Southern Illinois University
7-3 , 5-2
Northern Iowa
7-3 , 5-2
Football falls to Northern Iowa, 25-24
11/12/2005 | 12:00:00 | Football
Nov. 12, 2005
Final Stats | Photo Gallery | Postgame Podcast
By Tom Weber
www.SIUSalukis.com
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Northern Iowa, facing a must-win situation in order to make the I-AA Playoffs, rallied from a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Southern Illinois, 25-24, Saturday at the sold-out UNI Dome.
With 2:38 remaining in the game, no timeouts and facing 4th-and-2 at the Salukis' 35, UNI's Eric Sanders hit Jamie Goodwin with a 35-yard touchdown pass to give the Panthers their first lead of the game, 25-24.
The Salukis tried to answer in the final two minutes, but came up inches short on a Joel Sambursky to Arkee Whitlock fourth down pass at the SIU 49, handing the ball back to UNI with 19 seconds remaining.
The #14-ranked Panthers (7-3, 5-2) finished the Gateway Conference regular season tied for first place with the #4-ranked Salukis (7-3, 5-2), but they will receive the league's automatic bid to the playoffs by virtue of beating SIU.
"We can't sit here and dwell on it," head coach Jerry Kill said. "We can feel bad for a day, but then we have to get ready for the next one."
"It really stings badly, but the season is not over," said Sambursky. "Everybody in (the lockerroom) is hurting. The guys who have been here four or five years -- it hurts badly. But good teams battle back, and we've got to."
Southern Illinois now faces a do-or-die game of its own next Saturday when it hosts North Dakota State at 3 p.m. in a non-conference matchup of nationally ranked teams and playoff hopefuls.
"I'm certainly going to attack it as a must-win, no question about that," Kill said.
"We're not down on each other," defensive tackle Mark Philipp said. "We've always had that fight-back spirit. This next one is a must."
Traditionally, a team needs seven Division I wins to receive serious consideration for one of the eight at-large bids to the playoffs. The Salukis currently have six Division I wins and one NAIA win against Union (Ky.).
The loss to UNI overshadowed a tremendous individual performance by Saluki running back Arkee Whitlock, who was relentless on the afternoon. He ran for 167 yards and averaged nearly seven yards per carry.
Southern was in control of game for the first three-and-a-half quarters, but could never put the Panthers away.
In a closely contested first half, SIU scored on a Sambursky to Kellen Allen 25-yard TD pass with 42 seconds left in the 2nd quarter to take a 17-7 lead at intermission.
The Salukis built a 24-10 lead when Sambursky found tight end Micah Turner open in the end zone for a 28-yard TD with 5:23 left in the third quarter.
A critical play took place midway through the fourth quarter when Southern, leading 24-13, had the ball deep in Panthers' territory with a chance to put the game away with a score.
However, on a 2nd-and-12 play, Braden Jones caught a Sambursky pass, and while struggling for extra yardage, fumbled the ball at the Panthers' 24.
UNI's Darin Heidemen recovered the pigskin, and the Panthers' offense went the length of the field on its next drive, as Sanders hit Patrick Hunter with a 13-yard touchdown pass to close the gap to 24-19 with 6:56 to go. The two-point conversion pass was incomplete.
On Southern's next possession, the offense went three-and-out, and UNI got the ball back at its own 21 after a punt with 4:42 to go.
That's when Sanders led his team on the decisive scoring drive.
"(UNI) made some plays down the stretch, and we didn't make some plays down the stretch that would have been the difference in the game," Kill said. "Credit them. They're a good ball-club.
"I respect them. I respect their program. They had to win the game to get a share of the conference title, and they did what they needed to do."
The loss extended Southern's losing streak at the dome to 10 games. SIU's only win there was in 1983, the year the Salukis won the I-AA National Championship.
"I'm frustrated for (the players)," Kill said. "They played hard and gave everything they got. That's all you can ask."
Team Stats
SIU 3, UNI 0
SIU - Coffin,Craig 36 yd field goal 16 plays, 77 yards, TOP 7:48
SIU 10, UNI 0
SIU - Whitlock,Arkee 12 yd run (Coffin,Craig kick), 6 plays, 46 yards, TOP 2:48
SIU 10, UNI 7
UNI - Goodwin, Jamie 32 yd pass from Sanders, Eric (Wingert, Brian kick) 4 plays, 78 yards, TOP 1:18
SIU 17, UNI 7
SIU - Allen,Kellen 25 yd pass from Sambursky,Joel (Coffin,Craig kick) 9 plays, 91 yards, TOP 3:54
SIU 17, UNI 10
UNI - Wingert, Brian 46 yd field goal 13 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:52
SIU 24, UNI 10
SIU - Turner,Micah 28 yd pass from Sambursky,Joel (Coffin,Craig kick) 7 plays, 68 yards, TOP 3:05
SIU 24, UNI 13
UNI - Wingert, Brian 21 yd field goal 12 plays, 62 yards, TOP 6:03
SIU 24, UNI 19
UNI - Hunter, Patrick 13 yd pass from Sanders, Eric (Sanders, Eric passfailed) 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:54
SIU 24, UNI 25
UNI - Goodwin, Jamie 35 yd pass from Sanders, Eric (Sanders, Eric rushfailed) 8 plays, 79 yards, TOP 2:04