NDSU vs ISU, 37 to 3

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The NDSU ‘Bison’ head to Normal to take on the Illinois State ‘Redbirds’. Nothing Normal about the Redbirds. They are currently ranked number 6 in the FCS. They are coached by Brock Spack one of the best coaches in the NCAA. They feature a running back who set all-time rushing stats in the state of Illinois: All-American RB #25 James Robinson. 10th in the FCS with 108 yards per game, he is on the Walter Payton Award Watch List. James is one of those backs who are hard to tackle. He is averaging two Touchdowns and 108 yards per game. Freshman receiver Kacper Rutkiewicz is averaging 23 yards per catch this year. The Redbird Defense is pretty good too. They have 20 sacks this year. It is going to take some fine play by the Bison to walk out of Hancock Stadium with a win.

Sideline Storyline

Jimmy Kepouros
James ‘Jimmy’ Kepouros hails from Lemont, Illinois. He red-shirted at Western Michigan in 2015, played at the College of DuPage in 2016, before transferring to NDSU in 2017. Unfortunately, he suffered an ACL injury that summer during workouts. In 2018 Jimmy played in four games but did not have a reception. With the graduation of WR #20 Darrius Shepherd, the Bison need help at Wide Receiver. Much is expected of Kepouros. Jimmy feels he’s up to the task.

With Shep leaving, I knew there was a big role that had to be filled in our offense. There is no better time than now. I felt like I was experienced enough. I didn’t have a lot of game reps but I felt like mentally I was pretty experienced with the speed of college football. -Jimmy Kepouros, NDSU Wide Receiver

Game Review

Pre-Game

The game was played from 12:05–2:57 pm., at the Hancock Stadium (Normal, IL) with 13,391 in attendance. At kick-off it was 60-degrees with a 10–15 mph wind, under mostly cloudy skies. The sun did come out at times. The Bison were 12-point favorites, according to: 5dimes.com.

The ‘Redbird’ Team Captains: QB #1 Brady Davis, DB #14 Luther Kirk, PK #41 JT Bohlken, and LB #50 Ty DeForest meet the ‘Bison’ Team Captains: FS #6 James Hendricks, RB #28 Ty Brooks, TE #82 Ben Ellefson, and DE #91 Derrek Tuszka at mid-field for the coin toss. NDSU wins the toss; they choose to defer. ISU will receive and drive toward the south end-zone.

First Half Drives

NDSU #38 Garret Wegner to kickoff the game: with a 65-yard Touchback.

  1. ISU 25. RB #25 James Robinson runs 4 yards, 5 yards, and 4 yards. QB #1 Brady Davis’ pass is complete to WR #2 Austin Nagel for 4 yards, but CB #9 Marquise Bridges forces a fumble, which is recovered by LB #55 Aaron Mercadel. Aaron also picks up an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty for spiking the football.
  2. NDSU 44. QB #5 Trey Lance’s pass to WR #1 Christian Watson is batted away by DB #3 Devin Taylor. RB #24 Kobe Johnson runs 2 yards. Lance’s pass is complete to WR #11 Phoenix Sproles for 15 yards on the left hash mark. RB #28 Ty Brooks runs 4 yards. Lance finds TE #87 Noah Gindorff wide open for a 35-yard Touchdown. #36 Griffin Crosa kicks the extra point. NDSU takes an early lead 7 to 0. #38 Garret Wegner kicks a Touchback.
  3. ISU 25. RB #25 James Robinson runs 3 yards. QB #1 Brady Davis is sacked for a loss of 4 yards by LB #42 Jabril Cox. Cox with a QB Hurry forces the ball out early: incomplete to Robinson over the sideline. #41 JT Bohlken punts the football 39 yards. A Fair Catch is called by WR #84 Trevor Heit.
  4. NDSU 37. RB #18 Adam Cofield runs left 7 yards; then 3 yards. RB #28 Ty Brooks runs up the middle for a 53-yard Touchdown. FB #39 Garrett Malstrom made the hole Ty ran through. FS #6 James Hendricks tries to run for 2-points but fails. NDSU leads 13 to 0. #38 Garret Wegner’s kickoff goes out-of-bounds.
  5. ISU 35. RB #25 James Robinson runs 2 yards into CB #33 Destin Talbert and LB #55 Aaron Mercadel. QB #1 Brady Davis hits Robinson for a 4-yard gain; pulled down from behind by DE #91 Derrek Tuszka. Davis sees Derrek offside and throws deep to WR #13 Braxton Haley: incomplete. Tuszka is called Offside. Robinson runs 4 yards. RB #7 Jeff Proctor runs 3 yards. Robinson runs 3 yards; then 23 yards through the Bison Defense. LB #55 Aaron Mercadel stops Robinson’s next run for no gain. Robinson runs 12 yards, 1 yard, and no gain; coughing up the football. DE #99 Spencer Waege forced the fumble but it was recovered by WR #13 Braxton Haley at the NDSU 9. Davis overthrows WR #15 Kacper Rutkiewicz at the goal-line. #36 Sam Fenlason kicks a 25-yard Field Goal. NDSU still leads 13 to 3. #40 Aidan Bresnahan on the ensuing kickoff. RB #28 Ty Brooks returns the kick 79 yards. DB #26 Jarrell Jackson ran him down.
  6. NDSU at the ISU 18. NDSU is called for Delay Of Game. RB #24 Kobe Johnson is tackled by DL #99 John Ridgeway for no gain. RB #18 Adam Cofield runs 3 yards. DL #90 Steven Podkulski chased QB #5 Trey Lance out-of-bounds for a loss of one yard. #36 Griffin Crosa kicks a 38-yard Field Goal. NDSU leads 16 to 3. Wegner with a Touchback.
  7. ISU 25. QB #1 Brady Davis’ pass to WR #13 Braxton Haley is broken up by CB #14 Josh Hayes. RB #7 Jeff Proctor runs into DE #91 Derrek Tuszka for a 2-yard gain. Second Quarter. Davis’ pass is complete to RB #25 James Robinson for 18 yards to the left sideline. Davis runs 2 yards. LB #52 Jackson Hankey drops Proctor for a loss of 2 yards. Davis is sacked for loss of 4 yards by DE #91 Derrek Tuszka. WR #84 Trevor Heit returns #41 JT Bohlken’s punt 8 yards. CB #14 Josh Hayes was penalized for Holding.
  8. NDSU 20. RB #18 Adam Cofield pushes the pile 5 yards. QB #5 Trey Lance’s pass is complete to WR #1 Christian Watson; going out-of-bounds after a 6-yard gain. WR #19 Jimmy Kepouros runs the jet-sweep right 2 yards. QB #5 Trey Lance’s pass is complete to WR #89 Cole Jacob for 14 yards. Lance with a short pass to WR #19 Jimmy Kepouros for 5 yards. Cofield runs right 13 yards; then 2 yards. Lance goes back to Kepouros for 29 yards down the middle. Cofield runs right 4 yards for a Touchdown. #36 Griffin Crosa kicks the extra point. NDSU leads 23 to 3. #38 Garret Wegner on the ensuing kickoff. A Fair Catch is called by DB #7 Peyton Jones.
  9. ISU 25. QB #1 Brady Davis’ pass is broken up by FS #6 James Hendricks. (to WR #2 Austin Nagel) RB #25 James Robinson runs into SS #26 James Kaczor and DT #60 Lane Tucker for no gain. Davis’ pass is incomplete to TE #87 Robert Gillum. #41 JT Bohlken’s punts bounces into the end-zone before the Redbirds can stop it.. a Touchback.
  10. NDSU 25. RB #28 Ty Brooks runs 2 yards. FB #44 Hunter Luepke runs right 10 yards. RB #30 Saybein Clark runs 2 yards. RB #18 Adam Cofield runs 1 yard. Timeout NDSU. A QB Hurry by DB #14 Luther Kirk forces QB #5 Trey Lance to throw the ball away. Wegner punts 47 yards. A Fair Catch is called by DB #9 Charles Woods.
  11. ISU 18. QB #1 Brady Davis hits WR #2 Austin Nagel for 14 yards. DT #98 Matt Biegler was credited with a QB Hurry. Davis runs 5 yards. Davis hits WR #15 Kacper Rutkiewicz for 13 yards. Davis goes back to Rutkiewicz for 6 yards. Davis’ next pass is broken up by CB #9 Marquise Bridges. (A deep pass to WR #13 Braxton Haley) DE #99 Spencer Waege was credited with a QB Hurry. Davis to Haley is incomplete as FS #6 James Hendricks batted the ball, and LB #54 Jake Kava was credited with another QB Hurry. JT Bohlken’s punt is downed deep by DB #26 Jarrell Jackson.
  12. NDSU 02. RB #18 Adam Cofield runs 1 yard into LB #55 Brandon Simon and DL #99 John Ridgeway. Timeout Illinois State. Cofield loses a yard to LB #50 Ty DeForest. (No Face-mask call on the Redbirds) Timeout Illinois State. TE #82 Ben Ellefson is called for a False Start. QB #5 Trey Lance runs 2 yards into Ridgeway. DB #24 Christian Uphoff tried to tackle Umpire: Steve Flanagan. Timeout Illinois State. Timeout NDSU. #38 Garret Wegner punts the football 40 yards where it was downed by LS #41 Ross Kennelly.
  13. ISU on the NDSU 43. QB #1 Brady Davis overthrows WR #15 Kacper Rutkiewicz over the middle. Davis is sacked for a loss of 10 yards by DE #91 Derrek Tuszka. The resulting fumble was recovered by OL #67 Cole Anderson. Davis is sacked again for a loss of 12 yards by DE #93 Logan McCormick. Timeout NDSU with 0:14 on the clock. #41 JT Bohlken punts. A Fair Catch is called by WR #84 Trevor Heit.
  14. NDSU 20. QB #5 Trey Lance takes a knee to send his team to the locker room.

Second Half Drives

Redbird #40 Aidan Bresnahan with the second half kickoff for a Touchback.

  1. NDSU 25. QB #5 Trey Lance rolls to his right and dumps a pass to WR #19 Jimmy Kepouros on the sideline for a 6-yard gain. RB #18 Adam Cofield runs 5 yards. RB #28 Ty Brooks runs 5 yards; then runs left 27 yards. RB #24 Kobe Johnson is stopped by LB #6 Tuvone Clark and DL #96 Jacob Powell for no gain. OT #68 Zack Johnson is called for Unsportsmanlike Conduct: 15 yards to the ISU 47. Lance gains 1 yard after LB #6 Tuvone Clark and LB #42 Dylan Draka made the tackle. RB #30 Saybein Clark runs 7 yards. #38 Garret Wegner punts the ball 28 yards; downed by LB #42 Jabril Cox.
  2. ISU 11. RB #25 James Robinson runs left 29 yards through the Bison defenders, and CB #14 Josh Hayes is called for a (late hit) Personal Foul. First and 10 at the NDSU 45. Robinson runs 3 yards, 5 yards, and a loss of one yard to LB #52 Jackson Hankey and SS #25 Michael Tutsie. ISU is called for a False Start. #41 JT Bohlken punts a 43-yard Touchback.
  3. NDSU 25. RB #28 Ty Brooks runs into LB #31 Aaron Mends and DE #8 Romeo McKnight for no gain. QB #5 Trey Lance completes a 9-yard pass to WR #1 Christian Watson. Lance runs 4 yards. RB #18 Adam Cofield runs left 2 yards before he’s tackled by DB #14 Luther Kirk. RB #24 Kobe Johnson runs right 12 yards; then left 5 yards. Brooks runs 2 yards; Mends made the tackle. Lance runs right and stretches 3 yards for the Bison First Down. Cofield is tackled by Mends after a gain of one. A QB Hurry by LB #6 Tuvone Clark forces Lance to roll right; the pass is batted down by DB #24 Christian Uphoff. (incomplete to TE #82 Ben Ellefson) Lance’s next pass is complete to WR #1 Christian Watson, who races through the Redbird defense for a 42-yard Touchdown. Watson drops the ball as he crosses the goal-line: hot dogging. The play is reviewed: Touchdown. #36 Griffin Crosa kicks the extra point. NDSU leads 30 to 3. Wegner’s kickoff goes out-of-bounds again and draws the penalty.
  4. ISU 35. QB #1 Brady Davis’ pass is almost intercepted by FS #6 James Hendricks. Davis’ next pass finds WR #15 Kacper Rutkiewicz who races down to the NDSU 1 before he’s tackled by CB #9 Marquise Bridges and CB #14 Josh Hayes. DT #94 Costner Ching and LB #52 Jackson Hankey bring down RB #25 James Robinson for a loss of 1 yard. SS #25 Michael Tutsie and Hankey drop Robinson for another 1-yard loss. OL #52 Adam Solomon is called for a False Start. A QB Hurry by DT #98 Matt Biegler forces Davis’ pass a little high; almost intercepted by SS #25 Michael Tutsie). Fourth and Goal at the NDSU 08.
    QB #1 Brady Davis’ pass is broken up by FS #6 James Hendricks. (incomplete to WR #2 Austin Nagel)
  5. NDSU 08. RB #18 Adam Cofield is tackled by LB #42 Dylan Draka for no gain. Fourth Quarter. QB #5 Trey Lance runs 27 yards straight ahead with half the Redbird d-line. RB #24 Kobe Johnson runs 2 yards. RB #30 Saybein Clark runs right 10 yards. Lance runs right 7 yards. Johnson loses a yard to LB #5 Zeke Vandenburgh. Lance completes a 12-yard pass to TE #82 Ben Ellefson. DL #99 John Ridgeway stops Cofield for no gain. The fumble was overturned on review: Adam was on his back when the ball came out. RB #28 Ty Brooks runs 11 yards; then 2 yards. Johnson leaps over the Redbirds for 3 yards. Lance completes a 9-yard pass to WR #19 Jimmy Kepouros. Clark runs 1 yard; tackled by DB #24 Christian Uphoff. Johnson runs 2 yards; tackled by DB #9 Charles Woods. Lance finds TE #82 Ben Ellefson in the end-zone: Touchdown. #36 Griffin Crosa kicks the extra point. NDSU leads 37 to 3. #38 Garret Wegner on the ensuing kickoff with a Touchback.
  6. ISU 25. RB #25 James Robinson is stopped by DT #60 Lane Tucker and LB #54 Jake Kava for no gain. QB #1 Brady Davis’ pass is complete to Robinson, but it loses a yard as he runs sideways and backwards before LB #31 Jasir Cox and SS #26 James Kaczor make the tackle. Davis has time but can’t find a receiver, he throws it away. #41 JT Bohlken punts the ball 21 yards. (Downed)
  7. NDSU at the ISU 45. #8 Zeb Noland in as Quarterback. RB #24 Kobe Johnson runs left 11 yards; then 1 yard into DL #90 Steven Podkulski. RB #30 Saybein Clark runs 6 yards; then 17 yards. Johnson runs 3 yards; then 2 yards into DL #94 Jason Lewan. Noland fumbles the snap, but recovers: a loss of 2 yards. Fourth and Goal at the ISU 07. Clark runs 4 yards.
  8. ISU 03. RB #3 Kevin Brown runs 1 yard into DT #60 Lane Tucker. RB #3 Kevin Brown runs 4 yards on the last play of game. North Dakota State 37, Illinois State 3

Post Game Notes

The Bison Offense score on its first four drives. The Bison Defense held the Redbirds to one field goal. The game calmed down until late in the third quarter. WR #1 Christian Watson scored his first college Touchdown. This was followed by a 64-yard catch and run by WR #15 Kacper Rutkiewicz. What should have been an easy Redbird touchdown, turned bad: two runs by Robinson, which lost two yards, a false start penalty, followed by two Davis passes broken up by the Bison. This was the game in a nutshell. Illinois State was held without a touchdown for the first time since 2016.

Great Plays

I made note of some interesting plays during the game.

  • First Quarter
  • The Redbirds fumble a completed pass. LB #55 Aaron Mercadel scoops it up, runs, goes out-of-bounds, and then spikes the football. A 15-yard penalty. Aaron was in the way of FS #6 James Hendricks, who was in a better position to scoop up the football, and I doubt would have spiked it.
  • TE #87 Noah Gindorff was wide open for a big reception. Once he finished his block the Redbirds let him go.
  • RB #28 Ty Brooks follows with a Touchdown run. The Bison run a weird play: FS #6 James Hendricks takes the direct snap behind a split formation and is tackled in the backfield.. so much for the two-point conversion.
  • The Bison have a stifling Defensive Line.
  • LB #55 Aaron Mercadel needs to wrap up his tackle on ISU RB #25 James Robinson, just hitting him isn’t enough to stop him. SS #25 Michael Tutsie too, Robinson just gave him a spin move and escaped his tackle.
  • RB #28 Ty Brooks with an 80-yard run. He got hawked by a Redbird, he’s not as fast as I thought.
  • Second Quarter
  • Nice tackle by LB #52 Jackson Hankey.
  • QB #5 Trey Lance looks at RB #28 Ty Brooks at the hash, which freezes the defenders; then at the last second rotates and throws a deep pass to WR #19 Jimmy Kepouros over the middle. A thing of beauty.
  • RB #18 Adam Cofield gets low and launches himself across the goal-line for a Touchdown.
  • The Bison in a ‘Delta Formation’ (Backfield full of running backs), Lance throws to FB #44 Hunter Luepke for a First Down.
  • CB #9 Marquise Bridges catches up to WR #13 Braxton Haley, rotates towards the football, and breaks up the pass.
  • FS #6 James Hendricks makes a great play against Haley.
  • NDSU Defense gets a Three and Out.
  • The Officiating crew doesn’t call a Facemask Penalty on the Redbirds. On the next play, Karma kicks in as the Redbird defender mistakes the Ref for a Bison. He ends up getting pushed to the ground.. still no penalty. ha ha.
  • The Redbirds are out of time outs. With little time on the clock, it all but guarantees pass plays. The Bison Defenders stack Davis twice in a row.
  • Third Quarter
  • It’s only a five yard gain, but RB #28 Ty Brooks waited for a hole to open up before running.
  • Brooks with another big gain thanks to a big block by OT #68 Zack Johnson.
  • LB #42 Jabril Cox fields #38 Garret Wegner’s punt on the 1-yard line. (Somehow it got out to the 15?)
  • WR #1 Christian Watson splits two defenders after a catch, and runs for a Touchdown. Watson’s hot dog play: tossing the football while crossing the goal-line, needed to be confirmed before they put 6 points on the ball. I’m sure he got yelled at by the coaches.
  • The Redbirds have a Touchdown called short. They can’t punch it in from one yard on four tries! Even with Robinson!!
    • CB #9 Marquise Bridges and FS #6 James Hendricks both go for Davis’ pass. Hendricks had it but Bridges got in the way. SS #25 Michael Tutsie also had a good shot at an interception.
    • Hendricks bats down the Fourth Down attempt.
  • Fourth Quarter
  • Third and Goal. It looks like all or nothing. Lance hits TE #82 Ben Ellefson standing in the end-zone.
  • LB #31 Jasir Cox is back. Linebacker Jasir Cox played on special teams, his first action since suffering an injury in the season opener against Butler.
  • RB #30 Saybein Clark comes in late and gets some good runs on fresh legs.
  • QB #8 Zeb Noland fumbles a snap. The Bison go-for-it on Fourth and 7. Fail. Matt Entz gives Zeb the reps rather than take the easy three points.
Scoring Summary
Qtr Clock Team Player, Scoring Play Plays Yards TOP NDSU ISU
1st 11:11 NDSU Noah Gindorff 35-yard pass 5 56 1:59 7 0
1st 08:20 NDSU Ty Brooks 53-yard run 3 63 1:13 13 0
1st 02:03 ISU Sam Fenlason 25-yard field goal 12 56 6:17 13 3
1st 00:07 NDSU Griffin Crosa 38-yard field goal 4 –3 1:44 16 3
2nd 07:17 NDSU Adam Cofield 4-yard run 9 80 4:56 23 3
3rd 02:43 NDSU Christian Watson 42-yard pass 11 80 5:51 30 3
4th 07:32 NDSU Ben Ellefson 7-yard pass 15 92 7:47 37 3

Statistics

Game Stats NDSU ISU
Rushing Yards 293 79
Passing Yards 189 121
Total Offensive 482 200
Plays 70 51
Penalty Yards 7–66 2–10
First Downs 22 11
3rd Downs 8–13 3–12
4th Downs 0–1 0–1
Time Of Possession 35:57 24:03
  • QB #5 Trey Lance was 12 of 15 passing for 189 yards and three Touchdowns. He also run the ball seven time for 43 yards. Trey was named the NDSU Player Of The Game. He was also named Newcomer Of The Week and Offensive Player Of The Week by the MVFC.
  • RB #28 Ty Brooks ran 9 times for 106 yards including a 53-yard Touchdown and a 79-yard kickoff return.
  • WR #1 Christian Watson caught his first NDSU Touchdown. He had three catches for 57 yards.
  • WR #19 Jimmy Kepouros caught 4 passes for 49 yards.
  • TE #87 Noah Gindorff caught a 35-yard Touchdown pass.
  • TE #82 Ben Ellefson caught two passes for 19 yards including a Touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. It was his 14th career Touchdown catch.
  • LB #42 Jabril Cox led the Bison with six tackles including a four-yard sack and a Quarterback Hurry.
  • LB #52 Jackson Hankey also had six tackles including 2.5 TFL (Tackles For Loss) for 3 yards.
  • DE #91 Derrek Tuszka has five tackles including two sacks for 14 yards, and a Forced Fumble.
  • FS #6 James Hendricks had four of the NDSU’s nine Pass Breakups and three tackles.
  • CB #14 Josh Hayes announced on Twitter last week that he’s a new father.

There is physical and there is Bison Physical. -Matt Entz, NDSU Coach

Media

Stream the entire game from KVLY and the NBC North Dakota Sports Network on YouTube.com. Brian Shawn and Lee Timmerman in the booth with Ryan Gellner on the sideline.

NDSU vs ISU, 37 to 3

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