Redbirds fall on homecoming to No. 3 ranked Bison

Image is courtesy of goredbirds.com

NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State football team hosted the No. 3 ranked North Dakota State Bison for their homecoming game.

The Bison got the ball to begin the game, but it was the Redbirds who would make the stop. Unable to make anything happen the Redbirds would give the ball back to the Bison. Later in the first quarter the Bison got on the board first, scoring a touchdown on a four-yard pass by quarterback Quincy Patterson.

The Bison were driving early in the second quarter but an interception by Clayton Isbell at the ISU 10 gave the Redbirds the ball back and held the Bison from scoring.

Late in the second quarter the Redbirds would be driving at the Bison 29-yard line with under a minute left. The Redbirds went for it on fourth down and ten but could not convert it, giving the ball back to the Bison with 42 seconds left in the half. The Bison would march down the field and kick a 46-yard field goal to extend their lead to 10 before the half.

The Redbirds got the ball to start the half, going down the field to set up a 53-yard field goal that would be wide left and would keep the Redbirds off the board.

The Redbird defense held strong making two crucial turnovers off the Bison while they were in the redzone. The first, a turnover on downs, not letting the Bison pick up the fourth and short. Then later another interception gave the ball back to the Redbirds.

Despite the strong defensive performance, the Redbirds would give up 10 more points in the fourth quarter and the offense was unable to muster anything up.

The Redbird offense struggled in this one, getting shut out and only recording 99 yards of total offense. On the other end the Bison finished with 325 yards of total offense.

The Redbirds now fall to 2-4 on the season and 0-3 in MVFC play. They will look to bounce back next week when they play South Dakota on the road.