Jackrabbits bounced by Illinois State

Saturday, September 18

Brookings, S.D.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

0-2 , 0-1

Illinois State

2-1 , 1-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Illinois State	7	10	7	0	24
South Dakota State	0	0	0	14	14

9/18/2010 11:43:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

BROOKINGS - For the second consecutive week, the South Dakota State University football team dug itself an early hole and couldn't recover, falling 24-14 to Illinois State in the home and Missouri Valley Football Conference opener Saturday night before a Cereal Bowl crowd of 12,425 at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

The 20^th-ranked Jackrabbits fell to 0-2 overall, while Illinois State improved to 2-1 on the season, including a 1-0 mark in league play.

SDSU missed out on a couple scoring chances in the first quarter. On the opening drive, the Jackrabbits moved the ball into Illinois State territory only to have a dropped pass on a third-and-7 play stall the drive.

The Redbirds broke into the scoring column with a methodical 17-play, 82-yard drive that chewed up more than seven minutes. Sophomore quarterback Matt Brown was 5-for-6 passing on the drive for 53 yards and running back Ashton Leggett added 26 yards on the ground, including the final two yards for the first touchdown of the game with 3 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

The Jackrabbits took over at the Redbird 47 after a 41-yard kickoff return by Cole Brodie and gained one first down before Kyle Harris' 51-yard field goal attempt missed wide right. SDSU converted only one of its first 11 third-down attempts in the game before finishing 3-of-13.

Illinois State took advantage of a turnover early in the second quarter to build the lead to 10-0. Austin Davis' diving interception on a bobbled pass gave the Redbirds at the SDSU 27. Steven Fetzer later connected on a 36-yard field goal.

After SDSU missed a 35-yard field goal, the Redbirds extended their lead to 17-0 with another long drive in the closing minutes of the first half. Brown capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a 23-yard scoring strike to Tyrone Walker.

The Jackrabbits put together their best drive of the season to open the second half, but again came up empty as Harris missed his third field goal of the night, a 34-yard attempt that was blocked by the Redbirds' Nick Broome. Kyle Minett had put the Jackrabbits into the red zone with a 46-yard run.

The Redbirds put the game out of reach late in the third as Brown hit Marvon Sanders for a 13-yard touchdown pass.

After being held without a touchdown for the first seven quarters of the season, SDSU finally reached paydirt in the opening minute of the fourth quarter as Tyler Duffy found the end zone from three yards out. Thomas O'Brien then hit Minett for the two-point conversion.

The Jackrabbit comeback attempt continued as O'Brien completed 6-of-7 passes, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Hubert to wrap up an eight-play, 51-yard drive.

But it would be too little, too late as the Jackrabbits turned the ball over - an interception and a fumble - on their next two possessions.

The Jackrabbits' late offensive spurt gave them a 374-364 advantage in total offense. Minett, a Walter Payton Award candidate, gained 120 yards on 18 carries. O'Brien completed 24-of-42 passes for 245 yards, with Aaron Rollin catching six passes for 74 yards and Hubert adding six receptions for 54 yards.

Illinois State was led by Leggett with 100 yards on 20 carries. Brown connected on 20-of-29 passes for 172 yards, with Sanders his primary target by collecting 10 receptions for 82 yards.

Derek Domino paced the Jackrabbit defense with 11 tackles, followed by Corey Jeske with nine. Davis and Josh Howe each made 10 stops to led Illinois State.

SDSU returns to action with a Sept. 25 matchup at Nebraska. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. Illinois State hosts Missouri State in an MVFC matchup.

NOTES: SDSU leads the all-time series 2-1 ... the Jackrabbits dropped to 11-4 in Cereal Bowl games ... SDSU fell to 20-6 in home night games and 7-2 at home against MVFC opponents ... Minett posted the 15^th 100-yard game of his career and upped his career rushing total to 3,221 yards - fourth on the SDSU charts ... former Jackrabbit Casey Hillman presented the game ball to the officials after successfully completing his "Jackrabbit Journey," a 400-mile walk across South Dakota to raise awareness and funds for the Jackrabbit Athletic Endowment