GRAND FORKS, N.D. (Interstat) — Jerry Kaminski threw five touchdown passes and ran for another score, and North Dakota used a 21-point first quarter to defeat Illinois State 49-21 in an NCAA Football Championship Division game Saturday at Alerus Center. The announced attendance was 10,046. North Dakota improved to 7-4, while Illinois State fell to 7-3. The Fighting Hawks added touchdowns in each of the final three quarters, scored seven points in the third quarter and 14 in the fourth, and pulled away after Illinois State threatened early. North Dakota finished with a balanced attacking effort and kept the Redbirds from sustaining momentum after their early scores.

North Dakota opened the scoring when Kaminski connected with Tray Kuntz for a 2-yard touchdown with 10:41 remaining in the first quarter. Illinois State responded as Beckham Pellant found Mar’Quan Gary for a 31-yard score with 8:23 left. Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson put North Dakota back in front with a 3-yard run at the 4:55 mark, but Illinois State answered again on Victor Dawson’s 4-yard touchdown run with 58 seconds remaining in the quarter. Kaminski then took over in the second quarter, hitting Korey Tai for a 7-yard touchdown at 12:59, Mason South for a 2-yard score at 9:27 and Deng Deng for an 8-yard strike at 7:51. Kaminski added a 1-yard touchdown run at 13:16 of the third quarter. Illinois State’s Pellant found Nick True for a 5-yard touchdown at 12:38 of the fourth. A 9-yard touchdown run by Charles Langama was nullified by a holding penalty at the 5:23 mark, but Kaminski closed the scoring with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Deng Deng at 5:12.

Kaminski led the way with 293 passing yards and five touchdown passes, completing 18 of 27 attempts, and he added a rushing touchdown. Pellant completed 24 of 42 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns. Doreon Dubose made six tackles for Illinois State, and Wyatt Mueller added five. Mason Kaplan and Tye Niekamp each recorded eight tackles and one quarterback hurry, while Nio Espinoza had two tackles. Nick True caught one pass for 5 yards and a touchdown. Stevan Gavric had one reception for 9 yards, Max Ziebarth caught three passes for 11 yards, Ethan Loss had three receptions for 12 yards and Dylan Lord added four catches for 60 yards. Mar’Quan Gary finished with six receptions for 101 yards and a touchdown. Victor Dawson ran 12 times for 42 yards, caught two passes for 17 yards and scored a touchdown. Seth Glatz had 10 carries for 48 yards and three receptions for 15 yards. Chase Kwiatkowski caught one pass for 9 yards. Valentino Garcia made two tackles. Hayden Futch punted five times for 145 yards. Chris Taylor returned four kickoffs for 111 yards. Ben Cooper, Kaden Lehew, Logan Jellison, Travis Jones and Dereon Crowe each made one tackle. Luke Silvernale punted three times for 125 yards. Evan Sierra made two tackles. Ben Harman had two tackles, one sack and one quarterback hurry, while Wyatt Boals, Key Crowell and Rylan Crawford each made three tackles. Dexter Niekamp had three tackles and one sack, and Jordan Coleman made four tackles. Ethan Boll had five tackles and half a sack. Charles Langama ran nine times for 63 yards and returned a kickoff 43 yards. Matt Lawson had 13 carries for 63 yards and one reception for 1 yard. Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson ran seven times for 17 yards and a touchdown. Tyler Zdon had two carries for 6 yards. Hunter Kallstrom caught two passes for 91 yards. Deng Deng had four receptions for 81 yards and two touchdowns. Sam Strandell caught two passes for 71 yards. Korey Tai had seven receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown. Mason South and Tray Kuntz each caught a 2-yard touchdown pass. Tyler Henry made two tackles, Kylyn Macklin added one, Micheal Devereaux made 13 tackles and Lance Rucker had five tackles and one quarterback hurry.

Illinois State entered on a two-game winning streak, having beaten Indiana State and Murray State in its previous two games. The Redbirds also had won three of their previous four games, with the lone loss in that stretch coming against South Dakota State. Their previous four games included a 35-14 win at Southern Illinois and a 31-14 loss to South Dakota State. North Dakota had lost three of its previous four games, including a 31-28 decision at Youngstown State and a 26-23 overtime loss at South Dakota. The Fighting Hawks’ recent win in that stretch was a 21-10 victory over South Dakota State. North Dakota’s previous four games also included a 24-17 loss at Northern Iowa. Kaminski had 195 passing yards, 44 rushing yards and three total touchdowns in his previous outing, a 31-28 loss to Youngstown State. Illinois State next plays at Youngstown State, while North Dakota will host Southern Illinois.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 37-36 Illinois State win, and its ELO system gave North Dakota a 51.4 percent probability to win before the game.