BROOKINGS, S.D. – No. 11 Illinois State took advantage of four costly turnovers by No. 4 South Dakota State, as the Redbirds (7-3, 4-2 MVFC) scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to defeat the Jackrabbits (7-3, 4-2 MVFC) by a score of 27-18 Saturday afternoon at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
How It Happened:
• The Redbirds scored on their opening drive of the game, as they went 86 yards in 10 plays capped off by a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brady Davis to Tristan Bailey.
• SDSU kicker Cole Frahm connected on his first field goal of the season from 43 yards out to trim the ISU lead to 7-3 with 2:18 left in the first quarter.
• Early in the second quarter, a penalty by the Redbirds committed in the end zone resulted in a safety for the Jackrabbits and the ISU lead was cut to 7-5 with 12:46 left in the quarter.
• The Jacks then took the lead on a 21-yard pass from Keaton Heide to Adam Anderson at the 8:47 mark … they went for two, but the attempt was foiled by Christian Uphoff to keep the score at 11-7 in favor of SDSU.
• A 33-yard field goal by Sam Fenlason with 4 seconds remaining in the half cut the lead to just one at 11-10 at halftime in favor of SDSU.
• The Jacks extended the lead to 18-10 midway through the third quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run by Pierre Strong Jr., that capped off a drive that lasted over 5 minutes.
• A 32-yard field goal by Sam Fenlason cut into the SDSU lead late in the third quarter, making the score 18-13.
• After an interception by Christian Uphoff, Fenlason connected on his third field goal of the contest at the 12:53 mark of the fourth quarter to cut it to 18-16.
• Another turnover by the Jacks, this one on a fumble on the kickoff return forced by Peyton Jones, set up a 1-yard touchdown run by James Robinson gave the Redbirds the lead … a 2-point conversion from Davis to Drew Himmelman gave the Redbirds the lead at 24-18 with 9:17 to play.
• Fenlason capped off the victory with a career-long 46-yard field goal with 6:33 left in the contest to bring the score to its final at 27-18.
Game Notes:
• The reception and touchdown by Bailey in the first quarter were the first of his Redbird career.
• The four field goal makes by Fenlason tied a career best, and his 46-yard make was a career-long.
• Dylan Draka led the way for the Redbirds with three tackles-for-loss, with a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries in the victory for the Redbirds.
• ISU improves to 4-1 on the road this season, with four-straight wins.
• The win over a ranked foe was the first for ISU since defeating No. 21 Youngstown State on Oct. 28, 2017.
• It was also ISU's first win over the Jackrabbits in Brookings was its first since 2010.
Up Next:
Illinois State will host Missouri State next Saturday on Senior Day at Hancock Stadium, with kickoff set for noon.
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