Texas State Bobcats vs Illinois Fighting Illini Match Player Stats On Sep 20, 2014

Illinois 42, Texas State 35: Josh Ferguson rushed for two touchdowns and added a scoring catch to rally the Illini at home in a game delayed two hours by lightning.

Ferguson finished with 190 yards on 14 carries and four catches for 43 yards while quarterback Wes Lunt went 25-of-39 for 266 yards and two touchdowns, including a 7-yarder to Mike Dudek that put the Illini up 32-28 with 7:42 remaining. Tyler Jones was 29-of-43 for 336 yards, four touchdowns and an interception for Sun Belt Conference member Texas State (1-2).

With Texas State leading 21-6 late in the second quarter, Illinois (3-1) scored 19 straight points on three touchdowns - one in the second and two in the third - to take a 25-21 lead, with Lunt failing on a pair of two-point conversion attempts. Jones put the Bobcats back in front 28-25 with a 12-yard scoring pass to Ben Ijah that was set up when safety Colby Targun intercepted Lunt and returned it 48 yards to the Illini 13.

Illinois got a quick start when Ferguson took a lateral pass from Lunt on the first play from scrimmage, made a quick cut and ran 75 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. The Illini, however, missing the extra point and gained just 32 yards on their next five possessions.

Illinois managed to bookend the half with another score, this one a 2-yard Ferguson run on a touchdown that was set up by four consecutive completions for 60 yards by Lunt. Between the two scores, Texas State dominated behind Jones, who had touchdown passes of 4 and 11 yards and ran in another score from the 1.

NOTEBOOK: DB VกฏAngelo Bentley returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown with 2:41 remaining to put the game away for Illinois. กญ Before the weather delay with 13:55 remaining in the second quarter, Illinois had just one first down and 93 total yards, 75 coming on Fergusonกฏs scoring run. กญ Before the scoring drive on the final Illini possession of the first half, Lunt was 2-for-8 for three yards.