Southern Illinois University
Western Kentucky
Football Rallies to Stun Western Kentucky, 28-24
11/01/2003 | 12:00:00 | Football
Nov. 1, 2003
By Seth Whitehead
www.SIUSalukis.com
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The running game was sputtering.
The kicking game was atrocious.
And those factors considered, the Southern Illinois University football team's chances of remaining undefeated looked to be slim-to-none late in Saturday's matchup with defending national champion Western Kentucky.
After a 10-yard touchdown pass put WKU up 24-13 with just under nine minutes remaining, the Hilltoppers looked to have Saturday's game all but sealed. After WKU's Erik Dandy blocked a 25-yard field goal attempt by Craig Coffin -- it was beyond bleak.
With all the momentum gone and just seven minutes remaining, the only way the Salukis were going to get back in this one was through the air.
Not a chance, right? You should know better by now.
Coming off a subpar 47-yard effort against Southwest Missouri State, quarterback Joel Sambursky put the team on his back and the football in the hands of wideouts Brent Little and Courtney Abbott..
The sophomore threw for more than 200 yards in the second half, as SIU scored 15 unanswered points in the final 3 minutes and 44 seconds to come back for a 28-24 victory, leaving a homecoming crowd of more than 13,000 stunned.
Despite being held to one-third its normal rushing average, SIU improved to 9-0 and 5-0 in Gateway Conference play.
"We knew we couldn't run the ball, we were going to have to throw it," SIU head coach Jerry Kill said. " In the first half, we couldn't get the ball off. But we kind of settled in and got going."
Sambursky capped SIU's comeback when he hooked up with Little for a 28-yard touchdown strike with 55 seconds remaining. The Salukis could have played it safe, running the ball in an attempt to get into field goal range, but they went for the jugular instead.
"I have to make sure I give (Sambursky) credit, because on the last touchdown pass, he called the routes," Kill said. "That's what he wanted to throw. He didn't want to kick a field goal. He wanted to double post and we did what he wanted to do, and I stuck it on him."
Sambursky was able to get the pass just high enough to elude a WKU defender in the endzone, and Little did the job on his end, pulling down another athletic catch.
"Coach Kill just told me that he was going to give me the opportunity to make a play," Little said. "I was kind of nervous, but I go through these types of situations every day in practice, so I pretty much knew the play was coming to me. I just had to execute it."
The Salukis started the comeback with just over five minutes to go, as they put together an efficient 68 yard, 56 second scoring drive. Highlighted by a 52-yard pass from Sambursky to Courtney Abbott -- in which Abbott picked up major yardage after the catch -- the drive was capped by a Muhammad Abdulqaadir two-yard touchdown run.
"Courtney did a great job finding the seams and getting in the holes of the zone," Sambursky said. "Fortunately, I was able to find him. He did a great job of getting yardage after the catch."
SIU then converted a key two-point conversion, as Sambursky hooked up with Chris Kupec, bringing SIU to within a field goal, 24-21.
The Hilltoppers then went three-and-out, setting up what would prove to be a game-winning drive for SIU in the final minutes.
With just over two minutes to go, SIU returned WKU's kickoff to their 41 yard line. Sambursky then threw and incomplete pass, followed by an eight yard run by Abdulqaadir, bringing up third-and-2 from the Saluki 49. With its running game struggling, SIU went with a pass play, but Sambursky was off target again, throwing a potential first down pass too low for Little to coral.
With a make or break play coming up, SIU called a time out to discuss its next play.
And to the Hilltoppers' surprise, Sambursky kept Salukis alive with a four-yard scamper on a bootleg.
"I called that play," Sambursky said. "I said 'coach, let's run this play.' I'm not one to boast, and not to take credit away from coach Kill, but I called that play. I take credit for that."
Sambursky then hit Brandon Robinson for an 11-yard gain, and an eight-yard Abdulqaadir run brought SIU to the WKU 36. A three-yard pass to Little got SIU to the 25, but Abdulqaadir was then hit for a three-yard loss, pushing SIU into iffy field goal range.
Coming up on second-and-13, SIU could have handed off to one of their backs a couple times in order to get into field goal range. But Sambursky made a bold call instead, completing his most dramatic pass since finding Brandon Robinson in the endzone on a last-second game-winner against Western Illinois.
Sambursky played exceptionally well down the stretch, but his receivers made him look even better, showing off their various skills.
"Courtney Abbott played well," Kill said. "Brent Little was special also. Those two youngsters both had big catches."
"We have a lot of tools and some great weapons on this team," Sambursky said. "We can pick apart defenses, and it's just a matter of time. I knew we were going to win the game."
A Coffin PAT moved SIU's lead to four points, but the Hilltoppers still had a chance to put together a last-second drive.
But a fumbled kickoff return by Antonio Veals pretty much sealed the deal. SIU's Phillip Doyle recovered the fumble and SIU was able to eat most of the remaining time before giving the ball back to WKU with 13 seconds remaining. SIU capped the win by sacking Haddix to run out the clock.
Sambursky was 15-for-22 passing for 228 yards, hooking up with Little six times for 98 yards and Abbott three times for 95 yards.
Abdulqaadir led the rushing attack with 64 yards, but SIU was held to a season-low 95 yards on the ground.
The Dawgs remain tied with Northern Iowa atop the Gateway standings, guaranteeing that their matchup with the Panthers at Cedar Falls on Nov. 15 will decide the Gateway Conference championship.
The win also all but assured the Salukis a playoff spot for the first time since 1983.
"I think we have tremendous chemistry and that 'find a way to win' attitude right now," Kill said. "It's certainly exciting."
SIU's defense kept the Salukis in the game early on, as SIU went into halftime trailing 7-0. A 91-yard touchdown run by Lerron Moore was the only notable offensive play by either team before the intermission. SIU was held to just 56 yards of total offense, while WKU was held to just 92 total yard, minus Moore's touchdown run.
"The way the defense is playing, they bail us out of so many situations," Sambursky said."They did a great job. Offensively, we took that and allowed it to motivate us. We don't want to let anybody down."
WKU extended to a 10-0 lead early in the second half, but SIU's offense came to life suddenly, scoring two straight touchdowns to take a 13-10 lead.
SIU's first score was highlighted by 38 and 23 yard receptions by Little and Abbott, respectively.
SIU's go-ahead touchdown was aided by a pair of costly penalties by Western, including a flag for roughing the passer on fourth-and-10 from the Hilltopper 19-yard line. Instead of turning the ball over on downs, the penalty moved the ball to the WKU seven yard line, and Koutsos eventually went in for a TD from one yard out.
SIU's lead should have been bigger, however, as Coffin missed a PAT on the latter touchdown.
Western came back with a quick score right before the end of the third quarter to take a 17-13 lead, and went up 24-13 on a drive highlighted by 5-of-6 passing from Haddix early in the fourth quarter.
But as was the case in the Western Illinois game a couple weeks ago, SIU refused to give up. The Salukis racked up 277 yards of total offense in the second half, picking up their defense, which was remarkable throughout the game.
It wasn't all good news for SIU Saturday, as saftey Jarmarquis Jordan fractured his fibula late in the game. Jordan will like miss the rest of the season. Despite the injury, he finished with a team-high 11 tackles. Frank Johnson also had 11 tackles, while Alexis Moreland had nine takedowns.
"It's real sad that we lost a young man tonight," Kill said. "He played such a tremendous game. We're starting to get beat up a little bit and that's a big concern on this football team, but hopefully our depth can get us through."
