 The Illinois State offense amassed 510 yards of total offense as
Dunn, a senior running back from Bloomington, set career highs with
22 carries for 120 yards and three scores. It tied an ISU school
record for rush touchdowns in a season opener and paced an ISU
ground game that totaled 318 yards on 51 carries. Hunt added a
career-high 127 yards on 14 carries, highlighted by an 82-yard
touchdown run.
Brown completed 19 of 30 passes for 166 yards and three scores,
setting the ISU all-time career record for completions along the
way. His 12-yard pass to Dunn on Illinois State's second drive gave
Brown 664 career completions, one more than former quarterback Kevin
Glenn (‘00). Tyrone Walker and Lechein Neblett were his top targets,
with each wideout registering six receptions.
ISU came out throwing, with Brown completing his first five
passes. Receptions were made to Neblett, Walker and Donovan Harden.
After a pass interference penalty gave the Redbirds first-and-goal
from the two, Dunn jumped over the defensive line for the score. The
scoring drive lasted 5:45 and covered 74 yards on 13 plays.
Dayton never found a rhythm offensively. The ISU defense limited
the Flyers to just three opening-half first downs and only 40 yards
of total offense at the break. Dayton never moved the ball into the
red zone in first half. Quarterback Will Bardo finished the game 7
for 21 for 96 yards and one touchdown. Dayton was 2 for 14 on third
downs and registered only seven first downs on the day. ISU seniors
Evan Frierson and Mike Zimmer each recorded one sack, while Colton
Underwood had a team-leading five tackles. Will Davis led the ISU
defense with 1.5 tackles-for-loss.
With 10:44 to go in the opening half, the Redbirds found the end
zone again. The offense orchestrated a seven-play, 41-yard drive,
capped by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brown to wideout Phil
Dudley. Brown had kept the drive alive with a 7-yard first-down
scamper on fourth-and-3 from the Flyers' 43-yard line.
Brown would find the end zone again with 3:58 to go in the
opening half, connecting with Neblett on a fade route for an 8-yard
score. It was the first career touchdown reception for Neblett and
put the Redbirds up 21-0.
Flyers punt returner Gary Hunter put Dayton on the board with a
77-yard punt return for a touchdown with 2:58 to go in the opening
half. It was the first time since 2007 that the Redbirds special
teams unit allowed a punt return for a score.
Illinois State would immediately respond. With time expiring in
the second quarter, Brown led an 11-play, 84-yard drive for a
touchdown. Dayton's second pass interference of the day gave
Illinois State first-and-10 inside the Dayton 20-yard line. With 12
seconds to go in the half, Brown connected with Neblett for a
14-yard score, giving ISU a 28-7 lead going into the break. The
Redbirds had 278 yards of total offense in the first half and led
the time-of-possession battle at a 4-to-1 pace.
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Dayton opened the second half with a three-and-out, and
Illinois State worked a seven-play drive for a score. Dunn
carried the ball on all but one play, finding pay dirt on a
4-yard dash to cap the 3:13 drive.
Dunn found the end zone again with 4:52 to go in the third,
highlighting an 11-play drive that covered 60 yards. He followed his
blockers for a 16-yard run on the left side for the score.
The Flyers then registered their only offensive touchdown of the
game. Wideout Randy Johnson caught a 17-yard touchdown pass from
Bardo to complete a 75-yard drive, making it 42-14 Redbirds.
Hunt's 82-yard touchdown run, which tied the fifth-longest
scoring rush in school history, gave ISU a 49-14 lead with 7:10 to
go in the game. It marked the first time since Oct. 16, 2010, that
two Redbirds amassed 100-plus rush yards in the same game. Ashton
Leggett and Erik Smith accomplished the feat against North Dakota
State two years ago.
Illinois State would add one more touchdown with 5:33 to play in
regulation, when Dontae McCoy blocked a punt and Pat Meehan
recovered and carried it 10 yards for a touchdown.
The 56 points scored by Illinois State was the most tallied in a
Redbird home-opener since 2000, when ISU put up 75 points against
West Virginia Tech on Aug. 21, 2000.
Saturday marked the first-ever meeting between Dayton and
Illinois State.
The Redbirds hit the road for a nonconference matchup Saturday,
Sept. 8, against FCS foe Eastern Michigan. Kickoff is slated for
noon CT from Ypsilanti, Mich.
[Text from
news release received from
GoRedbirds.com]
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