>>ISU Tops South Dakota State
Jake Kolbe threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Illinois State delivered South Dakota State its first conference loss with a 38-21 win on Saturday.
Kolbe had 138 yards passing for the Redbirds (4-5, 2-4 Missouri Valley Conference). Jamal Towns ran for 136 yards and a score.
Kolbe ran for an 18-yard touchdown and threw two scoring passes to Anthony Warrum in the first half to give Illinois State a 28-14 advantage at halftime.
The Jackrabbits (5-3, 4-1) cut the Redbirds lead to 28-21 on a 30-yard scoring pass by Taryn Christion with 11:39 left in the third quarter. But two Christion interceptions in the fourth by DraShane Glass, in the end zone, and La'Darius Newbold - who returned his 92 yards for a score - ended SDS's hopes of a late rally.
Christion threw for 430 yards and two touchdowns and was intercepted three times. He also ran for a score.
>>Western Illinois Rallies Past South Dakoka
Joey Borsellino's 2-yard touchdown reception with 32 seconds left lifted Western Illinois to a 35-34 win over South Dakota on Saturday.
Miles Bergner's 54-yard field goal attempt as time ran out was wide as South Dakota (4-4, 3-2 MVFC) saw its three-game conference winning streak snapped.
On third-and-goal with three receivers left and a back in motion to the left, Sean McGuire threw the game-winner to Borsellino wide open to the right side to cap an 80-yard scoring drive.
Lance Lenoir had six catches for 111 yards and a TD for Western Illinois (6-2, 3-2).
Steve McShane and Jamie Gilmore had rushing touchdowns for the Leathernecks. McShane ran 13 times for 112 yards.
Streveler carried 21 times for 102 yards and a TD and completed 29 of 40 passes for 373 yards and two scores. Streveler's 1-yard run with 1:12 left in the first half gave USD a 31-14 lead.
The Leathernecks needed most of the third quarter to get back into the game. McGuire scored on a 6-yard run with 11:58 left in the quarter and Gilmore scored on a 1-yard run with 1:13 left to make it 31-28.
Bergner's 21-yard field goal with 9:52 left made it 34-28.
After a defensive stop, the Coyotes took over on its own 23. Streveler's first pass was incomplete, but his second to Brandt Van Roekel went for 69 yards down to the Leathernecks 8.
The drive ended when Bouma fumbled the ball into the end zone and WIU recovered for a touchback with 4:37 to play. Bouma finished with 47 yards.
Eleven plays later, the Leathernecks completed the comeback.
>>Jacksonville State Rolls Eastern Illinois
As heard on WHOW, Eli Jenkins passed for two touchdowns and ran for another and Jacksonville State beat Eastern Illinois 47-14 on Saturday for the Gamecocks' sixth straight victory.
Josh Clemons, who rushed for two touchdowns, scored on a 1-yard run early in the game after Eastern Illinois (5-4, 3-3 Ohio Valley) lost a fumble at its own 6. The Gamecocks (7-1, 4-0) added two more first-quarter touchdowns on Jenkins' 11-yard run and his 13-yard pass to Josh Barge for a 21-0 lead.
Jenkins, who passed for 157 yards and ran for 85, moved into second place on the OVC career total yards offense list at 10,533. Barge became the first FCS player to make a reception in 46 straight games, tied later Saturday by Eastern Washington's Cooper Kupp. Roc Thomas rushed 13 times for 115 yards.
The second-ranked Gamecocks have the longest active FCS home win streak at 13 and the longest active Division I streak with their 21st consecutive conference victory.
>>Late Minnesota Surge Dooms Illini
A pair of early Illinois turnovers and a short punt gave Minnesota the ball at the Illinois 49-, 20- and 9-yard lines, and the Gophers turned each into a touchdown on the way to a 40-17 win.
Rodney Smith did the bulk of the damage, rushing for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Shannon Brooks added 59 yards and a score on a dozen carries.
Smith's first touchdown was a 20-yard burst up the middle with 2:16 left in the first quarter, giving Minnesota (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) the lead for good at 14-7. It followed a fumbled punt by Illinois' Darius Mosely, recovered by Antione Winfield Jr. at the 20.
Jeff George Jr., Illinois' (2-6, 1-4) third-string quarterback and the son of Illini legend and longtime NFL quarterback Jeff George, started his second straight game and went 16-34 for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Illinois starter Wes Lunt suited up but sat out his third straight game with a back injury. Second-string quarterback Chayce Crouch, who injured a shoulder in a win over Rutgers two weeks ago, is out for the season after having surgery Monday, Smith confirmed.
Illinois receiver Malik Turner left the field on a stretcher in the first half after a hit by Minnesota safety Duke McGhee. Turner was taken to a local hospital but was back in the locker room before the end of the game, Smith said, though further information about his injury was not available.
McGhee was flagged for targeting and ejected from the game.
The Illini get a second straight home game hosting a Michigan State.
>>Wisconsin Moves Up in Coaches Poll
Nebraska, Baylor, West Virginia and Boise State -- all previously undefeated -- lost on the road Saturday. The Cornhuskers got beat in overtime, the Bears by a field goal and the Broncos by a safety. Week 9 started with nine undefeated teams eyeing playoff bids and spots in the New Year's Six. Suddenly, there are just four undefeated Power Five teams and one unbeaten team in the Group of Five as Western Michigan hopes to get the golden ticket.
The Broncos' boost came as a result of Boise State's first loss of the season. The WMU Broncos moved up three spots to No. 18 while Boise State made the biggest fall, down 11 spots to No. 24.
With the first College Football Playoff Rankings coming out Tuesday, you get the feeling that we're still a few major shakeups away from seeing the playoff picture clearly. The last couple of weeks of conference play should be enough evidence to know that we're nowhere close to the end, but history provides even more reason to believe in the continuation of chaos.
Only three of the eight teams named to the top four in the initial rankings have gone on to make the playoff thanks to a series of bracket-busting defeats in November. We think that Alabama, Michigan, Clemson and Washington are the teams most likely to be in the top four Tuesday, but given recent history, we should also be paying attention to the other teams lurking in the wings to take their spot.
Ohio State, Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Florida, Oklahoma and Auburn all made moves up of at least three spots thanks to the reshuffling.
Alabama, Michigan, Clemson and Washington have risen to the top of the polls thanks to undefeated starts, but after that, the rankings are much more fluid. Teams like No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 10 Florida are joining No. 5 Louisville at the top of the one-loss group that welcomes those Bears, Mountaineers and Cornhuskers after the weekend shakeup.
Meanwhile, two-loss teams like Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Auburn and LSU continue to win and hope for some help in conference title races in order to help their playoff chances.
