Southern Illinois University
3-4 , 1-2
Youngstown St.
4-3 , 0-3
Football rolls to 35-10 win over No. 18 Youngstown State
10/19/2019 | 6:41:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois running back Javon Williams Jr. did something no one's ever done at the school in 107 seasons of college football — he rushed for a touchdown, caught a touchdown and passed for a third TD as SIU rolled to a 35-10 Homecoming win over No. 18-ranked Youngstown State on Saturday.
The Salukis (3-4, 1-2) beat a ranked opponent for the first time in two years behind Williams Jr., a power running game that netted 189 yards, and a ferocious pass rush that generated nine sacks and held the Penguins (4-3, 0-3) to 30 total rushing yards.
"I'm just excited for our guys and everybody involved with our program," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "It's not easy in this league and it wasn't easy today. (Our guys) continue to commit to the process and what we believe in."
Trailing early, 3-0, Southern marched 75 yards in eight plays and scored on a seven-yard touchdown run by Williams Jr., who took a direct snap from center and plowed through defenders for the Salukis' first score.
After the defense forced a 3-and-out, SIU needed just one play to find the end zone again, as Karé Lyles rolled to his left and hit Landon Lenoir down the left sideline for a 53-yard TD strike.
Another 3-and-out led to another Saluki touchdown, this one coming on a three-yard fourth-down run by Romeir Elliott to make it 21-3 early in the second quarter. The Salukis blew the game wide open on a 73-yard touchdown pass from Lyles to to Williams Jr., who slipped out of the backfield, caught the ball near midfield and stiff-armed two defenders to the ground on his way to his second TD of the game.
Williams Jr. picked up the touchdown-hat trick in the third quarter when he took a snap from the Wildcat formation and found fullback Jacob Garrett all alone for an easy 41-yard throw-and-catch for six points.
Hill marveled at the redshirt freshman's versatility.
"He could play tight end for us, he could play wide receiver, he could play quarterback for us, he could play linebacker for us," Hill raved. "When you start talking about the top freshmen in the country, Javon's name needs to come up."
The Salukis welcomed back their two best players — safety Jeremy Chinn and running back D.J. Davis — who each missed the last two games with injury, both losses. Chinn led the team with nine tackles, eight of them solos. Davis rushed for 70 yards.
"There's just something about having them out on the field, seeing them and believing in them," Hill said. "Those plays that go for five or six yards could be 20 or 30-yard plays if (Chinn) doesn't make those tackles out in space."
Hill said Southern's defense played well enough to win the last two games, and today the unit played even better. Bryson Strong, Makel Calhoun and Chucky Sullivan each had two sacks, while Malik Haynes, Jordan Berner and Elijah Watson had one apiece. They made life miserable for YSU quarterbacks Nathan Mayes and Joe Craycraft.
"(The defense) came out and put up a shut-out in the second half," Hill said. "I thought coaches did an outstanding job of putting guys in position to make plays."
Hill said the team changed its practice routine slightly this week, with more live work than usual for this time of year, and felt it helped the team be more physical.
"We didn't tackle to the ground, but we went at each other (in practice)," Hill explained. "I felt like that was the focus and intensity that we had to have."
Lyles completed only 7-of-9 passes, but they went for 160 yards and two TDs and he was only sacked three times, after getting dropped nine times by Illinois State a week ago. Both Elliott's touchdown run and Williams Jr.'s touchdown pass came on fourth down, as the Salukis converted both times they went for it on fourth and short.
"I feel like we have the pieces to be an efficient offense and I thought we did a good job of sticking with the runs and setting some things up and guys made plays," Hill said.
The Salukis have already exceeded last year's win total, and after playing three-straight ranked teams to start conference play, do not play another ranked team until top-ranked North Dakota State comes to town in the regular-season finale.
"We're tired of hearing that we're close and we could win these games," Hill said. "It kind of all came together today and we showed what we can do."
Team Stats
YSU 3, SIU 0
YSU - McFadden, C. 31 yd field goal 10 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:05
YSU 3, SIU 7
SIU - Williams Jr., J 7 yd run (Cerra, Griffin kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:37
YSU 3, SIU 14
SIU - Lenoir, Landon 53 yd pass from Lyles, Kare (Cerra, Griffin kick) 1 plays, 53 yards, TOP 0:09
YSU 3, SIU 21
SIU - Elliott, Romeir 3 yd run (Cerra, Griffin kick), 11 plays, 61 yards, TOP 5:00
YSU 3, SIU 28
SIU - Williams Jr., J 73 yd pass from Lyles, Kare (Cerra, Griffin kick) 1 plays, 73 yards, TOP 0:10
YSU 10, SIU 28
YSU - Emans, Ryan 22 yd pass from Mays, Nathan (McFadden, C. kick) 8 plays, 90 yards, TOP 1:00
YSU 10, SIU 35
SIU - Garrett, Jacob 41 yd pass from Williams Jr., J (Cerra, Griffin kick) 7 plays, 64 yards, TOP 3:03
