinois State's favor as the Redbirds defeated No. 14 North Dakota State, 34-24. The Redbirds improved to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in front of 10,131 fans on Homecoming.
Jones' forced fumble wasn't the only big play he made on defense. He also intercepted two passes for the third time in his career. Jones moved into fifth place on ISU's career interceptions list with 11.
Illinois State rushed for 287 yards in the game, the second highest total of the season. The Redbirds rushed for 295 last week at Indiana State. Junior Ashton Leggett and sophomore Erik Smith rushed for 148 and 115 yards, respectively. They were the first Redbird duo to rush for over 100 yards in the same game since 2008 when Geno Blow ran for 119 and Walter Mendenhall ran for 103 against Indiana State. Leggett scored two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, and caught three passes for a team-high 61 yards.
Sophomore Matt Brown completed 17-of-29 passes for 186 yards and three touchdowns. He connected with Leggett, freshman Matt Younger and sophomore Tyrone Walker for scores. Senior Steven Fetzer made both of his field goal attempts, connecting from 23 yards and 41 yards.
Illinois State got on the board first after an interception midway through the first quarter by Jones led to a 25-yard touchdown pass from Brown to Walker. North Dakota State answered with a 39-yard field goal by Ryan Jastram with 3:35 left in the first quarter to cut into the Redbird lead, 7-3. The Bison took a 10-7 lead with 2:08 left in the first quarter after a 31-yard fumble return set them up for a 7-yard touchdown run by D.J. McNorton.
Four minutes into the second quarter, Fetzer kicked a 23-yard field goal to tie the game, 10-10. NDSU regained the lead, 17-10, after a 48-yard touchdown run by Jose Mohler with 1:32 left in the first half.
A 42-yard kickoff return by Jones gave the Redbirds good field position on their own 41-yard line, but the drive failed to produce any points. The Bison went into halftime still leading, 17-10.
Illinois State's first drive of the second half proved successful as Brown threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Matt Younger to tie the game, 17-17. On the ensuing drive, NDSU was marching down the field when Jones hit Mohler at the five yard line and forced a fumble. Senior Bo Flowers recovered the fumble on the Illinois State 4-yard line, swinging the momentum back to the Redbirds. On the next play, Smith broke through the right side for a 94-yard run and then Leggett ended the drive with a 1-yard touchdown rush to give the Redbirds their second lead of the game, 24-17, with 2:04 left in the third quarter.
Fetzer split the upright once again with a 31-yard field goal with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter to extend the Redbird lead to 27-17. Mohler found Warren Holloway in the end zone with a 26-yard touchdown pass to narrow the Redbird lead to 27-24. The Redbirds answered again with a 49-yard screen pass from Brown to Leggett down the right side for a touchdown. With 5:02 left in the fourth quarter, ISU led 34-24. Leggett's second touchdown of the day made this his second multiple touchdown game of the year.
Jones ended the Bisons' final drive with his second interception of the game with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Illinois State will travel to Northern Iowa Saturday October 23. The game is scheduled to begin at 4:05 p.m.
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