Saluki defense trusting its process after loss at Youngstown

CARBONDALE, Ill. — After giving up a season-high 48 points at Youngstown State, the Southern Illinois defense dropped from 33rd in the nation in points allowed per game (23.6) to 57th (26.0) — still in the top half of the FCS but not at the standard set by defensive coordinator Lee Pronschinske.

Nevertheless, Coach Pron called the unit a "resilient and focused group" heading into this week's critical matchup versus No. 17-ranked South Dakota.

"With the culture and the standard we've been building on defense, there’s no doubt in my mind those guys will be ready to play at a high level on Saturday," Pronschinske said.

The Coyotes (7-4, 5-2) have won two-straight games over ranked opponents and feature the league’s top rusher in running back L.J. Phillips, who has 1,464 yards and 14 touchdowns on the season.

A win Saturday would boost the playoff resume for the No. 23-ranked Salukis (6-4, 3-3).

StrongDawgs Conversation with Lee Pronschinske

SD: You had to be pleased with the first-half performance at Youngstown, getting stops on three of the five drives.

LP: Yeah, I thought in the first half we did a good job of being efficient on early downs. One drive we got helped out by a penalty, which is one of the more wild sequences I've seen, where they take the touchdown off the board and get the personal foul. You're not anticipating getting those guys behind the sticks, but with Brungard back there, they're never out of it, no matter the down and distance.

SD: Were you surprised by the way the second half unfolded?

LP: Obviously, it's not how you draw it up. It was the perfect storm of some missed some tackles, some not-great play calls, some bad angles, and the next thing you know, (Beau) Brungard just turns it on. I think there's some credit due to him and their coaching staff. They had a good plan and Beau is a phenomenal football player, but us as a group, as a coaching staff, starting with myself, there's stuff we can and will clean up.

SD: They were 7-of-7 on third-down conversions in the second half. Three of those were third-and-longs — 3rd-and-16, a 3rd-and-12, a 3rd-and-8. It had to be frustrating not to get off the field.

LP: If you talked to me on Friday and said we were going to have those opportunities, have those guys in third-and-long situations, you'd be excited. It's everything you want. When we get in those situations, though, we have to execute. That's one of the top offenses in the nation, and when you give them a fresh set of downs, you're asking for danger, and we learned that the hard way.

SD: As a defensive staff, how do you deal with the disappointment of a performance like Saturday?

LP: Even when you win, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. The reality is there's always plenty of stuff to clean up. Then with the losses, it's amplified. We're a close group. We spend basically 10, 12 hours together in a room every day. We understand the accountability where we have to get better, starting with myself. The cool thing is we have a group of guys that are ready to respond. This game doesn't allow you to sit and dwell on it. Win or lose, you turn the page fast and get to the next one.

SD: Speaking of the next one, L.J. Phillips is one of the league's top backs. Describe his running style.

LP: I think he's a cool story.  He had some big-time offers in high school, tore his ACL his senior year. Kansas State dropped him after he tore his knee, and Coach (Bob) Nielson was the head coach at South Dakota at that time, and they obviously trusted their evaluation and stuck with him. L.J. sat behind some good backs the last couple of years, stayed the course, got his opportunity, and took off running with it. His first full game as a starter he goes for 300 yards vs. Northern Colorado. He's explosive, has a low center of balance, he's thick. He can shake off defenders and make it take two or three guys to bring him down.

SD: Then there’s Aidan Bouman at quarterback, a Payton Award watch list player.

LP: He ended up getting thrust into duty against SIU in 2022, and he's been the starter ever since. He’s a 30-game winner with the opportunity to go get a couple more. He’s an elite-level leader. When you see their postgame interviews, you see their stuff in the locker room, there's a genuine love and buy-in behind him. He does a really good job of commanding the offense.

SD: Couple fun questions for you — what's your pregame routine and what do you have playing on the headphones during pregame?

LP: I start the day with a little coffee and go through my final game-sheet checks. I'm a legal paper guy, so it's a long version. I'll go through my trusty notebook that's always with me and mark up my call sheet, go through some last-second tendencies, highlight some situational football, what calls we're going to get to early.

When I get to the stadium, the headphones are on, and it’s a little bit of everything. I'm a big  Future fan, I like a little old-school rap from when I played.

SD: The Big Question — how do you expect the defense to respond this week after Saturday’s performance?

LP: With the culture and the standard we've been building on defense, there’s no doubt in my mind those guys will be ready to play at a high level on Saturday. When you get in that room and see all our veteran guys looking back at you, you can tell it's a resilient and focused group. They understand what's at stake and they are trusting our process. They understand that we didn't play our best football in the second half (at YSU), but South Dakota doesn't get to start with 14 points on the board because we didn't play good football in the second half. When the ball gets kicked off at noon on Saturday, it's going to be 0-0. Our group's excited for the opportunity.