Big third quarter lifts South Dakota past Saluki Football, 31-24

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CARBONDALE, Ill. — Austin Simmons threw all three of his touchdown passes in the third quarter to lead South Dakota to a 31-24 comeback win over Southern Illinois on Saturday night at Saluki Stadium.

After being held to 174 yards of total offense in the first half, the Coyotes (2-2, 1-0) exploded for 219 yards through the air in the third quarter alone. With the score tied, 17-17, Simmons completed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Randy Baker and an 89-yard strike to Dakarai Allen on back-to-back series.

For the third-straight game, the Salukis (1-3, 0-1) piled up more than 500 yards of offense, but they have no wins to show for it. Quarterback Sam Straub completed a career-high 32-of-59 passes for 320 yards and two touchdowns, yet Southern could muster only one touchdown in the second half, and that came with a minute to go in the contest. The Salukis had three turnovers and were 3-of-16 on 3rd-down conversions.

"You run 101 plays and you've got 500 and some yards of offense — you gotta score more points," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "I take full responsibility for that. I've got to put our guys in better positions. I felt like there were some things we left out there on the field."

In building a 17-10 lead at the half, Southern exploited a mismatch with 6-foot-8 tight end Nigel Kilby. Straub completed seven passes for 109 yards to the lanky tight end in the half, including touchdowns of 10 and 20 yards .

"Nigel is a big-time threat and his game is evolving," Hill said. "I think his package, as he evolves in the offense and his knowledge, you can keep doing a lot of different things with him."

SIU running back D.J. Davis also had another impressive performance. He rushed for 117 yards and became the first back at Southern with four-straight 100-yard games since Deji Karim in 2009.

"I have amazing brothers and amazing coaches, and we're going to keep chipping away," Davis insisted. "Nothing is going to change our attitude. We're going to keep doing all the right things on and off the field."

South Dakota's gameplan on defense was to take away the big play, force Straub to check down to his running backs, and prevent SIU star wideout Raphael Leonard from beating them. The strategy worked. Davis and Jonathan Mixon had a dozen catches between them, but on six-straight possessions in the second half, SIU's offense bogged down in South Dakota territory. Leonard had five catches for 73 yards but could not shake free for a touchdown after recording four TDs in the last two games.

There were positives in the loss. Southern was much better against the run, limiting South Dakota to 111 yards and a 2.8 yard average on the ground. The defense was especially stout in the first half, forcing eight punts and holding the Coyotes' offense to 0-for-9 on 3rd-down conversions.

The game's watershed moments took place late in the third quarter with the score tied, 17-17. The Salukis had pinned South Dakota at its own 2 yard line. On first down, Simmons read the corner blitz and made a perfect throw to Allen, who beat safety coverage for a 38-yard pickup. On the next play, SIU was flagged for pass interference. Then Simmons launched a 45-yarder to Baker. When South Dakota got the ball back, Simmons threw the 89-yard strike to a wide-open Allen against what appeared to be miscommunication in the Salukis secondary.

"It starts with me," Hill said. "If things are happening, I have to do a better job. Those guys are giving great effort and we all have to look in the mirror and see what we can do better."

The Salukis go on the road the next two weeks to Youngstown State and Illinois State.

"Nobody came to training camp and wanted to be 1-3, but that's where we're at, so we have to go to work," Hill said. "They are outstanding men. I know that they'll show up tomorrow and keep giving us everything they've got."

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