TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Indiana State took No. 1/1 North Dakota State to the wire on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium as the Sycamores fell to the visiting Bison, 31-26.
The Sycamores (1-4, 0-2 MVFC) held the 13-10 halftime lead over the Bison (5-1, 3-0 MVFC) thanks in part to a
Dante Hendrix touchdown reception and a
Cade Chambers one-yard quarterback keeper. North Dakota State fought its way back into the contest in the second half behind a three-touchdown game from TaMerik Williams to go up 24-20 midway through the third quarter.
A late 10-yard touchdown pass from Cam Miller to Zach Mathis put the Bison ahead 31-20 with 5:44 remaining in the fourth quarter before the Sycamores put together a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to fight back into the game. The drive was highlighted by a 34-yard
Dante Hendrix catch and a
Justin Dinka 25-yard carry, before
Cade Chambers found Hendrix in the left corner on a one-yard fade pattern to cut the lead down to 31-26.
On the ensuing onside kick, NDSU's Joe Stoffel collected the ball at the Bison 49 to end the Sycamores' final chances to come back.
Chambers went 12-for-26 for 162 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first collegiate start for the Sycamores. The redshirt sophomore targeted four different receivers with
Dante Hendrix hauled in seven catches for 109 yards and a pair of scores in the loss.
Justin Dinka recorded his first collegiate 100-yard rushing effort with 156 yards on nine carries, while adding an 82-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter. Chambers added 11 carries and a touchdown run, while
Tee Hodge posted seven carries for 19 yards in his first game back from injury.
Rylan Cole recorded a career-high 19 tackles in leading four Sycamores with double-digit stops in the game. The sophomore safety added a forced fumble that ended a NDSU drive deep in Indiana State territory.
Bilhal Kone and
Lucas Hunter added a career-high 11 tackles in the game, while
Geoffrey Brown posted his second consecutive double-digit tackling effort and third of the season with 11 stops.
Miller completed 21-of-27 passes for 210 yards to pace the NDSU passing attack. Mathis was his favorite target on the afternoon with six catches for 88 yards and a score. Williams added 13 carries for 145 yards and three touchdowns, while Hunter Luepke posted 15 carries for 77 yards as NDSU churned out 325 rushing yards in the game.
NDSU's James Kaczor posted 10 tackles and two sacks in the Bison win. Will Mostaert added a sack and blocked a Sycamore field game attempt to highlight the NDSU defense.
How They Scored
- Indiana State struck first to take the 6-0 lead with 14:10 left in the second quarter as Dante Hendrix hauled in the 14-yard touchdown pass from Cade Chambers to cap a 9-play, 80-yard drive. The drive was highlighted by 24-yard connection from Chambers to Kevin Barnett at the ISU 37 that switched the field and put the Sycamores in NDSU territory for the first time on the afternoon.
- Griffin Crosa put the Bison on the board with a 34-yard field goal with 3:34 left in the second quarter to end a 14-play, 58-yard drive and cut the Indiana State lead down to 6-3.
- The Sycamores added to their lead as Cade Chambers took the ball over the goal-line with a one-yard QB keeper to put Indiana State ahead 13-3 with 2:29 left in the first half. The drive was highlighted by a 36-yard circus catch by Dante Hendrix down the right sideline that put the Sycamores with 1st-and-10 from the NDSU 8.
- North Dakota State pushed across a touchdown prior to the halftime break as TaMerik Williams scored on a two-yard carry with 1:19 on the clock to cut the Indiana State lead down to 13-10.
- Williams was back in the end zone early in the third quarter with a 16-yard carry putting the Bison ahead 17-13 on the NDSU opening possession in the second half.
- Justin Dinka quickly switched the scoreboard back for the Sycamores as the redshirt sophomore broke loose on an 82-yard touchdown run over the right side to put Indiana State ahead 20-17 with 10:12 left in the third quarter.
- Williams scored for the third time in the contest as the NDSU running back took the ball over the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown run with 6:14 left in the third quarter. The carry capped an 8-play, 75-yard drive.
- Cam Miller found Zach Mathis for a 10-yard touchdown pass with 5:44 left in the fourth quarter to end a 14-play, 70-yard drive and put the Bison ahead 31-20.
- Chambers found Hendrix for the second time in the contest with a one-yard fade route on 4th-and-Goal to put the score at 31-26 with 2:00 remaining.
Inside the Numbers
- Indiana State compiled a season-high 340 yards of total offense on the day with ISU averaging 6.2 yards per snap against the Bison.
- The Sycamores were paced by a season-best 178 rushing yards on 29 carries with 156 coming from Justin Dinka.
- The Sycamores won the turnover battle forcing and recovering three NDSU fumbles, while ISU did not turn the ball over in the game.
- Indiana State also was not penalized in a game for the first time in the 2022 season.
- NDSU finished the game with 522 yards of total offense with 312 rushing yards in the win.
- The Bison held the edge in the time of possession battle by a 37:28-22:32 margin.
Mr. 2000
News & Notes
- Dante Hendrix became the fourth Indiana State wide receiver to eclipse 2,000 career receiving yards following an 11-yard reception late in the first quarter.
- Hendrix finished the game with 2,106 career receiving yards as the redshirt senior overtook both Terry Bell (2,048 – 1982-85) and Robert Tonyan Jr. (2,047 – 2013-16) for the second-most receiving yards in Indiana State history. Hendrix currently trails just Sam Logan (2,385 – 2003-06) in the ISU annals.
- Hendrix's seven receptions gave the Florence, Ky. native 162 career receptions, moving him into a three-way tie for 23rd all-time in MVFC history with SDSU's Cade Johnson (2017-19) and Illinois State's Rickey Garrett (1996-99).
- Hendrix's 109 yard receiving effort was the fifth 100-yard receiving game of his collegiate career and first since he posted 121 yards on Oct. 16, 2021, at Missouri State.
- Justin Dinka's 156 rushing yards were a career-high for the redshirt sophomore running back and the most by a Sycamore since Peterson Kerlegrand rushed for 178 yards last season against Western Illinois.
- Dinka's 82-yard rushing touchdown was the longest by a Sycamore running back since LeMonte Booker broke loose for an 87-yard carry back on Nov. 1, 2014, against Missouri State.
- Dinka has posted at least 70 rushing yards in each of the last three games in becoming the first Sycamore to hit the mark since Ja'Quan Keys rushed for at least 70 yards in seven consecutive games in the 2018 season.
- Rylan Cole's 19-tackle game was the most by a Sycamore since Katrell Moss last recorded 19 stops against South Dakota back on Nov. 3, 2018.
- Indiana State fell to 1-10 all-time against the No. 1 team in the FCS rankings following the loss.
- The Sycamores' 26 points were the most by ISU against NDSU in program history.
- Indiana State recognized members of the 1972 football team during the game as the Sycamores welcomed back the squad for their 50th anniversary.
Up Next
Indiana State is back on the road next weekend as the Sycamores make the trip to Youngstown, Ohio and Stambaugh Stadium to take on the Youngstown State University Penguins on Saturday, October 15. Kickoff between the Sycamores and the Penguins in the MVFC matchup is set for 2 p.m. The game will be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
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