Southern Illinois University
3-1 , 1-0
Missouri St.
2-2 , 0-1
Football Tops Missouri State in Overtime, 30-23
10/01/2005 | 12:00:00 | Football
Oct. 1, 2005
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.- Southern Illinois quarterback Joel Sambursky tossed a 12-yard touchdown pass to J.T. Wise in overtime, and the Saluki defense stuffed Missouri State on 4th-and-goal at the 1 to give #2-ranked SIU a 30-23 victory Saturday at McAndrew Stadium.
Missouri State (2-2, 0-1) almost won the game in regulation when it had the ball 1st-and-goal at the Saluki 3 with 15 seconds left, but had to settle for a Jon Scifres game-tying field goal after a Lee Baker running play netted one yard.
Southern Illinois (3-1, 1-0) needed just two plays to find the end zone on the first possession of overtime.
Sambursky, who passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns on the day, hit Kellen Allen for 13 yards on the first play of OT, and then scrambled to his left on the next play to find his fullback open in the left flat for the score. For Wise, a blocking specialist, it was just his sixth-career reception.
"(Wise) does not get a lot of publicity," Sambursky said. "He opens up holes for people, but he deserves the game-winner."
"It was a play action, and no one was covering me," Wise said. "I was wide open, and it felt great. It was a big win."
The Bears had three cracks at the end zone from point-blank range in OT, but could not score. After advancing the ball to the Saluki 1 via the pass, three-straight running plays up the middle netted no yards. On the final play of the game, RaMel McIntosh was dropped for a one-yard loss, and the Salukis stormed the field in celebration.
"We knew they were going to run the ball," said defensive tackle Mark Philipp. "We're a run-stop defense. We've got diesels in the middle."
Saluki head coach Jerry Kill said the excitement of the final defensive stand was enough to "make your old heart quit beating."
"You got to win somehow, some way, sometimes in college football," he said. "It's hard to win a game anymore."
The contest featured a marquee quarterback matchup between Sambursky, the defending Gateway Conference player-of-the-year, and the Bears' Scott Carroll.
Carroll, who followed Sambursky as the starting quarterback at Liberty (Mo.) High School, had a magnificent day, completing 27-of-41 passes for 344 yards and rallying his team from a 23-10 fourth quarter deficit.
"I kept saying all week that it was going to be a dog-fight," Sambursky acknowledged. "I know that Scott Carroll has a great arm, and I know that their defense is very improved."
The Saluki offense relied on a balanced attack that featured Sambursky's passing and the running of Arkee Whitlock and Craig Turner. Whitlock had 121 yards on 23 carries, while Turner netted 47 on eight attempts.
Turner was especially impressive, breaking tackles and picking up extra yardage.
"Craig proved today he is a physical back, and we need that," Kill said. "He was a big difference in the game. He got some tough yards."
Whitlock turned in a big play early in the contest. After SIU's first drive of the game stalled at the Saluki 34, Whitlock, the up-man on the punt team, called for a fake and sprinted 41 yards up the middle. SIU eventually turned the drive into points on a Sambursky to Allen 8-yard TD pass.
"We gave Arkee the choice, and if they gave us the look, we were going to do it," Kill said. "We trust him, he made a nice call and we looked good from it."
The Salukis extended their home winning streak against Gateway foes to nine games.
"Three or four years ago, we would lose these types of games, and now we are finding a way to win," Kill said. "The team that wins the Gateway is going to have to win all the close games, and stay healthy."
"We need this to spark us for the rest of the season," Sambursky added. "It's good to win in adversity, to come through in games like this."
Team Stats
MSU 0, SIU 7
SIU - Allen,Kellen 8 yd pass from Sambursky,Joel (Coffin,Craig kick) 9 plays, 70 yards, TOP 5:12
MSU 0, SIU 14
SIU - Sambursky,Joel 12 yd run (Coffin,Craig kick), 7 plays, 58 yards, TOP 3:36
MSU 3, SIU 14
MSU - Scifres,Jon 32 yd field goal 14 plays, 69 yards, TOP 5:43
MSU 10, SIU 14
MSU - McIntosh,RaMel 1 yd run (Scifres,Jon kick), 6 plays, 76 yards, TOP 1:53
MSU 10, SIU 17
SIU - Coffin,Craig 25 yd field goal 16 plays, 64 yards, TOP 7:07
MSU 10, SIU 23
SIU - Allen,Kellen 10 yd pass from Sambursky,Joel (Coffin,Craig kickblocked) 11 plays, 74 yards, TOP 5:07
MSU 13, SIU 23
MSU - Scifres,Jon 39 yd field goal 9 plays, 57 yards, TOP 3:01
MSU 20, SIU 23
MSU - Baker,Lee 47 yd pass from Carroll,Scott (Scifres,Jon kick) 2 plays, 59 yards, TOP 0:22
MSU 23, SIU 23
MSU - Scifres,Jon 24 yd field goal 11 plays, 42 yards, TOP 2:07
MSU 23, SIU 30
SIU - Wise, J.T. 12 yd pass from Sambursky,Joel (Coffin,Craig kick) 2 plays, 65 yards, TOP 0:00