Drake opened and closed the scoring but in between Illinois State dominated as the Bulldogs fell 27-13 in their season opener Thursday night. Illinois State’s ground game was too powerful as the Redbirds piled up 282 yards of rushing in the contest. It was an impressive debut for new Drake quarterback Connor Jostes who ended up with 247 yards of passing including a 17 yard scoring strike to Shea Moroni in the closing moments of the game. Jonathan Taylor opened the scoring with a one yard run midway through the opening quarter.