NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State offensive rushing attack racked up 331 yards against fourth-ranked South Dakota and big pass plays lifted the No. 24 ranked Redbirds (5-2, 3-1 MVFC) to a 37-21 victory over the Coyotes (6-1, 3-1 MVFC) Saturday on Homecoming in front of 12,113 fans at Hancock Stadium.
The Redbirds handed the Coyotes their first loss of the season and the win for the ISU over the No. 4 team in the country was their highest win over a ranked opponent since defeating No. 1 New Hampshire in the semifinals of the 2014 FCS playoffs.
Sophomore tailback James Robinson led the Redbird rushing attack with a career-high 193 yards on 19 carries with a pair of scores and junior wide receiver Spencer Schnell also had a career day with 191 yards on seven receptions with two touchdowns. Senior defensive back Davontae Harris led the ISU defense with 11 stops and sealed the game with a late interception, while fellow senior defensive lineman Dalton Keene tallied two sacks on the day for the Redbirds, who forced USD quarterback Chris Streveler to throw his first two interceptions of the season.
The Redbirds jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on a 64-yard strike from Jake Kolbe to Schnell just 90 seconds into the game. Later in the first quarter, Schnell would add his second touchdown of the game, this one from just five yards out, to stake ISU to an early two-score lead at 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
USD fought back in the second quarter, as Streveler found Brett Samson for a 50-yard touchdown connection and then found Aaron Ramsey for a two-yard pass to knot the game at 14-14 with 5:02 left before halftime. The Redbirds would get the final points of the first half on a 47-yard field goal off the foot of Sean Slattery with just over a minute remaining in the second quarter to take a 17-14 lead into the locker room at the break.
Neither team could get much momentum offensively for the majority of the third quarter, until the Redbirds got the ball back with 3:36 left in the stanza. A 71-yard connection from Kolbe to Schnell set up a 14-yard touchdown run for Robinson, as the Redbirds went 86 yards in just four plays to widen their lead to 24-14 headed to the fourth quarter.
A 12-yard touchdown run by South Dakota's Kai Henry trimmed the deficit to just a field goal for the Coyotes early in the fourth quarter at 24-21, but Slattery's second field goal of the game, this one from 33 yards, pushed the lead back to six points for ISU at 27-21 with 9:21 remaining in the contest. The Redbird defense then forced a turnover on downs deep in its own territory, as the Coyotes tried to convert on fourth down but a batted pass at the line of scrimmage by Matt Swaine gave the Redbird the ball back.
Despite having its back to the goal line, the Redbirds responded as Robinson broke free for an 87-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach at 34-21 with just under six minutes left in the game. Harris' late interception of Streveler gave the Redbird offense the ball for the final time, and Slattery connected from 45 yards out for his third make of the game to ice the 37-21 win.Â
The Redbirds hit the road next weekend to travel to Youngstown, Ohio, to face nationally-ranked Youngstown State. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Stambaugh Stadium and the game will be streamed live on The Valley on ESPN3.
GAME NOTES:
-Â Â Â Spencer Schnell set career-highs with 191 yards receiving and two touchdowns against the Coyotes
-Â Â Â James Robinson rushed for a career-best 193 yards and tied a career-high with two scores
-Â Â Â Sean Slattery tied a career-high with three field goals, the third time he's accomplished that this season
-Â Â Â Markel Smith rushed for a career-high 92 yards, thanks to a long run of 42 yardsÂ
-Â Â Â Dalton Keene set a career-high with two sacksÂ
-Â Â Â The 331 yards rushing were a season-high for the Redbirds, topping the previous best of 320 against Butler
-Â Â Â The win over No. 4 USD was the highest-ranked opponent win for ISU since 2014
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