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DAVIS, Calif. — Tommy Rittenhouse threw two of his three touchdown passes to Daniel Sobkowicz, Chris Taylor returned a kickoff 91 yards for a score and unseeded Illinois State beat UC Davis 42-31 on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.

Illinois State (11-4), which beat top-seeded and previously unbeaten North Dakota State 29-28 to advance to the quarterfinals, plays No. 12 seed Villanova on Saturday. The Redbirds advanced to the semifinals for the third time in program history, the first since 2014.

Caden Pinnick hit Zach Jones for a 65-yard gain, but Shadwel Nkuba II punched out the ball and recovered the fumble. The Redbirds followed with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that culminated with Rittenhouse throwing a 17-yard TD pass t

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