Illinois State running back Wenkers Wright rushed for 51 first-half yards and a touchdown in the Redbirds’ 33-16 loss to North Dakota State. (Photo by GoRedbirds.com)
By Barry Bottino
NORMAL – Music blared from the Hancock Stadium speakers after the third quarter. The home crowd buzzed as No. 6 Illinois State trailed top-ranked North Dakota State by only two points.
In the final 15 minutes, however, it was the Bison (5-0 overall, 2-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) who hit all the right notes in a 33-16 victory.
Saturday marked the 14th consecutive NDSU win in the series, which dates to 2007.
“It was a good football game for three, three-and-a-half quarters,” ISU head coach Brock Spack said. “It got away from us at the end. We can play well and go toe to toe with the No. 1 team in the country, but you have to do it for four quarters.”
NDSU outscored the Redbirds (3-2, 0-1) in the fourth quarter, 15-0, and outgained ISU, 151-42, in the final period.
They scored on fourth-quarter drives of 70 and 73 yards.
NDSU quarterback Cole Payton was 12-for-14 passing for 194 yards and a touchdown. He also showed off his elusiveness, dodging through the ISU defense for 79 rushing yards and another score.
He lofted a 23-yard pass less than 2 minutes into the quarter to wide receiver Bryce Lance in the corner of the end zone for a score that put the Bison up, 25-16.
“The biggest challenge is his legs,” ISU linebacker Tye Niekamp said of Payton. “He’s next-level fast. He just got away from us today. It’s frustrating. We’re so close to beating an elite team and it got away from us in the fourth quarter.”
Rittenhouse, who finished 20-for-35 passing for 191 yards and a touchdown, was 3-for-10 for 21 yards and an interception in the fourth quarter.
“I just felt my execution and some of our execution with all 11 guys wasn’t there on certain plays,” he said.
NDSU closed out the scoring with a 5-yard D.J. Scott TD run with 8:21 left in the game.
Niekamp provided the first points of the game in the first quarter, giving ISU a safety when he tackled running back Barika Kpeenu in the end zone on the first play after a Hayden Futch punt pinned the Bison at their own 1-yard line.
Payton’s 13-yard run at the 2:50 mark of the first quarter provided the Bison with a 7-2 lead. The TD came seven plays after a fumble by ISU running back Victor Dawson, who led the Redbirds with 68 yards rushing.
The touchdown was punctuated when Payton hurdled ISU safety La’Shavion Brown near the goal line.
Wenkers Wright put ISU back on top, 9-7, with a 6-yard TD run. Wright had 52 of his 53 rushing yards in the first half.
With the Redbirds trailing, 15-9. late in the second quarter, they put together a 56-yard drive to the NDSU 19. On fourth-and-inches, Rittenhouse threw incomplete to Scotty Presson.
Spack said the coaching staff agreed Thursday that they would attempt any fourth downs inside the NDSU 40.
“We weren’t going to beat this team kicking field goals,” he said.
Game changers
0:27, 2nd quarter: On fourth-and-inches from the NDSU 19, Rittenhouse was pressured by NDSU defensive end Kelton McCaslin and threw incomplete to Presson.
3:06, 3rd quarter: Daniel Sobkowicz caught a 3-yard scoring pass from Rittenhouse to trim NDSU’s lead to 18-16.
13:14, 4th quarter: NDSU All-American wide receiver Bryce Lance caught a 23-yard pass in the corner of the end zone to punctuate an eight-play, 70-yard drive and put NDSU up, 25-16.
Best ‘Birds
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Illinois State players in Saturday’s game:
Sobkowicz, WR: Despite battling tight coverage, Sobkowicz led all receivers in the game with seven catches for 75 yards and a touchdown.
Niekamp, LB: The All-American linebacker had four tackles, with 1.5 tackles for loss and the only quarterback hurry of the game for the Redbirds.
Rittenhouse, QB: ISU’s quarterback threw for 191 yards and a touchdown, along with rushing for 15 yards.
What it means
The Redbirds lost to NDSU for the 14th consecutive time and fell to 1-10 in the Spack era against teams ranked No. 1.
What’s next
The Redbirds travel to face Murray State on Oct. 11. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. On Saturday, Murray (0-5, 0-1) lost at South Dakota, 49-24.
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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