JACKRABBITS BLITZ ILLINOIS STATE

Saturday, October 7

Normal, Ill.

6 p.m.

South Dakota State University

5-0 , 2-0

Illinois State

3-2 , 1-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

South Dakota State

Illinois State

Photo by: South Dakota State University

10/7/2023 11:13:00 PM | Football

Box Score

NORMAL, Ill. — Top-ranked South Dakota State got off to another fast start offensively and racked up 374 yards on the ground in posting a 40-21 victory over No. 22 Illinois State Saturday night at Hancock Stadium.

With their 19^th consecutive victory dating back to last season, the Jackrabbits improved to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Illinois State dropped to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.

SDSU scored the first 20 points of the game with less than 11 minutes coming off the game clock.. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Jackrabbits needed only nine plays to find the end zone, capping an 88-yard drive with a 31-yard touchdown pass from Mark Gronowski to Jadon Janke. The extra point attempt was missed.

After forcing a three-and-out, the Jackrabbits again turned to the air for their next touchdown as Gronowski found Jaxon Janke deep over the middle for a 60-yard touchdown pass and a 13-0 lead.

Things went from bad to worse for Illinois State on the ensuing kickoff as reserve linebacker Cullen McShane jarred the ball loose from the returner and Caleb Francl fell on the loose football at the Redbirds' 25-yard line. Five plays later, SDSU cashed in as Gronowski ran up the middle for a 13-yard touchdown.

The Redbirds began to gain some momentum in the second quarter as the combination of Zack Annexstad and Daniel Sobkowicz teamed up on a pair of touchdowns through the air. First, Sobkowicz lofted a pass on a trick play to Annexstad for a 9-yard score 32 seconds into the second stanza. Later in the period, the Redbirds used a more traditional approach as Annexstad connected with Sobkowicz from 7 yards out.

However, the Jackrabbit offense continued to click as SDSU scored touchdowns on each of its first five possessions of the game. Isaiah Davis countered the first Illinois State touchdown with a 3-yard scoring run and Jadon Janke closed out the first half with a 22-yard TD reception from Gronowski to push the SDSU lead to 34-14 heading into halftime.

Illinois State cut the deficit to 34-21 on a 37-yard touchdown run by Mason Blakemore to open the second half and had a chance to make it a one-score game later in the third quarter, but the Redbirds' second fumble of the game, which was caused by Saiveon Williamson and recovered by Jason Freeman in SDSU territory, ended the comeback bid.

Davis, who gained a game-high 197 yards on 20 carries, closed out the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run five minutes into the fourth quarter. Amar Johnson added 106 yards on 11 carries for a Jackrabbit squad that averaged 8.1 yards per carry on the evening.

Gronowski completed 11-of-17 passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Jaxon Janke led the receiving corps with five catches for 88 yards.

SDSU finished with a 547-293 advantage in total offense. Annexstad completed 26-of-33 passes for 162 yards, with Eddie Kasper hauling in a team-best eight catches for 35 yards. Sobkowicz (70 yards) and Cam Grandy (43 yards) each caught seven passes.

Williamson, who was again filling in at middle linebacker for an injured Adam Bock, registered a team-high 10 tackles for the Jackrabbits. Freeman tallied nine tackles to go along with his fumble recovery and fellow Illinois native Cale Reeder contributed eight stops.

Keondre Jackson was credited with a game-high 13 tackles for Illinois State.

UP NEXT
The Jackrabbits return home for the annual Hobo Day game on Oct. 14. Kickoff against Northern Iowa is slated for 2 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.

NOTES

SDSU leads the all-time series, 7-5, and has won the last two meetings
The Janke brothers caught touchdown passes in the same game for the first time this season and seventh time in their careers
Jaxon Janke moved into fourth place in career touchdown receptions at SDSU with 27, breaking a tie with Josh Davis (26 TD receptions from 2002-05)
Jadon Janke took over seventh place in career touchdown catches with 22, moving past Dallas Goedert (21 TD receptions from 2014-17)
Davis hit the century mark in rushing for the 18^th time in his career and moved into sixth place on the SDSU career rushing yardage charts with 3,461 yards as he overtook Dan Sonnek (3,304 yards from 1984-87)
Gronowski has passed and rushed for touchdowns in 10 consecutive games and 19 times in his career
Gronowski vaulted into fifth place in career passing yards at SDSU with 5,401, topping the totals of Andy Rennerfeldt (5,377 yards from 1997-2000) and Brad Nelson (5,382 yards from 2001-04) in Saturday's game
The Jackrabbits were 7-of-11 on third-down attempts and are converting at a 64 percent clip for the season (29-of-45)
Illinois State's third-quarter touchdown marked the first points SDSU has allowed in that period this season
The Jackrabbits registered a season-best 35:45 in time of possession
SDSU has won 11 consecutive games against ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponents
Attendance was 8,272