Football Falls To Western Illinois, 38-21

Saturday, September 29

Macomb, Ill.

1:05 PM

Southern Illinois University

0-3 , 0-1

Western Illinois

2-1 , 2-1

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Southern Illinois

Western Illinois

09/29/2001 | 12:00:00 | Football

Box Score

Sept 29, 2001

Final Stats

MACOMB, Ill. - Quarterback Kevin Kobe came off the bench to lead a remarkable Southern Illinois comeback, but ultimately the Salukis could not overcome an early three touchdown deficit and fell to Western Illinois, 38-21.

With SIU trailing 21-0, Kobe entered the game in the second quarter and rallied his team, as the Salukis closed the gap to 24-21 early in the fourth quarter. Kobe passed for a career-high 218 yards.

But Western's ground game eventually wore the SIU defense down. Carlos Daniels rushed for 130 yards and led a crucial fourth quarter scoring drive that put the game out of reach.

"Early in the game, we had an opportunity to quit, but we fought our tail ends off to get back in it," SIU head coach Jerry Kill said. "The bottom line is, Western lined up and took it to us in the fourth quarter and won the game. We got beat by a better football team. They are bigger, faster and stronger."

Western Illinois (2-1, 1-1) dominated the first quarter, scoring on its first three possessions to build a 21-0 lead.

The Leathernecks scored on the first play from scrimage when quarterback Sam Clemons hit Frisman Jackson on a 54-yard touchdown pass.

The duo connected again on a 24-yard scoring strike on Western's next drive. Running back Carlos Daniels then added an 18-yard touchdown run on the Leathernecks' third drive of the game.

Trailing 21-0, Kevin Kobe replaced Madei Williams at quarterback early in the second quarter for Southern Illinois (0-3, 0-1), and the offense responded. Kobe led the team on touchdown drives of 64 and 73 yards by completing crisp, mid-range passes.

"We put him into a bad situation (down 21-0), and he did a great job," Kill said. "The tempo of our team picked up. It wasn't that Madei did poorly, but the tempo changed when Kevin came in. He gave us an opportunity to win in the fourth quarter."

Kobe threw his first career touchdown pass, a 3-yard completion to Mark Shasteen, that put SIU on the board, 21-7, midway through the second quarter.

After the defense held, Kobe led another long scoring drive that culminated in a Tom Koutsos 1-yard plunge with 1:11 left in the first half, cutting the deficit to 21-14.

Koutsos finished with 73 yards on 28 carries and remains third in career rushing at SIU after upping his career total to 2,641 yards.

Defensively, Southern put great pressure on Clemons in the first half, sacking the Western quarterback four times. Jason Nolda had two sacks for SIU.

In the second half, Western's Justin Langan kicked a 32-yard field goal to give the Leathernecks a 24-14 lead with 9:29 left in the third quarter.

But SIU answered quickly, marching 62 yards on nine plays, capped off by another 1-yard TD run by Koutsos, to bring the Salukis to within 24-21.

After a Kobe interception early in the fourth quarter that gave WIU possession deep in Saluki territory, the SIU defense held, and the Leathernecks settled for a 35-yard Langan field goal to extend their lead to 27-21.

Another Kobe interception late in the fourth quarter set up Western's final touchdown, a 14-yard run by Daniels. Langan added a field goal with 2:08 left for the final margin, 38-21.

"I've never lost three games in a row at any level, but I think this football team is improving," Kill said. "As long as they do that, I can live with the results. We've got our kids playing harder, but we still need to play smarter."

Koutsos rushed 28 times for 73 yards and two TDs. Kevin Kobe completed 17 of 30 pass attempts for 217 yards and threw two interceptions.