Jackrabbits topple No. 2 Illinois State, 25-20

Saturday, November 7

Brookings, S.D.

2 p.m.

South Dakota State University

7-2 , 4-2

Illinois State

7-2 , 5-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Illinois State

South Dakota State

11/7/2015 8:05:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: SDSU Sports Info

BROOKINGS, S.D. — Freshman quarterback Taryn Christion ran for one touchdown and threw for two more, helping lead 11^th-ranked South Dakota State to a 25-20 victory over No. 2 Illinois State Saturday afternoon in the final game played at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

The Jackrabbits improved to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, while the Redbirds suffered their first league loss in falling to 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the MVFC.

Illinois State wasted little time after intercepting a Zach Lujan pass to get on the scoreboard. Taking over at the SDSU 44-yard line, the Redbirds needed only three plays to find the end zone as Tre Roberson found Anthony Warrum in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown. Warrum set up the touchdown with a 32-yard catch and run on the previous play.

The Jackrabbits were held at bay until the closing minutes of the first half, when they turned an interception by Jesse Bobbit into points. After a pass interference penalty gave SDSU first and goal, Christion rolled around the right end for a 10-yard yard touchdown run that tied the game at 7 following Jay Carlson's extra point.

SDSU took the lead in the waning seconds of the first half with a seven-play, 74-yard scoring drive. Christion ran for 13 yards on the first play of the drive, then later connected with Trevor Wesley for 14 yards and tight end Dallas Goedert for 28 more to move the ball to the Redbird 14. After Christion was shaken up on the next play, Lujan re-entered the game and lofted a touchdown pass to Jake Wieneke in the left corner of the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown with 13 seconds remaining in the half. It was Lujan's lone completion in three attempts on the afternoon.

The extra point was blocked, keeping the score at 13-7.

A short kickoff and ensuing 29-yard pass from Roberson to Christian Gibbs gave Illinois State a 37-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the half, but the kick was missed.

The Jackrabbits extended their lead to 19-7 on their first possession of the second half with an eight-play, 85-yard drive that was capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Christion to Brandon Andrews. The two-point attempt failed.

Illinois State countered on its first play from scrimmage on its next drive as Roberson again connected with Warrum for a touchdown, this time from 70 yards out.

SDSU turned the momentum back in its favor as Christion hit Jake Wieneke down the right sideline on the Jackrabbits' first offensive play in the fourth quarter and the All-America wide receiver did the rest, slipping through a tackle and scoring from 74 yards out. Again, the two-point conversion attempt failed, keeping the score at 25-14.

Behind the play of Robertson and Warrum, the Redbirds continued to put pressure on the Jackrabbit defense. A 51-yard pass from Roberson to Warrum moved Illinois State deep into SDSU territory, but a false start penalty on third and goal resulted in a 22-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by the Jackrabbits' Kellen Soulek with 4 minutes, 22 seconds to play.

Illinois State got the ball back and put together one last scoring drive as Warrum caught his third touchdown pass of the game, a 14-yard reception that pulled the Redbirds to within 25-20 with 1:16 to play. The Jackrabbits successfully defended the two-point play, then recovered an onside kick to preserve the victory.

Warrum finished the day with eight catches for 241 yards, while Roberson completed 14-of-35 passes for 327 yards and also led the Redbirds with 80 rushing yards on 11 carries. The Jackrabbit defense limited Redbird running back to only 55 yards on 22 carries.

Total offense was nearly identical as the Jackrabbits held a slim 465-462 advantage in total yards. Christion completed 15-of-30 passes for 307 yards and also was the Jackrabbits' leading rusher with 65 yards on nine carries. Kyle Paris added 55 yards on 17 carries, with Wieneke tallying 104 receiving yards on four catches in topping the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive season.

Senior linebacker T.J. Lally shared game-high honors with nine tackles for SDSU, followed by seven from Chris Balster. David Perkins made nine stops for Illinois State, with Pat Meehan adding eight. Alec Kocour recorded two of the Redbirds' three interceptions on the day.

The Jackrabbits return to action Nov. 14 at the University of South Dakota. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at the DakotaDome in Vermillion.

NOTES: The all-time series between SDSU and Illinois State is tied at three wins apiece … the Jackrabbits ended a three-game losing streak to the Redbirds … SDSU finished with a 181-108 (.626 winning percentage) all-time record at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium, which opened in 1962 … with 1,046 receiving yards this season, Wieneke became only the second receiver in Jackrabbit history to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, joining Jeff Tiefenthaler (1985-86) … Wieneke moved into third place in career receiving yards at SDSU with 2,450, passing former teammate Jason Schneider (2,404 yards from 2011-14) … Wieneke also moved into a tie with current receivers coach Josh Davis (2002-05) for second on the SDSU career charts for receiving touchdowns with 26 … Wieneke recorded the 12^th 100-yard game of his career and has caught a touchdown in 17 of 23 career games … SDSU improved to 23-36 against ranked opponents since joining the Football Championship Subdivision ranks in 2004 … Illinois State was the highest-ranked opponent the Jackrabbits defeated since downing top-ranked North Dakota State on Nov. 17, 2007 at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium … the Redbirds became the first FCS team to throw for more than 200 yards against the Jackrabbits this season … attendance for the stadium finale was 9,081