South Dakota State Runs for 409 Yards in 42-7 Rout
Four hundred and nine rushing yards on 44 carries. That works out to 9.3 a pop, and it is the whole story of South Dakota State's 42-7 win over Eastern Illinois. Five of the Jackrabbits' six touchdowns came on runs, and none of the five was shorter than 18 yards.
It was tied exactly once. Eastern Illinois answered the opening score early in the second quarter when Cole LaCrue ran in from nine yards out to make it 7-7. South Dakota State went right back to the ground, James Basinger took one 39 yards, and the Panthers never got within a score again. Basinger added a 48-yarder to open the third quarter, Corey Blair Jr. followed 87 seconds of game clock later with a 61-yard run, and Josiah Johnson ripped off a 55-yarder with 1:30 left in the quarter. Entering the fourth it was 35-7. The last points were a 16-yard pass from Josh Holst to Ben Brooks.
The other side of the ball was a mess for the visitors. Eastern Illinois managed 196 total yards (123 passing, 73 rushing on 36 carries, which is two yards a try) and lost two fumbles. South Dakota State threw one interception and still finished with 598 yards. Flip the turnovers and it makes no difference, honestly.
South Dakota State is 4-0. Eastern Illinois is 1-3 and has those 36 carries to think about.
Fantasy-wise, this was a three-back buffet. Johnson, Basinger and Blair all topped 15 points, and each of them broke at least one run of 39 yards or longer. Good luck guessing which of them gets the next one.