Illinois State erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter against defending FCS National champion and top-seeded North Dakota State (NDSU) on Saturday, December 6, as a touchdown pass from Tommy Rittenhouse to Daniel Sobkowicz with 1:00 minute remaining in the game pulled Illinois State within one. Rittenhouse then found Scotty Presson Jr. for a two-point conversion to put ISU (10-4) up by one and the defense held on for a thrilling 29-28 win over the No. 1 ranked Bison (12-1) in the second round of the FCS playoffs at Gate City Bank at the Fargodome.
How it happened
The Bison wasted little time, as they scored on a 78-yard touchdown pass from Cole Payton to Bryce Lance on their first play from scrimmage to take a 7-0 lead with 12:39 remaining in the first quarter.
After pinning the Redbirds deep in their own territory, forcing a Hayden Futch punt from the endzone, Jackson Williams returned the punt 52 yards for a touchdown to give the Bison a 14-0 lead with 4:40 left in the first quarter.
The Redbirds got on the board early in the second quarter, when running back Victor Dawson broke away for a season-long touchdown run of 69 yards to cut the Bison lead to 14-7 with 11:21 on the clock.
NDSU would extend the lead back to 14 points at 21-7, as Nathaniel Staehling hauled in a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage and returned it 73 yards for a pick six with 8:09 left before halftime.
Illinois State trimmed the North Dakota State advantage to a touchdown at 21-14, after Rittenhouse connected with Sobkowicz on an 8-yard passing score with just 50 seconds left before the break.
After a scoreless third quarter for both squads, the Bison took advantage after their fifth takeaway of the contest to score on a 4-yard touchdown run by Barika Kpeenu to push their lead to 28-14 with 12:38 left in the contest.
The Redbirds would claw back within a score with 2:44 to play, when Rittenhouse found Sobkowicz for the second time of the day to cut the Bison lead to 28-21.
After a forced fumble gave the Redbirds tremendous field position with under two minutes to play, Rittenhouse bootlegged to his right and threw back across his body to find a crossing Sobkowicz in the endzone for the score to get it within one point at 29-28.
The Redbirds then went for two and converted, as Rittenhouse found Presson wide open for the score and the win.
Game notes
The victory for the Redbirds snapped a 14-game losing streak to the Bison and the Redbirds are now 2-1 against NDSU in the FCS playoffs.
The 69-yard touchdown run by Dawson was his longest of the season and the longest of the season for the Redbirds.
Dawson went over 100 yards for the third time this season, rushing for a season-high 137 and a score to pace the Redbird offense.
With his three touchdown passes, Rittenhouse now has 31 on the year which puts on top of the ISU single-season touchdown passes list ahead of Tre Roberson,
With his two sacks, Steffen tied a career high and his 3.0 tackles for loss were a new personal best.
Next up
The Redbirds will face the winner of No. 8 UC Davis and No. 9 Rhode Island. Visit GoRedbirds.com for updates and information about tickets.
