South Dakota pulls away in fourth quarter to beat SIU, 31-10
VERMILLION, S.D. — South Dakota pulled away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns to secure a 31-10 win over Southern Illinois on Saturday and earn a leg up on SIU in the conference standings.
Quarterback Austyn Modrzewski completed 80 percent of his passes for 268 yards, and running back Charles Pierre Jr. added 138 yards on the ground for the No. 10 Coyotes (5-2, 2-1).
It was a frustrating day on offense for the No. 25-ranked Salukis (3-4, 1-2), who were held to their lowest point total in a conference game since scoring 10 points at South Dakota State in 2024.
Some of the same problems the unit encountered last week in the loss to Youngstown State resurfaced today. Southern was 3-of-13 on third down conversions, and it came up without any points on two, key red-zone drives.
SIU opened the contest with an impressive 12-play drive that included a clutch 4th-and-3 conversion on a DJ Williams 14-yard pass to Allen Middleton. The drive halted at the USD 15, however, when Williams’ pass to Markell Quick fell short on 4th-and-2.
“If you're gonna look back and have a great day on offense, you're gonna be good on third down, and you're gonna be good in the red zone, and we weren’t,” said SIU head coach Nick HIll.
After falling behind, 14-0, Southern rallied just before halftime, as the offense marched 84 yards in 15 plays, capped by a Williams 7-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Thomas.
“I knew I had leverage on the defender, so I knew the ball was coming my way,” Thomas said. “It was just a pitch and catch for me and DJ. I felt like it was a momentum shift for the team. We fed off it to close the half.”
In fact, on the ensuing drive, the Coyotes were stopped in their tracks, as Jake Parrella stuffed Jackson Proctor shy of a first down near midfield to close out the half.
In the second half, the teams exchanged third-quarter field goals to make the score 17-10 heading to the fourth.
The first two plays of the fourth quarter were a back-breaker for Southern. On 4th-and-2 at the SIU 49, Pierre Jr. busted off a five-yard gain to extend the drive. On the next play, Tennel Bryant took a reverse 44 yards to the house to make it a 24-10 ballgame.
“You got to give them credit, that's a great series right there,” Hill said. “They found a way to get the fourth down, and they dialed up a big play. It was perfect timing for it. They grabbed the momentum and that was a big series.”
Southern’s next series went backward, as Williams was sacked for a 23-yard loss, forcing the Salukis to punt from their own 9. South Dakota got the ball back and needed just six plays to score their final touchdown of the game on a 12-yard run by Pierre Jr.
“We got to swap scores and put more points on the board than 10 points,” Hill acknowledged.
South Dakota held a 486-277 advantage in total yards, averaging an efficient 8.8 yards per play.
“A couple plays that they hit us on and we just got to get to the film room, fix them so they don't happen again next week,” Parrella said.
Williams was 18-of-29 passing for 179 yards. He completed six passes to Middleton and four to Thomas. Southern ran 10 more plays than South Dakota, but its offense averaged half as many yards per play (4.3) as the Coyotes.
The game ended the same way it began, with Southern unable to punch the ball in from the red zone. With the ball at the South Dakota 8, a Williams pass to Thomas in the corner of the end zone fell incomplete on fourth down.
“I feel like we have the best team in the country and I stand on that,” Thomas said. “We have to figure some stuff out, get more consistent, come together as a team. All the outside noise does not matter. It's just one step at a time, one play at a time and one heart.”
Southern’s defense recorded two more sacks, including a strip-sack by Ibrahim Sanogo, increasing his league-leading total to 6.5.
“Every loss hurts, but there's really nothing we can do about it except sit on it for 24 hours,” Parrella said. “Then after that, move on, and play Illinois State on homecoming next week.”
Running back Chandler Chapman, who led the SIU rushing attack with 86 yards, predicted the team will regroup.
“We talked in the team meeting last night about having an unwavering faith and peace of mind knowing that we're going to get to that goal eventually,” he said.
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