No upset in Fargo as No. 1 Bison handle Salukis, 45-17

FINAL STATS

FARGO, N.D. — When you play FCS superpower North Dakota State in the Fargodome, the game can slip away in what seems like the blink of an eye. Southern Illinois experienced exactly that during Saturday’s 45-17 loss.

The No. 8 ranked Salukis (4-2, 1-1) were playing a solid first half and had upset on their minds. The score was tied, 10-10, with just over a minute left before halftime, and Southern had driven deep into NDSU territory down to the 18. Quarterback DJ Williams was in command of the offense, having already guided a pair of long scoring drives.

Then a sequence of disastrous plays hit.

On second down, Williams took off to his right side, and NDSU defensive end Keenan Wilson reached from behind and knocked the football loose. The ball was recovered by teammate Toby Anene at the NDSU 29, and a nervous crowd of 15,812 erupted.

“I can't allow that to happen,” Williams said flatly. “That's my second fumble inside the score zone this season, and that turned into points for them. I put that loss on me.”

Southern’s defense faltered after the fumble, allowing the No. 1-ranked Bison (6-0, 3-0) to go on a 71-yard touchdown drive in less than a minute to take a 17-10 halftime lead. The big blow was a 48-yard pass from Cole Payton to Bryce Lance on 3rd-and-five.

“Instead of us taking a lead going into half, they go and get the momentum with a touchdown and get the ball first in the second half,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said. “You're not going to go on the road and beat a good team if you do that.”

Two more Saluki turnovers in the second half — a Jay Jones fumble at the NDSU 28, and a Williams interception — derailed any chance of a comeback, as the Bison capitalized with touchdowns off of both miscues.

“It’s tough to overcome three turnovers, with two of them in the red zone,” Hill acknowledged.

Saluki linebacker Colin Bohanek said the defense was equally culpable.

“As a defense, we have to make sure we don’t let them score off turnovers,” he said. “It's not one person's fault or one side of the ball's fault. It’s all of us collectively.”

Southern’s offense generated 22 first downs, but the Bison were mostly able to contain the dual-threat Williams, who completed 15-of-29 passes for 190 yards and rushed for 41 yards and a touchdown.

“North Dakota State is a great program, and to come into a place like this and beat them, you have to almost be perfect,” said SIU tight end Aidan Quinn. “They don't make many mistakes, and that's one of the things that makes them so great.”

The Bison piled up 540 yards of total offense and did not turn the ball over. They hit explosive plays in the running game of 75 and 41 yards, plus explosive pass plays that went for 79, 62 and 50. Those five plays alone accounted for more than half their offensive output.

“The plan to win this game really never changes — turnover margin, explosive plays, explosive plays for touchdowns almost count double,” Hill said. “We weren't able to come up with any turnovers to create momentum for ourselves.”

Payton passed for 243 yards and added 48 rushing yards and two TDs, and Lance, a Payton Award finalist contributed two of the explosives.

“We let up too many big plays,” defensive tackle Caden Reeves said. “We got them in some 3rd-and-longs, but then we have to do a better job up front of affecting the pass.”

The Salukis had their three-game winning streak come to an end, and they remain winless at North Dakota State at 0-8. The Bison have won 10-straight dating back to last year’s national championship season and extended their home winning streak to 16 games.

“Obviously, this hurts, but we're not gonna let this loss define us,” Bohanek said. “We don't have to drastically change anything. We know the amount of talent that we have on both sides of the ball. We have all the confidence in the world in each other. We love playing with each other, so we’ll just get back down to the basics and do our jobs.”

Next week, Southern hosts a red-hot North Dakota team that is tied for first place with North Dakota State and South Dakota State.

“This next week's going to be a test of our team,” Quinn said. “North Dakota is a great program, having a really good year. Are we going to respond or not? Obviously, my belief is we're going to respond and play well, but outcomes are never guaranteed.”

Added Hill, “I don't have any question about how we'll respond. I think when we put on the tape, there's gonna be a lot of good things that we’ll see, and then there's going to be some critical moments that we have to grow from and get better from. Our expectation is to be playing our best football at the end of the year.”