NORMAL, Ill. – No. 6 Illinois State was not able to muster any consistency on the offensive side of the ball Saturday at Youngstown State, as the Penguins (6-6, 2-6 MVFC) stifled the Redbirds' (8-4, 5-3 MVFC) offense to come away with a 21-3 victory at Stambaugh Stadium in the regular season finale.
How It Happened:
•   Youngstown State scored just before the end of the first quarter, as Braxton Chapman bowled his way in from six yards out to give the Penguins a 7-0 lead with just 26 seconds left in the stanza.
•   An interception by DeMarco Washington set up a 22-yard field goal by Sam Fenlason with 8:33 left in the second quarter to trim the lead to 7-3.
•   Just as they did before the end of the first quarter, the Penguins put together an 89-yard scoring drive that was capped off by a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Joe Craycraft with 13 seconds left in the second quarter to make it a 14-3 game at halftime.
•   Neither team was able to score in the third quarter and the Penguins put a cap on the day with a 30-yard pick six interception by Zaire Jones with 5:06 left in the game to bring the score to its final at 21-3.
Game Notes: Â Â
•   The Penguin defense limited the Redbirds to just 142 yards of total offense and held a 33 minute to 27-minute advantage in time of possession in the game.
•   Ty DeForest recorded his second interception of the season and fourth of his career at Illinois State.
•   Washington's interception was his first of the season and his career at ISU.
•   Christian Uphoff led the way for the Redbird defense, recording a career-high nine tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss in the contest.
Up Next:
Illinois State will find out its playoff fate on Sunday, when the 2019 NCAA FCS Championship Selection Show is aired live on ESPNU at 11:30 a.m.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Â Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
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