Late Interception Seals 20-14 Redbird Win At No. 15 South Dakota

VERMILLION, S.D. – A big interception by senior Jarrell Jackson with under two minutes remaining in the game sealed a 20-14 win for Illinois State (3-4, 1-3 MVFC) over No. 15 ranked South Dakota (5-3, 3-2 MVFC) on the road Saturday in Vermillion, South Dakota.

How It Happened:
•    The Redbirds struck first on a career-long 47-yard field goal by Aidan Bresnahan with 4:38 left in the first quarter to take a 3-0 lead.
•    On the Redbirds second drive of the second quarter, Cole Mueller busted loose up the middle on the first play from scrimmage for a 69-yard touchdown run to extend the ISU lead to 10-0 with 13:22 left in the second quarter.
•    The Coyotes cut the Redbird lead to a field goal at 10-7 on a 6-yard touchdown pass by Cole Stenstrom with 2:22 left in the first half.
•    Bresnahan connected on his second field goal of the day, this one from 42 yards, as time expired in the first half to send the Redbirds to the locker room at halftime up 13-7.
•    ISU extended its lead on an interception return for a touchdown by Kenton Wilhoit, who leaped and snagged the pass out of the air at the line of scrimmage and took it 26 yards to the end zone for the score to make it 20-7 with 10:11 left in the third quarter.
•    USD cut into the lead in the fourth quarter, as Travis Theis ran it in from five yards out to make the score 20-14 in favor of ISU with 11:28 left in the contest.
•    The Coyotes got the ball back with 1:42 left on the clock when Jarrell Jackson made a diving interception on the first play of the drive to allow the 'Birds to take a knee and leave South Dakota with a win. 

Game Notes:    
•    The 47-yard field goal in the first quarter by Bresnahan was the longest of his Redbird career, besting the 43-yarder he made in the spring at UNI.
•    Mueller's 69-yard touchdown run was his second of the year over 60 yards and he has now rushed for over 100 yards in three games this year, after finishing with a career-high 178 yards on the ground.
•    The pick six by Wilhoit was the second of his career, as he returned one 29 yards for a TD in the spring at UNI.
•    The interception by Jackson was his third of the season and upped the team total to 11.
•    Kenton Wilhoit and Clayton Isbell paced the Redbird defense with seven tackles each in the win over the Coyotes.

Up Next:
Illinois State will renew its longstanding series with Western Illinois, as the Redbirds travel to Macomb for a matchup with the Fighting Leathernecks (1-7, 1-4 MVFC) on Saturday with kickoff set for 3 p.m.

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