(STATS) – Mr. Robinson is stepping into North Dakota State’s neighborhood.
Illinois State running back James Robinson has been so incredible in the first two rounds of the FCS playoffs that there’s added intrigue to how much it will continue against the two-time defending national champion Bison in Saturday’s national quarterfinal.
The Bison know Robinson well, having faced the senior four times during his career in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The 5-foot-10, 220-pound NFL prospect has had relative success against them, but not on the same level as the last two weeks. He rushed for a career-high 297 yards against Southeast Missouri and 210 against Central Arkansas – 507 yards on 78 carries with three touchdowns.
“You kind of know what they’re going to run, you’ve just got to be able to stop it,” NDSU coach Matt Entz said. Robinson ranks No. 2 in the FCS with 1,823 rushing yards this season.
“At this time, he’s one of the best backs out there. They’re ridden him this long, you might as well see how far he can get you.”
With Illinois State (10-4) starting freshman quarterback Bryce Jefferson for just the third time, Robinson is again the focal point of the game plan – the Redbirds’ offensively and NDSU’s defensively.
In his last three meetings against the Bison, he has averaged 112 rushing yards while scoring twice. Included was a 128-yard outing in a 2018 loss to the Bison – one of just two times the Redbirds have been defeated in Robinson’s 17 career games with at least 100 rushing yards.
Top-seeded NDSU (13-0) has won eight straight meetings with Illinois State and is on an FCS-record 34-game winning streak since 2017.
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