By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com

BROOKINGS, S.D. –  Both teams were evenly matched for much of the contest, but the high-flying offense of the No. 8/9 South Dakota State Jackrabbits were able to separate from a beleaguered Sycamore defense for a 24-7 win over No. 19/21 Indiana State at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium on Saturday.

The Sycamores (3-2, 1-1 MVFC) never seemed to be completely out of the game, but they were also never able to hold the momentum away from SDSU (4-1, 1-1 MVFC) for very long.

“We needed to play our best game and we did not play our best game,” said ISU head coach Mike Sanford. “In some ways, we played our worst game. We made too many mistakes. We didn't do the things you need to do to win.”

“We had a difficult time of, when we were close, of making the move that we needed to make,” Sanford continued. “In the games we've won this year we've made that move, and we did not make that move today.”

The first quarter was an absolute blur, as it only took about 30 minutes and it featured a slew of offensive action; however, neither team had anything to show for it on the scoreboard. Both defenses made huge stops, with the Sycamores coming up big on the goal line following an efficient first-career drive for true freshman SDSU quarterback Taryn Christion (15-of-24, 221 yards, 1 TD; 16 carries, 99 yards, 1 TD) – starting in place of the injured Zach Lujan, the 12th-best QB in the FCS this season.

From the one yard-line, defensive linemen Conrrad Nicholls and Norvell McGlaun made a huge stop to give the Sycamores the ball. ISU escaped from the depths of its own territory, but still got stopped as it entered SDSU's area.

The two teams traded possessions in quick succession until the early minutes of the second quarter, when the game came to a standstill following a terrifying injury to leading-tackler Lonnell Brown Jr. Brown was immediately immobile and had to be carted off the field. It was later reported that Brown has movement in all his extremities and he even returned to the sideline by the fourth quarter. Brown received a rousing round of applause from the fans in Brookings and a touching tribute by the entire Sycamore bench, who came together as the cart passed by to wish him well.

Later that same drive, though, Christion showed his speed and scampered 10 yards into the endzone for the first score of the game at the 12:05 mark. Christion also showed off his arm with 2:08 left, hitting FCS No. 2-ranked wide receiver Jake Wieneke for a perfect 34-yard toss on play-action.

However, the Sycamores were never quite out of it. A modicum of momentum still remained in ISU's possession following some missed field goals and a questionable call by SDSU to run the ball with 12 seconds left in the half and no timeouts from only six yards out.

The game got real interesting at the 6:09 mark of the third quarter, when ISU had its play of the day. Quarterback Matt Adam (17-of-30, 198 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) escaped chaos in the backfield, picked up an incredible (but legal) crack-back block from center James Officer, and found a wide-open Gary Owens (three catches, 61 yards, 1 TD) 43 yards downfield for the score after Owens wisely decided to keep following Adam's movements.

The game was within reach heading into the fourth quarter, but ISU could never capitalize and the Jackrabbits took advantage of an exhausted Sycamore defense that had fought gallantly against one of the nation's top offenses.

Senior linebacker Kendall Walker once again led ISU in tackles, this time for a team season-high 15 stops (10 solo). Sophomore Antonio Broadus was also in double-digits with a career-high 10 tackles.

ISU returns home next week to host a lethal Southern Illinois (2-3, 1-1 MVFC) offense for Homecoming.

“We come home and play Southern Illinois, which is a really good football team, and we've got to beat them,” Sanford said.

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