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 V’Angelo Bentley returned an interception 45 yards for a touchdown with 2:41 remaining to put the game away for Illinois. … 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 Ferguson’s scoring run. … Before the scoring drive on the final Illini possession of the first half, Lunt was 2-for-8 for three yards.