NORMAL — Jake Kolbe hooked up with Christian Gibbs for nearly identical first-half touchdown passes of 54 and 77 yards to spark Illinois State to a 24-13 Missouri Valley Football Conference victory Saturday before a sellout crowd of 13,391 at Hancock Stadium.
ISU (4-0, 2-0 in the MVFC) led 24-0 at halftime and hung on through a misfiring offensive second half with the invaluable help of a sturdy Redbird defense.
The Sycamores' first score came on a 47-yard Makhi Ware interception return. The extra point was wide right at the 11:12 mark of the third quarter.
A questionable targeting call that caused the ejection of ISU linebacker Brannon Barry kept an Indiana State drive alive.