No. 1 Bison Pull Away Late From No. 6 Redbirds For 33-16 Victory

NORMAL, Ill. – In a battle of FCS Top 10 programs, No. 6 Illinois State trailed No. 1 ranked North Dakota State by just two points heading into the fourth quarter. However, the top-ranked Bison (5-0, 2-0 MVFC) scored 15 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes of action to pull away from the Redbirds (3-2, 0-1 MVFC) for a 33-16 Saturday night on Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium.

How It Happened:
•    The Redbirds' first drive of the game stalled near midfield, but Hayden Futch's punt was downed at the one yard line by Doreon Dubose. On the ensuing first play of the NDSU drive, Tye Niekamp broke through the offensive line and tackled the NDSU ball carrier in the endzone for a safety to put the Redbirds up 2-0 early.
•    The Bison would take the lead on their drive, as Cole Payton leaped into the endzone to cap off a 13-yard touchdown run with 2:50 left in the first quarter to make it 7-2 in favor of the Bison.
•    ISU would regain the lead early in the second quarter, as Wenkers Wright plowed his way in from six yards out to end a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive with 11:37 left before halftime.
•    NDSU would take the lead back with 4:56 left in the game, as Barika Kpeenu broke free for a 42-yard touchdown run and the two-point conversion run by Payton was good as the Bison went up 15-9 with 4:56 left before the break.
•    The Bison took the opening drive of the second half and drove 65 yards in 11 plays to set up a 38-yard field goal by Eli Ozick, who put the ball through the uprights to extend the NDSU lead to 18-9 with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter.
•    Illinois State would answer right back with a 9-play, 75-yards scoring drive that featured strong runs by Victor Dawson and was capped off on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rittenhouse to Daniel Sobkowicz to cut the North Dakota State lead to 18-16 with 3:06 left in the third quarter.
•    A 23-yard touchdown pass from Payton to Bryce Lance would then put the Bison up 25-16 with 13:14 left in the contest.
•    North Dakota State's lead would grow to 33-16, as DJ Scott powered his way in from five yards out for the touchdown and Payton ran it in for a two-point conversion with 8:21 remaining in the fourth quarter. That is where the score would stay, as the Bison kneeled out the game to improve to 5-0 on the year.

Game Notes:    
•    The safety for the Redbirds was their first since 2018, when they got one against Saint Xavier. 
•    The rushing touchdown in the second quarter was the fifth of the season for Wright and his fifth in the past three contests for the Redbirds.
•    Sobkowicz's touchdown catch was his team-leading sixth of the season and the 28th of his career, which is one shy of tying Laurént Robinson (29) for third on the ISU career receiving touchdowns list.
•    Rittenhouse's interception in the fourth quarter was just his second of the season.
•    Shadwel Nkuba II led the Redbird defense with seven tackles, while Patrick Bauer added four with a sack and 1.5 tackles-for-loss.

Next Up:
Illinois State will travel to Kentucky next Saturday, as Redbirds take on Murray State (0-5, 0-1 MVFC) at 6 p.m. at Roy Stewart Stadium in the second game of MVFC play.

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