Southern Illinois University
3-5 , 2-3
North Dakota State
6-2 , 4-1
SIU drops 35-29 decision to North Dakota State
10/31/2015 | 12:00:00 | Football
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
CARBONDALE, Ill. - North Dakota State used 397 rushing yards to beat Southern Illinois 35-29 on Saturday afternoon. SIU (3-5, 2-3 MVFC) kept the game within reach until NDSU recovered SIU's on-side kick in the final minute.
"We're going to watch that film, and it's going to sting," head coach Dale Lennon said. "We're going to see areas that are very correctable, things we are capable of doing that we just didn't do."
In a battle of the top defense in the conference (NDSU) vs. the top offense (SIU), both units had their moments. NDSU limited SIU to its lowest yardage output of the year, but that total (398 yards) was more than 49 of NDSU's previous 53 opponents. SIU put up the program's most total yards, passing yards, points and fourth-quarter points against the Bison since the teams began playing annually in 2008. NDSU had given up 29 points or more just twice in its previous 68 games before the Salukis put up 29 today.
The Salukis wore down the Bison and put up 144 yards in the fourth quarter alone. But from the nine-minute mark of the second quarter through the eight-minute mark of the third quarter--17 minutes of game action--the Salukis held the ball for just 1 minute, 22 seconds. Southern's defense did a remarkable job keeping SIU within striking distance during that span, forcing a fumble and two missed field goals, but Southern's defense eventually wore down and allowed a 77-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and runs of 50 and 51 yards in the fourth. NDSU, the four-time defending national champions, answered with fourth-quarter touchdowns both times Southern drew within one score.
"Where do we have to make improvements to be at that level?" Lennon said. "It is a fine line. I don't think you saw a game today where one team was just that much more dominant than the other team."
Mark Iannotti tried to mount a second-straight improbable comeback. Last week, Iannotti engineered an 11-point comeback vs. Youngstown State in the final five minutes. This week, he had 142 yards total offense in the fourth quarter alone and engineered two scoring drives. His 29 total offense plays (rush plus pass attempts) in the fourth quarter were four shy of an NCAA record.
Iannotti put up 277 pass yards against a defense that allowed fewer than 200 per game, and he put up 360 yards total offense against a team allowing fewer than 300 yards per game. During the game, he became the seventh player in program history with more than 5,000 career yards of total offense.
"Mark exemplifies what this team is all about," Lennon said. "He doesn't question the call, for as many times as we run him up the gut. You know it's going to be a huge collision; he just calls the play and goes. He's the heart and soul right now of our football team, and it's because of the toughness that he carries himself with."
Israel Lamprakes set career highs with nine receptions and 100 yards receiving. Jimmy Jones had touchdowns both through the air and on the ground. Kenny James and Markese Jackson both had 14 tackles to lead the defense, and freshman Chris Adkins had both an interception and a forced fumble.
Southern Illinois hits the road for the program's first-even game at the DakotaDome against South Dakota. The Dawgs and `Yotes met for the first time last season, with SIU winning 41-10, but South Dakota is 4-4 this season, including a win over North Dakota State. After that, SIU closes the season against No. 3 Illinois State and No. 18 Northern Iowa.
"There's not a team that we're going to shy away from, a game that we don't think we can win," Lennon said. "And that's real; that's not one of those coach-speak things, saying, `Hey, we have a chance to win this.' We do have a chance to win it. We had a chance to win today. (If) we make a couple plays, things go differently."
Team Stats
NDSU 0, SIU 3
SIU - Johnson, Austin 33 yd field goal 11 plays, 64 yards, TOP 4:32
NDSU 7, SIU 3
NDSU - RJ Urzendowski 3 yd pass from Easton Stick (Cam Pedersen kick) 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 1:23
NDSU 7, SIU 10
SIU - Jones, Jimmy 5 yd run (Johnson, Austin kick), 8 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:05
NDSU 14, SIU 10
NDSU - Chase Morlock 10 yd run (Cam Pedersen kick), 13 plays, 93 yards, TOP 6:45
NDSU 14, SIU 13
SIU - Johnson, Austin 33 yd field goal 5 plays, 10 yards, TOP 1:19
NDSU 21, SIU 13
NDSU - RJ Urzendowski 77 yd pass from Easton Stick (Ben LeCompte kick) 3 plays, 79 yards, TOP 0:58
NDSU 21, SIU 19
SIU - Jones, Jimmy 25 yd pass from Iannotti, Mark (Iannotti, Mark passfailed) 11 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:40
NDSU 28, SIU 19
NDSU - King Frazier 50 yd run (Ben LeCompte kick), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 1:51
NDSU 28, SIU 22
SIU - Johnson, Austin 28 yd field goal 14 plays, 64 yards, TOP 4:23
NDSU 35, SIU 22
NDSU - Chase Morlock 3 yd run (Ben LeCompte kick), 2 plays, 57 yards, TOP 0:38
NDSU 35, SIU 29
SIU - Iannotti, Mark 2 yd run (Johnson, Austin kick), 16 plays, 80 yards, TOP 4:16
