Saturday, November 23
Carbondale, IL
2:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
7-5 , 5-3
7
vs
21
North Dakota St.
12-0 , 8-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
North Dakota State
7
0
7
7
21
Southern Illinois
0
7
0
0
7
#1 NDSU outlasts #25 SIU, 21-7
11/23/2019 | 5:44:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The No. 25-ranked Southern Illinois football team made a great case for an at-large bid to the FCS Playoff field despite a 21-7 loss to top-ranked North Dakota State. The playoff field will be announced at 11:30 a.m. CT Sunday and will be televised on ESPNU.Â
"We didn't hype this game as a David vs. Goliath matchup because we don't feel like we're David," SIU head coach Nick Hill said. "We're a really good football team. We've been preparing for this since January, about finishing, being a physical football team, and learning what it takes to win. When you get to the moment, you don't change who you are. You show up and go to work. We've had unbelievable commitment in practice. This was a team that showed up expecting to win the football game, and we just came up a little bit short."
NDSU (12-0, 8-0 MVFC) won its 33rd consecutive game, tying its own FCS record, but SIU (7-5, 5-3 MVFC) battled the Bison as well as anyone has all year. The Bison entered the week with the nation's No. 1-ranked scoring offense, but the Salukis held NDSU to its lowest scoring output of the season. The Bison entered the week with the nation's No. 1-ranked total defense, but SIU put up 206 yards rushing, becoming only the second team in the last three seasons to rush for 200+ yards against NDSU.Â
"We're a playoff team. Anybody that watches that game knows it. Really, anybody who watches (SIU) the last six weeks of the season," HIll said. "These last six weeks, I feel like we've been a top-10 team. If you would ask North Dakota State's coaches about the level of play, and the players, that are on our team, I think they would say the same thing. That wasn't a close game because there were fluke things happening -- them turning it over, sleepwalking through it, bad on special teams -- it wasn't that. They didn't make any mistakes, and we were right there. There have been a lot of teams that play them that don't fight them like that."
NDSUÂ coaches did say the same thing. When NDSU head coach Matt Entz was asked if SIU was a playoff team, he said, "I think so. I think Nick has done a really good job with this football team. They challenge you on defense. They have some really good football players. They're physical. (Javon Williams Jr.) causes you some problems."
As they have all season, Javon Williams Jr. and D.J. Davis led the SIU rushing attack. The duo combined for 187 yards on 36 carries, and each went over 1,000 yards on the season, marking the first time in SIU history the Salukis have had two 1,000-yard rushers in a single season. Williams' 28-yard touchdown run with 9:35 in the second quarter tied the game, 7-7, which would be the score at halftime. SIU was only the second team this season to tie or lead NDSUÂ in the second half of a game this year.
The Salukis had a chance to take the lead in the second half, but a 44-yard field goal was wide left. NDSU answered the missed field goal with a touchdown drive to take the lead, 14-7.
The Bison won the game on third down. NDSU's offense and SIU's defense each entered the game ranked in the top-five nationally on third down. The Bison won the day, converting 8-of-14. On NDSU's three scoring drives, it was 7-of-7 on third down, capped by freshman quarterback Trey Lance's 34-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run on 3rd-and-7 to give NDSU a 21-7 lead.
Lance and Williams are frontrunners for MVFC and national freshman of the year awards. Williams finished his remarkable redshirt freshman year with 1,038 yards rushing (17 rushing TDs), 209 yards receiving (2 receiving TDs), and 160 yards passing (2 passing TDs).Â
"The best two freshmen in the country were on the field today, no question," Hill said, referencing NDSU's Lance and SIU's Williams.Â
SIU nearly made it a one-score game late in the game. Davis ran for 34 yards and then 15 yards on consecutive carries to give SIU a first-and-goal in the game's final five minutes. On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Williams was ruled short of the goalline, and NDSUÂ ran out the clock to preserve its second-consecutive undefeated regular season.Â
SIU's playoff resume is impressive, starting with an FBS win over UMass -- one of only three FCS over FBS wins nationally this year. SIU's only losses are against FBS Arkansas State and four FCS teams that are all currently ranked in the top-13 nationally, and SIU was without potential All-Americans D.J. Davis and Jeremy Chinn in two of those games.
The Salukis are seeking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009, which was the final year of seven-consecutive playoff appearances by SIU.Â
NOTES: SIU held NDSU to its lowest scoring output and second-lowest yardage output of the season ... SIU became only the second team since the start of the 2017 season (42 games) to rush for 200+ yards against NDSU ... D.J. Davis (1,026 yards) and Javon Williams Jr. (1,038 yards) each surpassed 1,000 rushing yards this season, marking the first time SIU has had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season ... SIU entered the game ranked No. 15 nationally in the Sagarin ratings.
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"We didn't hype this game as a David vs. Goliath matchup because we don't feel like we're David," SIU head coach Nick Hill said. "We're a really good football team. We've been preparing for this since January, about finishing, being a physical football team, and learning what it takes to win. When you get to the moment, you don't change who you are. You show up and go to work. We've had unbelievable commitment in practice. This was a team that showed up expecting to win the football game, and we just came up a little bit short."
NDSU (12-0, 8-0 MVFC) won its 33rd consecutive game, tying its own FCS record, but SIU (7-5, 5-3 MVFC) battled the Bison as well as anyone has all year. The Bison entered the week with the nation's No. 1-ranked scoring offense, but the Salukis held NDSU to its lowest scoring output of the season. The Bison entered the week with the nation's No. 1-ranked total defense, but SIU put up 206 yards rushing, becoming only the second team in the last three seasons to rush for 200+ yards against NDSU.Â
"We're a playoff team. Anybody that watches that game knows it. Really, anybody who watches (SIU) the last six weeks of the season," HIll said. "These last six weeks, I feel like we've been a top-10 team. If you would ask North Dakota State's coaches about the level of play, and the players, that are on our team, I think they would say the same thing. That wasn't a close game because there were fluke things happening -- them turning it over, sleepwalking through it, bad on special teams -- it wasn't that. They didn't make any mistakes, and we were right there. There have been a lot of teams that play them that don't fight them like that."
NDSUÂ coaches did say the same thing. When NDSU head coach Matt Entz was asked if SIU was a playoff team, he said, "I think so. I think Nick has done a really good job with this football team. They challenge you on defense. They have some really good football players. They're physical. (Javon Williams Jr.) causes you some problems."
As they have all season, Javon Williams Jr. and D.J. Davis led the SIU rushing attack. The duo combined for 187 yards on 36 carries, and each went over 1,000 yards on the season, marking the first time in SIU history the Salukis have had two 1,000-yard rushers in a single season. Williams' 28-yard touchdown run with 9:35 in the second quarter tied the game, 7-7, which would be the score at halftime. SIU was only the second team this season to tie or lead NDSUÂ in the second half of a game this year.
The Salukis had a chance to take the lead in the second half, but a 44-yard field goal was wide left. NDSU answered the missed field goal with a touchdown drive to take the lead, 14-7.
The Bison won the game on third down. NDSU's offense and SIU's defense each entered the game ranked in the top-five nationally on third down. The Bison won the day, converting 8-of-14. On NDSU's three scoring drives, it was 7-of-7 on third down, capped by freshman quarterback Trey Lance's 34-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run on 3rd-and-7 to give NDSU a 21-7 lead.
Lance and Williams are frontrunners for MVFC and national freshman of the year awards. Williams finished his remarkable redshirt freshman year with 1,038 yards rushing (17 rushing TDs), 209 yards receiving (2 receiving TDs), and 160 yards passing (2 passing TDs).Â
"The best two freshmen in the country were on the field today, no question," Hill said, referencing NDSU's Lance and SIU's Williams.Â
SIU nearly made it a one-score game late in the game. Davis ran for 34 yards and then 15 yards on consecutive carries to give SIU a first-and-goal in the game's final five minutes. On fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line, Williams was ruled short of the goalline, and NDSUÂ ran out the clock to preserve its second-consecutive undefeated regular season.Â
SIU's playoff resume is impressive, starting with an FBS win over UMass -- one of only three FCS over FBS wins nationally this year. SIU's only losses are against FBS Arkansas State and four FCS teams that are all currently ranked in the top-13 nationally, and SIU was without potential All-Americans D.J. Davis and Jeremy Chinn in two of those games.
The Salukis are seeking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009, which was the final year of seven-consecutive playoff appearances by SIU.Â
NOTES: SIU held NDSU to its lowest scoring output and second-lowest yardage output of the season ... SIU became only the second team since the start of the 2017 season (42 games) to rush for 200+ yards against NDSU ... D.J. Davis (1,026 yards) and Javon Williams Jr. (1,038 yards) each surpassed 1,000 rushing yards this season, marking the first time SIU has had two 1,000-yard rushers in the same season ... SIU entered the game ranked No. 15 nationally in the Sagarin ratings.
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Team Stats
NDSU
SIU
Total Yards
392
276
Pass Yards
146
70
Rushing Yards
246
206
Penalty Yards
35
54
1st Downs
22
14
3rd Downs
8
5
4th Downs
0
1
TOP
31:14
28:46
1st Quarter
NDSU 7, SIU 0
NDSU - Kobe Johnson 44 yd run (Griffin Crosa kick), 10 plays, 91 yards, TOP 5:01
2nd Quarter
NDSU 7, SIU 7
SIU - Williams Jr., J 28 yd run (Gualdoni, Nico kick), 10 plays, 60 yards, TOP 5:40
3rd Quarter
NDSU 14, SIU 7
NDSU - Adam Cofield 8 yd run (Griffin Crosa kick), 10 plays, 74 yards, TOP 5:34
4th Quarter
NDSU 21, SIU 7
NDSU - Trey Lance 34 yd run (Griffin Crosa kick), 13 plays, 86 yards, TOP 6:50
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
6
TD
0
YDS
70
INT
1
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
0
Players Mentioned
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