12/13/25 07:26:00
Printable Page
12/13 19:21 CST Rittenhouse, Sobkowicz help unseeded Illinois State beats UC
Davis, advance to FCS semis
Rittenhouse, Sobkowicz help unseeded Illinois State beats UC Davis, advance to
FCS semis
DAVIS, Calif. (AP) --- Tommy Rittenhouse threw two of his three touchdown
passes to to Daniel Sobkowicz, Chris Taylor returned a kickoff 91 yards for a
score, and unseeded Illinois State beat UC Davis 42-31 on Saturday in the
quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.
Illinois State (11-4), which beat top-seeded and previously unbeaten North
Dakota State 29-28 to advance to the quarterfinals, plays No. 12 seed Villanova
next Saturday. The Redbirds advanced to the semifinals for the third time in
program history, the first since 2014.
Caden Pinnick hit Zach Jones for a 65-yard gain but Shadwel Nkuba II punched
out the ball and recovered the fumble. The Redbirds followed with an 11-play,
80-yard drive that culminated with Rittenhouse throwing a 17-yard TD pass to
Sobkowicz that made it 35-17 with 2:06 left in the third quarter.
Rittenhouse was 15-of-20 passing for 266 yards and threw an interception.
Sobkowicz finished with 150 yards receiving, which included a 93-yard
touchdown, on six catches. Seth Glatz, who went into the game with three
rushing touchdowns this season, ran for TDs of 14 and 58 yards in the second
half. Victor Dawson had 148 yards rushing on 29 carries.
Illinois State finished with a season-high 273 yards rushing.
Pinnick was 29-of-41 passing for 402 yards and three touchdowns for No. 8 seed
UC Davis (9-4). Stacy Dobbins finished with 10 receptions for 121 yards and two
TDs. Jordan Fisher had a 23-yard rushing touchdown and caught a 1-yard TD pass
from Pinnick.
The Aggies drove to the Redbirds 2 before CJ Richard Jr. intercepted a pass in
the end zone with 9:34 remaining.
Sobkowicz has 250 career receptions, tied with Tyrone Walker (2009-12) for most
in program history.
The Aggies won the only previous matchup between the programs 42-10 in the
second round of the 2024 FCS playoffs.
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up
here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college football:
https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and
https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
|
