TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State turned the ball over a season high four times during a 42-23 loss to No.3 South Dakota State Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The Jackrabbits scored 28 points in the second quarter after entering the quarter tied at seven.
 
South Dakota State went 79 yards in under three minutes after returning the opening kickoff. J'Bore Gibbs found Kallan Hart from three yards out after the Sycamores were called for pass interference in the end zone. ISU in turn fumbles the ball on a bootleg passing play on their first offensive play, allowing SDSU to take control deep in ISU territory.
 
After the Sycamore defense did not allow the Jacks to move the ball following the fumble, ISU caught a break when Chase Vinatieri missed the field goal wide right from 22 yards out.
 
Two possessions later Indiana State would knot the game at seven when Kurtis Wilderman found Matae Thomas from 28 yards out on a play action pass.
 
Of the four Indiana State turnovers, South Dakota State was able to score just seven points, but the turnovers were more momentum swings. The Sycamores quick drives that ended in fumbles allowed the Jacks to put up 28 points in the second quarter and pull away.
 
Gibbs found Jaxon Janke on back-to-back 22 and 23 yard receptions to put South Dakota State back in front. Just 15 second later, South Dakota State got the ball back and scored when Gibbs found Cade Johnson for 25 yards out. Pierre Strong Jr. ran in his first touchdown of the day at the 5:53 mark of the second to make it a 28-7 lead for the visitors.
 
Jerry Nunez would break the scoring run for SDSU with a 37-yard field goal with just over three minutes left in the second quarter but the Jacks would rush in their fourth touchdown of the quarter with just 22 second remaining to make it 35-10 heading into the locker room.
 
The Sycamores used some trickery in the third quarter as Nunez lined up for the field goal. The senior received the direct snap and threw a 14-yard jump ball to the end zone that was caught by Zach Larkin to cut into the SDSU lead.
 
Dante Jones II caught his second touchdown of the season midway through the fourth quarter on a three yard flat route.
 
The Sycamores (3-4, 1-2 MVFC) were led by Kurtis Wilderman, who made his first career start under center, with a 196 yard passing day on 19-of-31 attempts. The redshirt sophomore connected on a pair of touchdowns through the air.
 
Running back Peterson Kerlegrand collected his third 100-plus rushing game of the season against the Jacks after barreling for 107 yards on 19 attempts. Matt Sora picked up 31 rushing yards late in the game on five attempts.
 
Ten different Sycamores recorded receptions in the game with tight end Matae Thomas leading the way with three catches for 52 yards, including his first career receiving touchdown. Sophomore Dakota Caton also picked up a trio of catches for 47 yards in the loss.
 
Safety Michael Thomas recorded a game high 10 tackles (six solo) in the loss for the Sycamores. The redshirt sophomore also recorded a sack and a forced fumble late in the second half for the Sycamores.
 
Louisville, Kentucky native Jonas Griffith finished the day with eight stops from the linebacker position. With the performance, the redshirt senior moved into 12^th place in career tackles (338) in program history, passing ISU Hall of Famer John Allman.
 
Khalif Copeland had six tackles, including a sack while Dayveon Higgs collected five stops and a pair of tackles-for-loss.
 
South Dakota State (6-1, 3-0 MVFC) racked up 452 yards of total offense with a balances passing and rushing attack. J'Bore Gibbs threw for 274 yards and a trio of touchdowns on 18-of-28 attempts. The SDSU slinger hit three different receivers for touchdowns but Cade Johnson led the receiving charge with seven catches for a game high 134 yards and a touchdown.
 
Pierre Strong Jr. rushed for 144 yards and a pair of touchdowns for South Dakota State. The sophomore averaged 8.5 yards per touch for the Jacks and lost just three yards total on 17 carries. C.J. Wilson added 26 yards and Mikey Daniel rushed for 14 yards.
 
Don Gardner led the Jackrabbit defense with seven tackles, including a sack. Tolu Ogunrinde finished with two of the Jackrabbits eight sacks on the day.
 
The Sycamores travel to Bloomington, Illinois next weekend to face nationally ranked Illinois State. Kickoff with the Redbirds is set for 3 p.m. ET from Hancock Stadium.
 
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