No. 21 Redbirds Pick Up Crucial Road Win at Murray State, 40-32

MURRAY, Ky. – Every Saturday in the Missouri Valley Football Conference is an important one and it proved to be so for No. 21 Illinois State (5-3, 2-2 MVFC), as the Redbirds gutted out a crucial bounce-back effort on the road at Murray State (1-6, 0-4 MVFC) on Homecoming at Roy Stewart Stadium. Redbird quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse shined in the victory, talling 475 yards of total offense while accounting for three touchdowns against the Racers.

How It Happened:
•    After forcing a three-and-out by the Racers on their opening drive of the game, the Redbirds scored the first points of the game as Tommy Rittenhouse broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run to cap off a 6-play, 80-yard drive with 11:44 left in the opening quarter of play … the extra point bounced off the upright to give the Redbirds a 6-0 lead.
•    The Redbirds extended the lead early in the second quarter to 9-0, when Ian Wagner connected on a 20-yard field goal with 12:29 left on the clock to cap off a 10-play scoring drive.
•    On the ensuing drive, cut the lead to 9-7 needing just three plays to find the endzone as Jawaun Northington slipped tackles and ran 48 yards to paydirt with 11:23 left before the break.
•    ISU answered with a quick touchdown of its own, as a broken play resulted in a 39-yard pass from Rittenhouse to Wenkers Wright that put the ball at the one yard line and on the next play, Wright bowled his way in for the score as the Redbirds took a 16-7 lead with 9:31 left on the clock.
•    The Racers took advantage of a Redbird interception and turned it into seven points, as Jayden Johannsen connected with Elijah Downing on a 24-yard touchdown pass to make the score 16-14 with 52 seconds left on the clock before halftime.
•    Early in the third quarter, Rittenhouse found the endzone once again this time on a 26-yard touchdown run that capped off a two-play scoring drive as the Redbirds extended their lead to 23-14 with 11:11 left in the quarter.
•    After Rittenhouse was removed from the game for an injury check, Jake Rubley came into the contest and connected with his former Kansas State teammate Xavier Loyd to move the ball into the red zone before he found Daniel Sobkowicz on a one-yard touchdown pass to extend the ISU lead to 30-14 with 3:19 left in the third quarter.
•    The Racers trimmed the Redbird lead to 30-22 after a 6-yard touchdown pass from Johannsen to former Redbird J'Kalon Carter and a two-point conversion run by Johannsen with 11:21 left in the contest.
•    Rittenhouse returned to the field and proceeded to lead the Redbirds on a 9-play, 75-yard scoring drive that he capped off with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Sobkowicz to make the score 37-22 in favor of the Redbirds with 7:08 left to play in the game.
•    Murray State immediately answered with a quick 4-play, 75-yard scoring drive of its own that was set by a 62-yard pass from Johannsen to Kade Neely and ended by a four-yard touchdown run by Northington to cut the Illinois State lead to 37-29 with 5:29 remaining.
•    The Racers tried the on-side kick however it was recovered by Loyd to give the Redbirds good field position at near midfield. ISU milked the clock down to just over a minute left when Wagner connected on a 37-yard field goal to make the score 40-29 with one minute left.
•    James London connected on a 51-yard field goal with two seconds remaining in the game to bring the score to its final at 40-32. 

Game Notes:  

•     Illinois State's 633 yards of total offense is the fifth highest total in school history, just moving past the 632 yards recorded at Northern Iowa on October 10, 1998 ... It's the first 600-plus yard effort since Nov. 22, 2014, when the Redbirds put up 604 at Southern Illinois and is the most for a Brock Spack led team, topping the previous high of 622 set on Sept. 6, 2014, in a win over Mississippi Valley State to open the season.
•     Rittenhouse had a career day for the Redbirds, recording 475 yards of total offense while accounting for three touchdowns in the ISU victory over Murray State. Rittenhouse threw for a career-high 347 yards with a touchdown and ran for a career-best 128 yards and two scores to lead the Redbird offense. 
•    Wright's one-yard score in the second quarter was his fifth of the year, ranking him second behind Rittenhouse.
•    Sobkowicz' two touchdowns give him a team-leading six on the year for the Redbirds … he finished the game with nine catches for 77 yards.
•    Loyd set a career-best at ISU with 148 yards on five receptions, including a long grab of 42 yards.

Next Up:
The Redbirds will have a bye week next weekend, before returning home on November 2 to host Youngstown State for a 2 p.m. contest at Hancock Stadium.

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