Illinois State rides Rittenhouse’s 3 TDs to 21-13 win over Illinois State

By Canadian Press on October 25, 2025.

VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) — Quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse accounted for three total touchdowns — two passing and one running — and No. 18 FCS Illinois State beat South Dakota 21-13 on Saturday.

Will Leyland’s 37-yard field goal with 8:47 left in the first quarter gave South Dakota a 3-0 lead. Rittenhouse led a 12-play, 79-yard drive that ended with his 11-yard scoring pass to Scotty Presson Jr. early in the second quarter. Aidan Bouman gave the Coyotes their last lead of the game on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Miller to cap a 14-play, 80-yard drive.

Then, 30 seconds before halftime, Illinois State (5-3, 2-2 Missouri Valley Football Conference) took the lead for good when Rittenhouse ran it in from the 6 to end a 12-play, 75-yard drive that gave Illinois State a 14-10 advantage.

The lone touchdown in the second half came late in the third when Rittenhouse threw a 2-yard score to Presson for a 21-10 lead

Bouman threw for 173 yards and L.J. Phillips Jr. ran for 129 yards on 26 carries for the 21st-ranked Coyotes (5-3, 2-2).

Illinois State holds a 9-2 advantage in the series that dates back to 2011. ISU is 4-1 overall in Vermillion inside the Dakota Dome, with the lone defeat coming in 2016 by a score of 27-24.

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The Associated Press