Illinois State erupts for 28 second-quarter points to beat Salukis, 35-14
CARBONDALE, Ill. — No. 13 Illinois State erupted for 28 points in the second quarter, capitalizing on two Southern Illinois fumbles deep in SIU territory and cruising to a 35-14 win at Saluki Stadium on Saturday.
The first quarter looked like the game might be a defensive slugfest, with both teams punting on their opening drives.
Things got interesting on the game’s third possession when the Salukis (3-5, 1-3) drove to the ISU 32, but quarterback DJ Williams was sacked on 4th-and-5, turning the ball over on downs.
Illinois State’s next two possessions were pivotal, as the Redbirds (5-2, 1-2) marched 59 yards in 13 plays, and then 80 yards in nine plays to score a pair of touchdowns on the ground — a one-yard run by Victor Dawson on 4th-and-goal at the 1, and a five-yard TD run by Chase Kwiatkowski. On those two scoring drives, Illinois State’s offense converted four third downs and two fourth downs.
“I know they're one of the highest in the conference on 3rd-down conversion rate, but we got to get off the field, especially on those long third downs,” said SIU linebacker Chris Presto.
Southern’s next two drives ended in disaster, as Williams was strip-sacked both times, giving the ball to Illinois State at the SIU 29 and the SIU 27 on subsequent drives. On the second fumble, Williams spun backwards several times before La’Shavion Brown stripped the ball from him 22 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
Williams completed 19-of-31 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, but he was sacked five times, fumbled twice and appeared to be pressing to make a play, especially on the second fumble.
“When things aren't going well, if you start to press or chase things, then you're not going to be good,” said SIU head coach Nick Hill. “You've got to take each play on its own terms.”
The Salukis lost their third-straight game, all to teams ranked in the Top 15. The common thread is an offense that has struggled to put points on the board, but Hill said no one is blaming Williams, who has played with a torn knee ligament since returning from the injury in Week 3.
“DJ has a great competitiveness and will to win,” Hill said. “I’m his coach and I’m in there every day with him. If he doesn't have a great game or doesn't make a good decision, then I look at myself first, because our job as a staff is to find a way to help him.”
Illinois State scored touchdowns following both fumbles to make the score 28-0 at halftime and quiet the Homecoming crowd of 9,086.
Instead of using three quarterbacks, as they’ve done through the first six games, ISU went almost exclusively with Beckham Pellant, who completed 16-of-25 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns.
“I thought that they would do that coming off a bye-week,” Hill said. “It's a perfect time to really look at what guy gives them the best chance. We were prepared for all three of them.”
Southern’s lone offensive touchdown in the game came on a 29-yard pass from Williams to Kyle Thomas, but it was the special teams play of Tae Marrero that brought life to the stadium in the second half. A fifth-year return specialist, Marrero had a 68-yard punt return on SIU’s first possession of the second half.
The Salukis were unable to punch the ball in from the ISU 17, though, turning it over on downs when Williams was stopped at the 8 on fourth down, one-yard shy of a first down. On both its trips to the red zone in the game, the Salukis came away with no points.
“You feel like you have a good plan, but actually going out and executing the plan has obviously been a struggle for us,” Hill acknowledged.
Senior right guard and team captain Derek Harden Jr. echoed that sentiment.
“To be able to put points on the board, everything comes down to execution, being in the right place at the right time, being on the right guy and just doing your job,” Harden Jr. said.
Marrero delivered one more big play for Salukis, though, weaving 45 yards through ISU defenders on a punt return for a touchdown with 4:40 remaining for the game’s final points.
“Tae’s been phenomenal.” Hill said. “Some people have a knack for being special on special teams and the return game and Tae is one of those guys.”
The Salukis finished the game with a season-low 257 yards of offense.
“It’s the third game in a row that the offense did not perform well enough,” Hill said. “It starts and stops with me. You get a lot of credit when things are going well and a lot of eyes are on you when things aren't.”
With four games left in the season, much of the post-game conversation was about what path the team would take going forward.
“These remaining four games, we're not going to dwell on any losses that we had in the past,” said linebacker Charlie Whelpley, who led the team with a career-high 10 tackles. “Everybody loves each other on this team, and we know that each step of the way, we're just gonna have to get better at our craft.”
Presto agreed.
“The attitude doesn't change,” he said. “The strain, the effort, none of that changes for the rest of the way. It’s a pride thing. You gotta finish what you started.”
Harden Jr., who made his 36th career start at SIU, said the process is proven to work.
“We still got to wake up tomorrow, come back and fix the things we didn’t do well.” He said. “No matter the situation, I got to be the captain and lead those guys and keep cheering these guys on and keep believing.”
Hill said they’re all in this together.
“There's tough guys in that locker room that compete at a super-high level,” Hill said. “It's my job to lead and let them see my type of energy and competitiveness and take it one week at a time.”
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