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Indiana State University Athletics

UND Photo
33
Indiana St. ISU 0-8 , 0-5
36
Winner North Dakota UND 5-3 , 3-2
Indiana St. ISU
0-8 , 0-5
33
Final
36
North Dakota UND
5-3 , 3-2
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT F
ISU Indiana St. 0 7 3 20 3 33
UND North Dakota 0 7 7 16 6 36

Game Recap: Football | | Seth Montgomery | GoSycamores.com

Sycamores fall in overtime thriller at North Dakota, 36-33

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – No. 17/15 North Dakota overcame a 20-point fourth quarter rally from visiting Indiana State as the Sycamores fell in overtime in a thriller inside the Alerus Center on Saturday afternoon, 36-33.
 
Freshman quarterback Elijah Owens led a furious Indiana State (0-8, 0-5) comeback in ISU's first trip to Grand Forks in program history. The Jacksonville, Ill. native led three Indiana State touchdown drives over the span of 5:59 in the fourth quarter to swing a 21-10 deficit to a 30-27 ISU lead with 47 seconds remaining on the clock.

Indiana State battled throughout the fourth quarter as the Sycamores defense sparked the charge starting with 6:46 mark in the regulation. Lucas Hunter caught a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage as the defensive lineman hauled in the ball and rumbled down to the UND 39-yard line with ISU trailing 21-10. Justin Dinka scored the first of his two fourth quarter touchdowns on the next play as the ISU running back split the gap on the right side of the line and went 39 yards for the touchdown.
 
The teams traded punches the rest of the way as UND's Isaiah Smith's 71-yard carry set up his own three-yard touchdown carry to make it a 27-16 ballgame. The Sycamores responded as Owens found Dakota Caton over the middle for a 50-yard touchdown pass at the 4:10 mark in the fourth quarter to make it a 27-22 game.
 
The Sycamore defense forced a 3-and-out to turn possession back to Indiana State with 1:41 remaining in the contest. The Sycamores went to work from their own 25 with Owens finding Harry Van Dyne for a 23-yard completion to move the ball into UND territory, while a roughing the passer penalty moved the ball to the UND 26.
 
Two plays later, Owens was tripped up on a 20-yard scramble that ended at the UND 1. Dinka took it the rest of the way with the one-yard touchdown plunge to give the Sycamores the lead. Owens found Dinka open for the two-point conversion to make it a 30-27 game prior to UND's Schuster's late-game heroics.
 
North Dakota (5-3, 3-2) answered with an eight-play, 60-yard drive led by UND quarterback Tommy Schuster. Schuster slipped out for a 21-yard carry on 3rd-and-10 to move into Indiana State territory, before completing a 25-yard pass to Elijah Klein to set up CJ Elrich's game-tying 32-yard field goal conversion.
 
The Sycamores held possession first in the overtime period with UND limiting Indiana State to Jake Andjelic's 39-yard field goal to give ISU the 33-30 lead. The Fighting Hawks secured the win on their possession as Schuster found Quincy Vaughn over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown pass to provide the final 36-33 score.

Cade Chambers (12-of-20, 132 yards, 1 TD) and Owens (7-of-13, 113 yards, 1 TD, 2 interceptions) led the Indiana State passing game as the Sycamores tied their season-high through the air with 245 yards. Van Dyne was the primary recipient with seven catches for 110 yards, while Caton (six catches, 84 yards, 1 TD), and Tyce Ferrell both hauled in scores.
 
Dinka posted 16 carries for 82 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his first collegiate multi-touchdown game of the season. Plez Lawrence added 36 yards on seven carries as the Sycamores pounded out 143 yards on the ground.
 
Maddix Blackwell paced the Sycamores with 13 tackles for his fifth double-digit tackling effort of the season. The redshirt sophomore safety added 1.0 tackles for loss and forced a fumble, while Garret Ollendieck finished with 12 stops, a sack, and a team-high 2.0 TFLs.
 
Schuster led North Dakota's offense on the day as the UND quarterback finished 25-of-34 through the air for 273 yards, four touchdowns, and an interception. Isaiah Smith added 11 carries for 109 yards and a score, while Bo Belquist posted seven catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Wyatt Pedigo was UND's leading tackler with seven stops to go with two sacks. Devin Hembry and Malachi Buckner added interceptions in the win.
 
How They Scored
  • Indiana State was on the board first as Cade Chambers found Tyce Ferrell for a five-yard touchdown pass over the middle with 7:43 remaining in the second quarter to end a 12-play, 78-yard drive, and give ISU the 7-0 lead.
  • North Dakota tied the game up just before the end of the first half as Schuster targeted Smith for a three-yard touchdown pass to even it at 7-7 at the break.
  • Jake Andjelic put Indiana State back in the lead with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter as the sophomore kicker converted a 22-yard attempt to end a 10-play, 90-yard drive and give ISU the 10-7 lead.
  • Schuster found Belquist in the right corner of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass with 0:46 remaining in the third quarter to give UND the 14-10 lead.
  • Schuster connected with Belquist for the second time with 9:40 remaining in the fourth quarter with a 12-yard touchdown pass to put the Fighting Hawks ahead 21-10.
  • Justin Dinka followed up Lucas Hunters' interception with a 39-yard touchdown run to pull the Sycamores within 21-16 with 6:46 to play.
  • Smith responded for UND with a three-yard touchdown run to put the Hawks ahead 27-16 with 4:37 to play.
  • Elijah Owens found Dakota Caton over the middle and the redshirt senior wide receiver bounced off three tackles on the way to a 50-yard touchdown pass with 4:10 remaining in the contest to cut the deficit to 27-22.
  • The Sycamores used seven plays and 75 yards over a 54-second span with Dinka carrying the ball in from one yard out to put Indiana State back in the lead with 47 seconds remaining. Owens found Dinka for the two-point conversion connection to make it a 30-27 ISU advantage.
  • The Hawks moved the ball down the field to tie the game up just before the end of regulation as Elrichs hit from 32 yards out with four seconds remaining to tie the game at 30-30 and send it to overtime.
  • Andjelic put the Sycamores on the board in the overtime period with a 39-yard field goal conversion to put ISU ahead 33-30.
  • Schuster found Vaughn over the middle for a 15-yard overtime touchdown connection to end the game in favor of the UND. 
News & Notes
  • Elijah Owens found Dakota Caton for his second touchdown pass of the 2023 season. The duo previously connected against Ball State back on September 16 for a 49-yard touchdown pass against the Cardinals.
  • Maddix Blackwell posted his fifth double-digit tackling effort of 2023 and third consecutive game with 10+ tackles giving him a team-high 73 stops on the year. The safety is on pace to reach 100 tackles on the season with three games to play. He would become the first ISU player to achieve the feat since Jonas Griffth back in the 2019 season (106).
  • Jake Andjelic moved to 5-for-5 on field goal attempts in 2023 following his two conversions on Saturday afternoon. He also converted his lone extra-point opportunity on the day.
  • Indiana State lost the time of possession battle on Saturday afternoon for the first time in MVFC play as UND edged the Sycamores 33:04-26:56 in the category.
  • The Sycamores went into overtime for the first time since the 2018 season when ISU topped South Dakota in a triple-overtime contest at home on November 3, 51-48.
  • Indiana State falls to 0-2 all-time against North Dakota with the loss.
  • Harry Van Dyne eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark for the second time in the 2023 season after previously breaking the century-mark in the conference opener at Murray State (122 yards) on October 7.
  • Justin Dinka's two touchdowns on Saturday afternoon marked his first two scores of 2023. His last rushing touchdown prior came in the 2022 season finale against Missouri State.
  • Van Dyne (51) and Caton (50) both posted 50-yard receptions on Saturday marking the first time in 2023 the Sycamores had two 50-yard catches in the same game. It also marked the second and third times an ISU receiver had a 50-yard reception in 2023.
Postgame with Coach Mallory presented by Team Green Law 


Up Next
Indiana State returns home next weekend as the Sycamores host Youngstown State at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, November 4, as ISU continues Missouri Valley Football play. Kickoff between the Sycamores and the Penguins is set for 1 p.m. ET with the game set to be carried live on ESPN+ and 105.5 The Legend.
 
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