Football Falls to Illinois State, 61-35

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Oct. 15, 2005

By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois' reign of dominance in the Gateway Conference ended Saturday night at McAndrew Stadium as Illinois State stunned the nation's #1-ranked team, 61-35.

The lopsided defeat took its toll on Saluki head coach Jerry Kill, who had a seizure on the sideline with 30 seconds remaining in the contest. Seizures are a medical condition that have surfaced several times during Kill's coaching career and do not seriously affect his health.

Players from both teams kneeled on the field and prayed for the Saluki coach as he was taken to Carbondale Memorial Hospital for observation. Kill had a seizure in 2001 shortly after the Salukis lost to Missouri State and returned to coach the following week.

"Obviously, we are not going to worry about the football game right now," Saluki defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys said. "(Coach Kill's) health and his family are the biggest concern we have now, and we will worry about the football part of it tomorrow."

It was clear from the outset of the contest that things were not going to go Southern's way. On SIU's first drive, an apparent dropped pass by wide receiver Brent Little was ruled a fumble, and the Redbirds recovered at SIU's 25.

Two plays later, Illinois State running back Brian Thompson scored the first of his four touchdowns on the night on a one-yard plunge.

The Redbirds (4-3, 1-2) never let up, thereafter.

Illinois State jumped to a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter, and the rout was on. Even though Southern closed the gap to 21-14, the Redbirds responded with 17 points in the final 3:30 of the second quarter to build a 38-14 halftime advantage.

"Some days, everything that can go bad, does go bad," Claeys said. "Obviously, that's the night that we had...obviously we have problems that need to be corrected."

The Salukis were vulnerable to both the run and the pass. Redbirds' quarterback Luke Drone was masterful, completing 23-of-29 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. Equally impressive was Thompson, who darted and dashed for 165 rushing yards.

All told, Southern yielded 594 yards of total offense, the most allowed by a Saluki defense since Division I-A Eastern Michigan racked up 596 yards in a double overtime game against Southern in 2002.

"Look at the score," Saluki safety Jamarquis Jordan said in disbelief. "Who would have thought? I never would have thought. I'm really at a loss for words tonight."

The Salukis entered the contest with a nine-game conference winning streak and have rarely been threatened by a Gateway opponent the last two seasons.

The crushing loss came as a shock to Saluki players and the 11,381 fans on hand.

"Our character is going to be tested this week," Saluki quarterback Joel Sambursky said. "We are going to see what kind of men we are when we go back on the field. The great thing is we have another chance."

Claeys, who left after the game to be with Kill and his family at the hospital, said the Saluki football family will rally around its head coach.

"Everybody loves that guy," Claeys said. "He has built this program. He has given us all our jobs and recruited all these kids. We are all here because of Jerry."

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