FARGO, N.D.--Eyad Salem had 14 catches for 172 yards and Matt Brown completed 30 of 42 passes for 320 yards to lead Illinois State to a 27-24 victory Saturday, Oct. 3.  over North Dakota State before a homecoming crowd of 18,608 in the Fargodome.

A 2-yard touchdown run by Illinois State's Geno Blow with 1:24 remaining sent North Dakota State to its first 1-4 start since 2002.

North Dakota State (1-4, 0-2 Valley Football) took a 24-20 lead on true freshman Sam Ojuri's first college touchdown, a 14-yard run with 4:53 left. But the Redbirds (2-3, 1-1) answered with an 8-play, 68-yard drive.

Pat Paschall had 21 carries for 115 yards for NDSU. It was Paschall's fifth 100-yard rushing effort this season and the ninth of his career. He has rushed 100 times for 754 yards and five TDs this season.

Nick Mertens completed 11 of 21 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown. His 95-yard TD pass to Gary Williams was the longest in NDSU history. The previous long was 88 yards from Kevin Feeney to Kelly Artz against Northern Colorado in 1995.

Brown threw two TD passes, including one to Salem, who tied a school record with the career-high 14 receptions. Brown completed passes to eight different receivers including Ben Ericksen, who caught five passes for 26 yards and Tyrone Walker, who made four receptions for 60 yards.

North Dakota State's defense was led by sophomore linebacker Preston Evans, who record a career-high 19 tackles including 10 solo tackles and blocked a field goal attempt. Senior linebacker Matt Kittelson finished with a career-high 14 tackles.

Illinois State held a 436-425 edge in total offense led by the passing of Brown. The Redbirds converted 11 of 17 of their third downs including 9 of 10 in the first half. Illinois State also held a 32:43 to 27:17 edge in time of possession.

North Dakota State is scheduled to host No. 3/4-ranked Northern Iowa (4-1, 2-0 Valley Football) at 3:07 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, in the Fargodome. Illinois State is scheduled to play at No. 8-ranked Southern Illinois. UNI defeated Indiana State 62-7, while SIU was leading Western Illinois.

BISON NOTEBOOK: North Dakota State kicker Shawn Bibeau moved into fourth place on the school's career points list with 299 points. Bibeau passed Kevin Feeney (1995-98), who scored 294 points during his career ... Chris Simdorn (1987-90) is next on the list with 322 points ... North Dakota State dropped to 50-36-3 in homecoming games ... The last coming loss was to UC Davis, 20-14, in 2005 ... North Dakota State's attendance of 18,608 was the 14th time the Bison have attracted over 18,600 fans at the Fargodome and the ninth time since 2004 ... Pat Paschall's nine 100-yard rushing efforts ties him for 14th on the school's all-time list ... In three games against Illinois State, Paschall rushed for 353 yards on 47 attempts ... Preston Evans ' 10 solo tackles were two away from the school single-game record of 12 solos shared by Craig Dahl vs. Nicholls State in 2004 and Jerry Dahl vs. South Dakota State in 1974.