Robinson Leads No. 13 Illinois State To 24-6 Win At SEMO In FCS Playoffs

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – All-American tailback James Robinson proved why he is one of the best in the country, as he ran for a school-record 297 yards and a touchdown as the No. 13 ranked Redbirds (9-4, 5-3 MVFC) ran away with a 24-6 win over No. 12 Southeast Missouri (9-4, 7-1 MVFC) at Houck Field Saturday in the first round of the 2019 FCS playoffs.

How It Happened:
•    Robinson did it all by himself on the first drive of the game, as he carried the ball 6 times for 73 yards and scored the game's first touchdown on an 11-yard run with 11:24 left in the first quarter.
•    A 45-yard field goal by Southeast Missouri's Kendrick Tiller with 3:12 left in the first quarter trimmed the ISU lead to 7-3.
•    Quarterback Bryce Jefferson then gave the Redbirds some breathing room, when he called his own number and ran 16 yards untouched for a touchdown to make it 14-3 just under a minute into the second quarter.
•    With 1:25 remaining in the first half, Jefferson connected with Andrew Edgar on a 33-yard touchdown pass to widen the ISU advantage to 21-3.
•    Tiller's second field goal make of the game, this one from 34 yards out, put three more points on the scoreboard for the Redhawks and trimmed the Redbird lead to 21-6 early in the fourth quarter.
•    Senior kicker Sam Fenlason put a bow on the Redbird victory, as he tied a career-long and booted a 46-yard field goal to make it 24-6 with just under four minutes to play.
•    A late interception by Charles Woods gave the Redbirds the ball back with 2:50 to play and a 42-yard run by Robinson brought the game to an end, as ISU advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Game Notes:    
•    The 297 rushing yards by Robinson set a school record, besting the 272 yards gained by Pierre Rembert at Missouri State in 2005.
•    The 297 yards also set a Redbird and Missouri Valley Football Conference record for most rushing yards in a playoff contest.
•    Robinson moved over 4,000 career rushing yards in the contest (4,158) to become just the second running back in school history to eclipse the 4,000-yard plateau, joining ISU all-time leading rusher Marshaun Coprich (5,195).
•    Devin Taylor's interception in the third quarter was his team-leading fourth of the season.
•    Charles Woods led the way for the Redbird defense with 6 tackles, two pass breakups and his third interception of the year.
•    With the win, the Redbirds improve to 9-7 all-time in the FCS playoffs and to 6-4 in playoff games led by head coach Brock Spack. 

Up Next:
Illinois State will head to Conway, Arkansas, to face off No. 8 national seed Central Arkansas on Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m. at Estes Stadium. 

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