Gronowski, South Dakota St. beat Illinois St. 40-21, extend win streak to 19 games

Published Oct. 7, 2023 11:53 p.m. ET

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NORMAL, Ill. (AP) — Mark Gronowski accounted for four touchdowns, Isaiah Davis had 198 yards rushing and two TDs and South Dakota State beat Illinois State 40-21 Saturday night to extend the Jackrabbits' program-record win streak to 19 games.

South Dakota State (5-0, 2-0 Missouri Valley), ranked No. 1 in the FCS coaches poll and the defending national champion, has not lost since dropping its 2022 season opener at Iowa, 7-3.

Gronowski led a nine-play, 88-yard opening drive that culminated when he hit Jadon Janke for a 30-yard touchdown and connected with Jaxon Janke for a 60-yard TD with 6:30 left in the first quarter. On the ensuing kickoff, Cullen McShane forced a fumble that was recovered by Caleb Francl at the Redbirds 25, and five plays later, Gronowski added a 13-yard scoring run to make it 20-0.

Sophomore wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz, whose only other career pass attempt was intercepted, threw a 9-yard TD to quarterback Zack Annexstad on a reverse-pass early in the second quarter to get No. 22 Illinois State (3-1, 1-1) on the scoreboard. Davis answered with a 3-yard TD run that gave SDSU a 27-7 lead with 10:06 before intermission and the Redbirds got no closer.

Annexstad was 26-of-33 passing for 162 yards with a 7-yard TD to Sobkowicz, who finished with seven receptions for 70 yards.

Gronowski completed 11 of 17 passes for 170 yards. Jaxon Janke finished with five catches for 88 yards and Jadon added a 22-yard TD reception. Amar Johnson had 11 carries for 106 yards.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll

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