Southern Illinois University
2-4 , 0-2
Illinois St.
4-2 , 1-1
Football falls to No. 13 Illinois State, 21-7
10/12/2019 | 9:50:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — James Robinson rushed for 150 yards and No. 13-ranked Illinois State grinded out a 21-7 win at Southern Illinois on Saturday night at Saluki Stadium
The Redbirds (4-2, 1-1) owned only a slight edge in total yards, 370-347, but held SIU scoreless on three trips to the red zone, and the ISU defense recorded nine sacks on the night.
After displaying a high-powered offense during the non-conference season, the Salukis (2-4, 0-2) have labored to put points on the board during league play, with only a single touchdown to show for the last six quarters. They have struggled to sustain drives, are 4-for-28 on 3rd down conversions in the last two games, and are leaving too many points in the red zone.
"We're better than that — I take pride in being a good offense," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "We have good offensive coaches and players. We've hit a little skid here and we have to get it corrected. That's my job as head coach to see that that gets done."
Southern had big-play opportunities, but was unable to execute. For example, late in the first quarter, wide receiver Sam Bonansinga was wide open down the right sideline on a wheel route, but he had to come back to catch the throw from quarterback Karé Lyles and fell down at the ISU 40.
Early in the second quarter, the Salukis had the ball at ISU's 16, but Lyles was sacked at the 23. Instead of kicking a field goal, Southern ran a fake, in which holder Nic Baker under-threw an open Javon Williams Jr. on a play that could have gone for a touchdown. Another promising drive ended when Lyles was picked off in the end zone by Brandon Simon just before halftime.
"You have to execute and play better to beat a good football team," Hill said.
Trailing, 14-0, to start the second half, Southern fumbled the opening kickoff, but the defense rose up to get a stop. That set up the Salukis' biggest play of the day — a 74-yard touchdown run by freshman Romeir Elliott, who broke through the right side and out-raced defenders to the end zone. The freshman had his first-career 100-yard game with 109 yards on nine carries.
Elliott's TD made it 14-7, and after Justin Strong recovered the ensuing onside kick, Southern appeared to have momentum on its side. However, the Salukis were unable to capitalize as Lyles threw two incomplete passes and was sacked. After Southern punted, Illinois State went 95 yards in 11 plays to make it a 21-7 game.
The Salukis had two fourth-quarter drives in which they reached the ISU 19 and ISU 23 before turning the ball over on downs.
"We just can't get going on offense — two games in a row of unexplosive, inefficient offense," Hill said. "You're playing some good defenses, but you prepare for that in the off-season."
Sacks have been a big problem the last two games, as Lyles has been dropped 15 times.
"They pressured us quite a bit, but we have to be able to get the ball out," Hill said. "There's probably a combination of hanging on to the football, getting beat up front, running backs in protection, and setting the protection right."
For the second-straight week, Southern's defense played well enough to win. The unit limited big plays and held Illinois State to 1-of-8 on third-down tries.
"I've been encouraged by our defense," Hill said. "They have to continue to do their job. I feel like our defense is giving us an opportunity. We have to win some of these games that are in the low-20s."
There was some good news in the postgame press conference when Hill told the media that several key, injured players are expected to return to practice this week, including safety Jeremy Chinn, running back D.J. Davis and quarterback Stone Labanowitz.
Team Stats
ILS 7, SIU 0
ILS - Robinson,James 2 yd run (Fenlason,Sam kick), 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 2:34
ILS 14, SIU 0
ILS - Nagel,Austin 2 yd pass from Davis,Brady (Fenlason,Sam kick) 12 plays, 77 yards, TOP 5:51
ILS 14, SIU 7
SIU - Elliott, Romeir 74 yd run (Cerra, Griffin kick), 1 plays, 74 yards, TOP 0:12
ILS 21, SIU 7
ILS - Davis,Brady 6 yd run (Fenlason,Sam kick), 11 plays, 95 yards, TOP 6:24
