SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – After playing to a 6-6 tie at halftime, No. 12 Illinois State (3-0) scored 28 points in the third quarter to pull away from Missouri State (1-3) Saturday at Robert W. Plaster Stadium in the Missouri Valley Football Conference opener for both squads.
ISU quarterback Jake Kolbe was consistent throughout the day, completing 24-of-32 pass attempts for a career-high 312 yards with a touchdown and he also added a rushing touchdown in the victory for the Redbirds. His favorite target was Spencer Schnell, who tied a career-best with nine receptions and set a career-high with 135 yards receiving. Bryce Holm paced the Redbird defense with nine stops, as the Redbirds limited the Bears to just 19 yards rushing in the second half. Adam Conley added five tackles, a sack, two tackles-for-loss and also blocked a field goal to round out a strong defensive effort.
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Missouri State took the lead just 42 seconds into the game, as long runs by quarterback Peyton Huslig for 22 yards and Deion Holliman for 53 yards put the Bears into the endzone for the score and an early 6-0 lead, after the extra point attempt was blocked by Matt McCown. The score remained the same until the end of the first quarter, when Sean Slattery booted a 48-yard field goal through the uprights with 10 seconds left in the quarter to cut the MSU lead to 6-3.
The Bears drove deep into Redbird territory on their first possession of the second quarter and moved the ball all the way down to the ISU nine yard line. However, the 26-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Conley, and the Redbirds foiled a golden scoring opportunity to keep the deficit at just three points. The Redbirds would eventually knot the score at 6-6 on Slattery's second field goal of the day, this one from 28 yards out, with 1:18 left in the first half.
Missouri State kicker Zach Drake had a chance to put the Bears up headed into the locker room, but he missed a 37-yard attempt wide left as time expired and the score remained tied at halftime. The two teams finished the first half each with 236 yards of total offense, but two costly turnovers and five penalties from the Redbirds kept the game close with 30 minutes to play.
The Redbirds wasted little time taking the lead in the third quarter, as Kolbe led ISU on a 6-play, 60-yard scoring drive that took just over two minutes off the clock to take a 13-6 lead. A 19-yard completion to Schnell got things moving and later facing a fourth down and four yard situation, Kolbe connected on a middle slant to Schnell for 29 yards to the MSU six yard line. On the ensuing play, Markel Smith took the handoff and ran off right tackle six yards for the score and the first lead of the game for the Redbirds.
Following a quick three-and-out for the Bears, the Redbirds marched right back down the field to widen their advantage to two touchdowns at 20-6. James Robinson did the bulk of the heavy lifting with runs of 14 and 16 yards to get the Redbirds inside the 10 yard line and Robinson would then power his way to paydirt from eight yards out and Slattery's extra point put ISU in control. The Redbird defense forced another three-and-out and once again the offense responded, as Kolbe capped off a 5-play, 58-yard drive with a 7-yard keeper to extend the lead to 27-6 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
The onslaught continued for the Redbirds, as Kolbe connected with Anthony Fowler for a 28-yard touchdown pass just before the quarter ended and Slattery's extra point made the score 34-6 in favor of the Redbirds heading into the final quarter of play. The fourth quarter saw the Bears score a late field goal to bring the score to its final at 34-9. Illinois State returns home next Saturday to host MVFC foe Indiana State on CommUniversity Day and Reggie's Kids Club Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Hancock Stadium.
GAME NOTES:
>> Jake Kolbe set a career-best with 312 yards in the win and also rushed for a touchdown against the Bears. It marked Kolbe's first career 300-yard passing performance at ISU as well.
>> Spencer Schnell tied a career-high with 9 receptions and set a career-best with 135 receiving yards in the victory for the Redbirds.
>> Matt McCown (PAT) and Adam Conley (FG) each blocked kick attempts in the game to keep points off the scoreboard for the Bears.
>> Illinois State rushed for three touchdowns on the ground for the third-consecutive game to start the season.
>> The 28 points scored in the third quarter by the Redbirds tied a school-best for points in a third quarter.
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