By WJBC Staff
FARGO, N.D. – After taking a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter, Illinois State looked ready to give No. 1-ranked North Dakota State a hard time on its home field, however the Bison (4-0, 1-0 MVFC) reeled off 24 unanswered points to defeat the No. 18-ranked Redbirds (2-3, 0-2 MVFC) by a score of 31-10 in front of a crowd of 18,907 at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome Saturday afternoon.
The Redbird offense favored the passing game out-throwing the Bison 303-256. Jake Kolbe went 23-for-35, throwing for 285 yards that was highlighted by a 41-yard completion and 18-yard touchdown reception to junior wide receiver Anthony Fowler. Fowler shattered his previous career best in receiving yards topping out at 119 yards on a career-best six receptions.
The ISU defense picked up three tackles-for-losses, two pass breakups and one forced fumble. Alec Kocour led the team in tackles, tying his career best of 14 total tackles, with seven of those being solo stops. Alejandro Rivera also stood tall on defense, recording 11 tackles, while Dalton Keene was not far behind with 10 tackles and one tackle-for-loss.
Illinois State took an early 3-0 lead on its second drive of the game. The 10-play 58-yard drive rushes of 15 and 18 yards on back-to-back runs by George Moreira that put the ball inside the red zone at the NDSU 10 yard-line. However, the Bison defense tightened up and forced Sean Slattery to kick a 23-yard field goal to give the Redbirds the three-point lead.
The Bison wasted little time answering the Redbird score, putting together a methodical 12-play, 78-yard drive that was capped off by a 31-yard run by receiver Darrius Shepherd to take a 7-3 lead with 1:14 left to play in the first quarter.
Kolbe and the Redbirds punched right back with an eight-play, 81 yard drive of their own to regain the lead at 10-7 early in the second quarter. A 14-yard completions to Christian Gibbs and a 13-yard strike to Anthony Warrum put the ball near midfield for the Redbirds. Kolbe then found Warrum down the sideline for 38 yards and then connected with Fowler, who was wide open in the back corner of the end zone, for the 18-yard score to give the Redbirds the lead right back.
The rollercoaster ride continued, as the Bison needed just one play on their ensuing drive to get the lead right back. Easton Stick connected with R.J. Urzendowski for a 65-yard score to take the lead back at 14-10. The Redbirds threatened on their next drive, getting all the way to the Bison five yard line before Kolbe was sacked and fumbled to give the ball back to NDSU.
The Bison then drove 92 yards on four plays to extend the lead to 21-10 on a 38-yard pass from Stick to Lance Dunn and NDSU added a late score with 27 seconds remaining in the half on a 35-yard pass from Stick to Jenson to widen the advantage to 28-10 at the break.
A relatively calm third by both teams ended with NDSU kicker Cam Pedersen connecting on a 47-yard field goal to widen the lead to 31-10 with 39 seconds left in the third quarter, as the game moved into the final quarter of play. The ISU defense held NDSU to zero points in the fourth quarter; however, the offense was unable to score, as the Bison walked away with the win to hand.
Illinois State returns home to begin a two-game homestand against Youngstown State next Saturday on Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
