abcnews
In a clash between two of the top-ranked teams in the Championship Subdivision, South Dakota State emerged with a 31-14 victory over Illinois State on Saturday night in Normal, Illinois. Josh Holst tossed two touchdown passes and Myles Green contributed a pick-six to power the Jackrabbits' offense.
Holst finished the game completing 18 of 23 passes for 153 yards for South Dakota State (5-1, 2-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference), which entered the matchup ranked No. 2 in the Stats Perform poll. The Jackrabbits are now in position to claim the top ranking after Idaho upset previously top-ranked and defending FCS champion Montana State 35-34 on Friday night.
Josiah Johnson led the ground attack with 131 rushing yards on 19 carries, while James Basinger added 90 yards on just seven attempts for South Dakota State.
Illinois State (4-2, 0-2), ranked No. 10, started the game by turning the ball over on downs at its own 38-yard line. Three plays later, Holst connected with Lofton O'Groske on a 33-yard touchdown pass to give the Jackrabbits a 7-0 lead.
The Redbirds responded when Dexter Niekamp sacked Holst, forcing a fumble that he recovered at the Illinois State 36-yard line. Chase Kwiatkowski then capped a 12-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, but Tristan Alvano nailed a 31-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to send South Dakota State into the break with a 10-7 advantage.
In the third quarter, Holst engineered a 10-play, 73-yard drive and found Greyton Gannon for a 7-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 17-7 with 1:33 remaining. Early in the fourth, Green intercepted a Gage Roy pass and returned it 31 yards for a touchdown, making it 24-7 with 11 minutes left. Less than three minutes later, Basinger broke multiple tackles on a 66-yard scoring run to push the margin to 31-7.
Roy completed 16 of 32 passes for 141 yards and two interceptions for Illinois State. Kwiatkowski added a short touchdown run late in the game to close the scoring.
Key Analysis
South Dakota State's victory, combined with Montana State's loss, likely propels the Jackrabbits to the No. 1 spot in the FCS rankings. The win also keeps South Dakota State unbeaten in Missouri Valley Football Conference play, while Illinois State remains winless in the conference.
South Dakota State will travel to North Dakota on October 17, while Illinois State will visit Southern Illinois on the same day.
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Originally reported by abcnews.