ST. LOUIS – Illinois State junior running back James Robinson had one of the best games of his career in the season finale win over Youngstown State. For his efforts, Robinson was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week by the league office Sunday.
The weekly honor is the first for Robinson and the fifth for a Redbird player this season. This week's other honorees were South Dakota State running back Pierre Strong Jr. (Newcomer), UNI safety Korby Sander (Defense) and Indiana State placekicker Jerry Nunez (Special Teams).
Robinson was nearly unstoppable in Illinois State's 35-28 win over the Penguins Saturday. The Rockford, Illinois, native rushed for a career-high 256 yards and scored twice to help the Redbirds secure their ninth winning season in the last ten years. The 256 yards were the third-most by a Redbird back in a game in school history and it set a new Hancock Stadium record. Robinson averaged 11.1 yards per carry against the Penguins and scored touchdowns on runs of 37 and 7 yards, respectively. He missed the final 11 minutes of the game, after being injured on a 54-yard run that set up a touchdown by Kevin Brown with 11:06 left in the contest.
The Walter Payton Award Watch list member finished the season with a conference-leading 1,290 rushing yards and was second in the MVFC with 12 rushing touchdowns. The 1,290 rushing yards were seventh-most in the FCS during the regular season and the mark ranks sixth on the ISU single-season rushing list. Robinson also ranked in the top 20 nationally in rushing yards per game (117.3 – 10th) and rushing touchdowns (13 – 20th).
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