IOWA CITY, Iowa – On a hot and steamy day in Iowa City, the Illinois State football team fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes, 31-14, in the 2015 season opener at Kinnick Stadium.
The Hawkeyes (1-0) took control of the game early with a 13-play, 81-yard drive which ended with a six-yard rushing touchdown by C.J. Beathard to take a 7-0 lead. Following a pooch punt by Illinois State (0-1) quarterback Tre Roberson pinned the Hawkeyes at their own one yard line, they put their foot down with a 99-yard drive culminating in a five-yard plunge from running back Jordan Canzeri to increase the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter.
At the end of the second half, a 51-yard catch-and-run by Canzeri on a screen pass set the Hawkeyes up for a 40-yard field goal from Marshall Koehn, which gave the Hawkeyes a 17-0 lead at the half. Iowa added another score in the third quarter and one in the fourth to eventually take a 31-0 lead deep into the fourth quarter of play.
The Redbirds finished the game on a high note, with redshirt freshman quarterback Jake Kolbe finishing 11-of-15 for 147 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Kolbe connected with Christian Gibbs on a 52-yard post route to set up a one-yard play action pass from the goal line for a touchdown to Brady Tibbits to cut the lead to 31-7. The touchdown capped a five-play, 73-yard drive for the Redbirds.
After Matt Swaine recovered a fumble forced by David Kenney, the Redbirds drove the field and Kolbe hooked up with Anthony Warrum from 22 yards out with under a minute remaining to make it 31-14. Â Iowa ran two plays in the final minute to wind down the clock and come away with the victory.
DraShane Glass led the ISU defense with a career-best eight tackles, while Alec Kocour, Pat Meehan and Teddy Corwin each totaled seven tackles. Alejandro Rivera also set a career-best with six stops and he and David Perkins each added 0.5 tackles-for-loss.
Illinois State will look to bounce back next Saturday, when they host 2014 FCS playoff qualifier and MEAC champion Morgan State in the 2015 home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Hancock Stadium, where the Redbirds have a 13-game winning streak in and have won their last six home-openers under head coach Brock Spack.Â
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