Late Touchdown Propels No. 4 Illinois State to 28

DEKALB, Ill. – Illinois State jumped out to a 21-0 lead on the road at Northern Illinois early in the second quarter, however the Huskies rallied to score 24 unanswered points to take the lead over the Redbirds in the fourth quarter. The Redbirds did not flinch though and scored a late touchdown on a 16-yard pass from Gage Roy to Alex Herrera to take the lead before a leaping interception by Doreon Dubose sealed the victory for the Redbirds (3-0) over the Huskies (0-2) Saturday night on Brigham Field at Huskie Stadium.

How It Happened:

• The Huskies took the opening kickoff and moved the ball near midfield and faced third-and-long, when Jack Oliver jumped a Jalen Macon throw to the sideline, picked it off and returned it for a 46-yard touchdown to give the Redbirds a 7-0 lead under three minutes into the game.

• ISU then extended its lead to 14-0 on a 14-yard touchdown run by quarterback Chase Kwiatkowski and an extra point by Cosentino with 6:27 remaining in the first quarter.

• A 6-yard touchdown pass from Gage Roy to Dylan Lord capped off a 10-play, 60-yard scoring drive for the Redbirds as the ISU lead grew to 21-0 just eight seconds into the second quarter.

• The Huskies would get on the board with 12:38 left in the second quarter, as Andruw Ellis intercepted a pass and ran it in for a 30-yard touchdown to cut into the ISU lead at 21-7.

• A 40-yard field goal by JJ Schlenhardt would then trim the deficit to 11 at 21-10 for the Huskies with 6:32 left before halftime.

• With just three seconds left in the first half, the Huskies would score on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Taron Dickens to DeAree Rogers that made the score 21-17 at halftime.

• NIU would take its first lead of the game with 7:24 to play on a 1-yard touchdown run by Telly Johnson Jr. to take a three-point advantage over the Redbirds, 24-21.

• However, the Redbirds would answer with a score of their own, as Roy led the Redbirds on an 11-play, 75-yard scoring drive that took 5:31 off the clock that was capped off by the 16-yard connection to Herrera to give ISU the 28-24 lead.

• The Huskies drove deep into Illinois State territory to the 20-yard line, but Dubose put the game away as he leaped high in the air to pick off the Dickens pass before he flipped upside down and fell to the turf with the football to secure the victory for ISU.

Game Notes:

• The win over an FBS foe was the fourth for head coach Brock Spack in his career at ISU, joining Eastern Michigan (2012), Northwestern (2016) and Colorado State (2018).

• Illinois State has now won 11 straight road games, the longest streak in FCS football.

• ISU's 3-0 start is its first since 2018, when ISU also took down an FBS foe in Colorado State.

• Oliver's interception extended a streak of 18-straight seasons with at least one defensive touchdown under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack … the interception was the first of Oliver's career and the third of the season for the Redbirds.

• Kwiatkowski's rushing touchdown was the first of his career at ISU.

• Lord's touchdown reception was his third of the season, and he finished with a team-high eight catches for 62 yards.

• Roy was stellar in his first start as a Redbird, completing 20-of-23 passes for 146 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Huskies.

• Herrera's only grab of the game went for the touchdown, which was his second in as many games for the Redbirds.

• Mason Kaplan led the team with 12 tackles and a half tackle-for-loss, while fellow inside linebacker Tye Niekamp added 11 tackles, two sacks and three TFLs in the win.

• The interception by Dubose was the second of his career, as he finished with five tackles in the contest.

• Landon Woodard served as game captain for ISU.

Next Up:

No. 4 Illinois State (3-0) returns home next Saturday to host Eastern Illinois (1-2) in the 114th meeting of the Mid-America Classic. Kickoff on Family Weekend is set for 2 p.m. CT on Jay and Lori Bergman Field at Hancock Stadium.

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