12/20/25 10:06:00
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12/20 22:01 CST Illinois State beats Villanova 30-14 to advance to FCS title
game against Montana State
Illinois State beats Villanova 30-14 to advance to FCS title game against
Montana State
PHILADELPHIA (AP) --- Tommy Rittenhouse threw two touchdown passes to Daniel
Sobkowicz and Victor Dawson rushed for 155 yards and a score to lead Illinois
State to a 30-14 victory over Villanova in a FCS semifinal on Saturday night at
Villanova Stadium.
The Redbirds (12-4) put an emphatic end to the Wildcats' 11-game win streak and
will play Montana State in the title game on Jan. 5 in Nashville, Tenn. The
Bobcats beat Montana 48-23 to advance.
Illinois State lost 37-7 to Southern Illinois to close out the regular season
before pulling off road wins over Southeastern Louisiana, North Dakota State,
UC Davis and the Wildcats (12-3) to reach the final.
Rittenhouse and Sobkowicz teamed up for a 53-yard score late in the first
quarter to give Illinois State a 7-0 lead.
Dawson scored on a 1-yard run at the end of a 13-play drive --- aided by three
Wildcat penalties --- for a two-score lead in the second quarter. Rittenhouse
threw a short pass on first down that Seth Glatz turned into a 68-yard gain and
then hit Sobkowicz two plays later for an 8-yard touchdown and a 21-6 lead at
halftime.
Michael Cosentino did all the Redbirds' scoring in the second half with two
third-quarter field goals and another in the fourth.
Rittenhouse completed 18 of 38 passes for 251 yards with an interception.
Sobkowicz had seven receptions for 97 yards and Dawson did his damage on 34
carries.
Pat McQuaide had 199 yards on 13-for-30 passing for Villanova. That included a
16-yard touchdown throw to Antionio Johnson with 3:18 remaining. Jack Barnum
kicked two field goals.
Illinois State gets its second shot at a championship. The Redbirds were
runners-up in 2014, losing 29-27 to North Dakota State. It was the fourth of
five straight championships for the Bison.
Villanova beat Montana 23-21 in 2009 in Chattanooga, Tenn., in its only
appearance in the title game.
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