Christion, Daniel help S. Dakota St. beat Illinois St. 38-28
NORMAL, Ill. (AP) — Taryn Christion passed for 292 yards and three touchdowns and Mikey Daniel scored two rushing touchdowns to help South Dakota State beat Illinois State 38-28 on Saturday.
Christion was 18-of-28 passing with one interception and moved into first on South Dakota State's career completions list with 740. Daniel finished with 84 yards rushing on 20 carries.
Adam Anderson's 64-yard catch-and-run gave South Dakota State (5-2, 3-2 Missouri Valley) a 7-0 lead 93 seconds in but, on the next play from scrimmage, Illinois State's Brady Davis hit Andrew Edgar for an 81-yard touchdown. One play after Xavier Ward forced and recovered a fumble, Daniel scored on a 5-yard run that made it 14-7 with 4:39 left in the first half. The Redbirds fumbled again on their next offensive play, setting up a Jacob Brown's 5-yard TD catch and, after an Illinois State punt, Christion's 81-yard touchdown pass to Cade Johnson made it 28-7 at halftime.
Daniel's 7-yard scoring run with 3:19 left in the third quarter gave the Jackrabbits, who came in ranked No. 8 in the FCS coaches poll, a 28-point lead.
Edgar had nine receptions for 202 yards and two touchdowns — all career highs — for ninth-ranked Illinois State (5-3, 2-3).
