NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State quarterback Brady Davis will certainly remember the 21st night of September for a long time, as he threw for a career-high 419 yards and two touchdowns to lead the No. 10 ranked Redbirds (3-1) to a 40-27 win over the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2-2) on a rainy Saturday night at Hancock Stadium.
How It Happened:
•   The Redbirds took the early lead on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Davis to Andrew Edgar that was set up by a Charles Woods interception to take a 7-0 advantage with 12:56 on the clock.
•   The Lumberjacks answered right back, as Case Cookus connected with Joe Logan for a 9-yard touchdown pass to knot the score at 7-7.
•   NAU then took the lead at 14-7 on a 5-yard pass from Cookus to Stacy Chukwumezie with 5 minutes left in the first quarter.
•   ISU cut into the lead just before the end of the first quarter, as Sam Fenlason connected from 23 yards out for his first field goal of the game to trim the deficit to 14-10.
•   Fenlason added a 28-yard field goal with 9:35 left in the second quarter to cut the NAU lead to just one point at 14-13.
•   The duo of Cookus and Logan connected again, this time for a 5-yard touchdown, to widen the lead to 21-13 with just under five minutes left before halftime.
•   Just a minute and change later, James Robinson broke free for a 52-yard touchdown run to make it 21-20 in favor of NAU with 3:21 left before the break.
•   ISU then took the lead at 23-21 as time expired in the first half, as Fenlason split the uprights from 32 yards out for his third make of the half.
•   Robinson was back at it in the third quarter, as he broke tackles and barreled his way into the end zone from 20 yards out for his second score of the game to widen the ISU advantage to 30-21.
•   A 53-yard strike from Davis to Edgar blew the game open late in the third quarter, as ISU widened the gap to 37-21 with 3:44 left in the stanza.
•   Cookus and Logan connected on a touchdown for a third time, this one for 23 yards, early in the fourth quarter to cut into the Redbirds' lead at 37-27 but could not convert a two-point conversion try.
•   Fenlason put the exclamation point on a terrific game, as he made a 29 yard field goal with 3:21 left in the game to bring the score to its final at 40-27.
Game Notes: Â Â
•   Davis became the first Redbird to throw for over 400 yards since 2012, when Matt Brown threw for an ISU single-game record high of 473 yards against Eastern Illinois.
•   Edgar finished the game with a career-high 228 yards on a career-best 12 receptions for the Redbirds and tied a career-high with the two touchdown receptions.
•   Freshman wide receiver Kacper Rutkiewicz recorded his first career 100-plus yard effort with 105 yards receiving against the Lumberjacks.Â
•   Fenlason's four field goal makes were a career best and the most for the Redbirds since 2017, when Sean Slattery connected on three against South Dakota.
•   Cornerback Charles Woods recorded his first career interception in the game, which set up the first touchdown for the Redbirds.
•   Ty DeForest recorded his third career interception and the first of the season for the senior middle linebacker.
•   Freshman Clayton Isbell shattered his previous career high with nine tackles to lead the Redbird defense, and he also recorded his first sack in the contest.
Up Next:
The Redbirds will have a bye week, before hosting defending national champion and No. 1 ranked North Dakota State (4-0) at Hancock Stadium on Oct. 5 at Noon.
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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