FCS over FBS upset: Illinois State wins second straight game against FBS opponent with win at Colorado State

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — For the second time in as many tries, the Illinois State football team took down an FBS foe as the Redbirds (3-0) dominated Colorado State (1-4) on the offensive side of the football to come away with a 35-19 win over the Rams at Canvas Stadium Saturday afternoon.

The Redbirds' last win against an FBS team was on Sept. 10, 2016 at Northwestern, when they beat the Wildcats 9-7.

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How it happened:
•    The Rams scored first, as K.J. Carta-Samuels found Olabisi Johnson for a 9-yard touchdown to cap off a 14-play, 80-yard drive. The extra point was missed off the right upright with 2:21 remaining in the first quarter. Rams led the Redbirds, 6-0.  
•    The Redbirds got on the board next, as James Robinson scored on a two-yard rush and Sam Fenlason's extra-point make gave the Redbirds the lead at 7-6 early in the second quarter. 
•    Two seconds before halftime, Markel Smith found the end zone for the Redbirds and extended the ISU advantage to 14-6 at the intermission. 

#FearTheFCS pic.twitter.com/DhUSNS9Gia

— Illinois State FB (@RedbirdFB) September 22, 2018

•    On the first drive of the second half, Brady Davis found tight end Tylor Petkovich for a 12-yard touchdown pass to cap a 5-play, 75-yard scoring drive and extend the Redbirds' lead to 21-6 with 12:35 in the third quarter.     
•    Carta-Samuels found the end zone through the air for a second time late in the third quarter, as he connected with Nikko Hall for a 17-yard touchdown pass to cut it to a one-score game at 21-13.      
•    Davis went to the air for his second touchdown pass, as he found Smith on a screen play that went 60 yards to the house to widen the lead to 28-13 with 9:25 left in the game.       
•    Robinson put the nail in the coffin, when he found a crease in the Rams' defense and went 57-yards to the end zone to increase the Redbirds lead to 35-13 with 2:48 remaining in the game.     
•    Collin Hill connected with Marvin Kinsey, Jr. for a touchdown pass with 1:36 remaining in the game, however the two-point conversion was no good and the game came to an end after a Christian Uphoff interception.

Illinois State adds to its lead right after halftime on this TD pass. @RedbirdFB ahead of CSU 21-6 with 12:35 left in 3Q. pic.twitter.com/6Q5miwhgi8

— 9NEWS Sports Denver (@9NEWSSports) September 22, 2018