Saturday, October 9
Brookings, SD
2:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
5-1 , 3-0
42
at
41
South Dakota St.
4-1 , 1-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
OT
F
Southern Illinois
0
14
0
21
7
42
South Dakota St.
7
13
8
7
6
41
Saluki Football stuns No. 2 SDSU in overtime, 42-41
10/09/2021 | 6:53:00 | Football
BROOKINGS, S.D. — Gritty. Improbable. Heart-pounding. Pick your adjectives.
Southern Illinois rallied from a 20-point deficit to stun No. 2 ranked South Dakota State, 42-41, in overtime on Saturday, in a battle for first place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and a thrilling sequel to last year's quarterfinal FCS Playoff game.
Down the stretch, quarterback Nic Baker willed the No. 7 ranked Salukis (5-1, 3-0) to the victory — spinning away from pressure time and again, converting clutch plays on fourth down, and passing for 359 yards and four touchdowns. For good measure, he added another 46 yards rushing.
His final strike was a 19-yard back-shoulder TD to Landon Lenoir with 34 seconds left in regulation that sent the game to overtime. Lenoir's amazing one-handed grab was the cherry on top of a 14-play, 70-yard drive in the game's final three minutes that included conversions on 4th-and-6 and 4th-and-11. Misfires on either would have meant game-over.
Once the contest got to overtime, Southern won it on a 10-yard touchdown run by Donnavan Spencer. Although the No. 2-ranked Jackrabbits (4-1, 2-1) had a chance to tie it after scoring a TD of their own, they instead went for the win, and a two-point conversion pass was broken up in the end zone by SIU linebacker Branson Combs.
That the game even reached overtime was stunning in itself. Most of the crowd of 12,216 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium surely counted the Salukis out when the home team jumped to a 20-0 lead. After the first quarter, SDSU had out-gained the Salukis, 200-24, in total yards, and a blowout seemed more likely than a rally.
The crew from Carbondale never gave in, clawing back within reach by halftime, 20-14. Even a bizarre set of failed fourth-down plays inside the Jackrabbits' 5-yard line during a wacky third quarter couldn't squelch the comeback.
At one point in the third quarter, the Salukis were inches away from taking the lead, but as Javon Williams Jr. somersaulted toward the end zone, the ball popped out, and the Salukis could only watch helplessly as Malik Lofton returned it 97 yards for a Jackrabbits' TD. Instead of pulling ahead, Southern trailed, 28-14, a 14-point swing.
Baker rallied his team on SIU's next drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Zach Gibson. It was a spectacular diving catch by the redshirt freshman receiver, who was taking key snaps after Southern lost star Avante Cox to injury last week, and his backup, Jerron Rollins, left today's game with an injury.
The Jackrabbits struck back with an 85-yard touchdown run by Pierre Strong, pushing the SDSU lead again to two touchdowns, 35-21, with 10:18 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Not to be out-done, Spencer busted loose for a 63-yard TD scamper down the right sideline to draw the Salukis back to 35-28. The Western Carolina transfer led SIU with 103 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
The game all boiled down to whether the Salukis had any magic left with 3:36 to go in the game and the ball resting at its own 20. SDSU kicker Cole Frahm lined up for a 37-yard field goal that could have put the game out of reach, but the kick was blocked by Saluki defensive end Anthony Knighton, who busted into the backfield and deflected the ball at the height of his leap.
That set up Baker's heroics, and boy, did he deliver. On 4th-and-6 at his own 34, the 5-foot-8 Baker ducked under a heavy pass rush and sprinted ahead for eight yards. An even more remarkable feat was yet to come. On 4th-and-11 at the SIU 41, Baker spun away from a defender, scrambled to his right and threw back across his body to Izaiah Hartrup for an 18-yard gainer.
Resilience has become the trademark of this team the past two seasons, but after a second-straight overtime win for the Salukis, they could also be called the Kardiac Kids. They're off to their best start since 2014 and welcome North Dakota to Carbondale next Saturday for Homecoming.
Head coach Nick Hill
"It's a heckuva football game — really grateful for and proud of our team and the people on it. I told them that before the game. The keys to the game don't change that much week-to-week, so I take that time to tell them how proud I am of them, and grateful for their commitment and their resiliency. We just have a lot of big-time people on our team."
"It's not always going to be pretty, I think you see that around college football. Winning's not easy. I hope somebody watches us for the first time and is like, 'Wow. Southern plays with passion, they play with resiliency, and you can tell they care about each other.' On the sideline, our body language — they just play the game the right way...it takes time, a lot of preparation to get to that point. You truly have to love each other, believe in each other. We talked in pregame about an uncommon belief."
"I said the difference in this game is going to be at the margins, the six or eight plays where you really have to strain. It's 4th-and-6 Nic (Baker) and you've gotta step up, avoid a blitz, take off and get a first down by one yard. That's not Xs and Os. That's resiliency and just having a competitor and a warrior back there at quarterback."
"Obviously, we were bad in the red zone. We have to be better and that starts with me, with coaching. Down there, it's a collective thing. We have to have a better low-red (zone) plan if we can't just line up and run it in."
On the 97-yard fumble return. "I'm the one who called the play on 4th-and-2. No one felt they were punched in the gut more than me. You want it so bad for those guys. It was like, let's go, we got a lot of game left. We're not even in the fourth quarter yet."
"I don't know a quarterback who's played that good in a big-time game in Saluki Football history. I had an opportunity to do that one time at Northern Iowa, threw for 400 yards and we got beat, and I threw three interceptions, on the road, 1 vs. 2, and didn't get it done."
"Some people have 'it' and some people don't. Nic Baker's got 'it.' I've been telling people for a long time how much I believe in him. He's going to be challenged to do it over and over again."
QB Nic Baker
On the 4th-and-11 play: "It's 4th-and-11 so [stuff] has to get done. That's what I did. I just moved around and tried to find somebody. In a do-or-die, you gotta do it and found (Hartrup)."
"Everybody's talking about being down, 20-0, but when we were down seven on the one-yardline, and we gave up that 99-yard scoop-and-score, that was tough, too. We just had to bring everybody together. We're a confident group and we never blink."
"Everybody in that huddle is positive, everybody's fighters. Looking around, looking at everybody — and seeing, 'I'd die for that dude.' Everybody's got that attitude."
"You want to win the conference, you've gotta win that game. It's a really, really hard place to play. Last year in the playoffs, we were up, too, and we thought we should have won that game."
On the Lenoir game-tying TD: "I saw him pressed, and I got my eyes on that safety pre-snap. If he doesn't go over the top and cover him, we got Lando one-on-one and that's where I'm going."
RB Donnavan Spencer
On the game-winning TD run: "Bake had a check call, and he checked it to the run. As soon as he checked it, I saw it. Our line does exceptionally well under pressure. They're a veteran group, kudos to them, and Bake trusted me with the ball in my hands, and Coach (Hill) calling it."
"We have a deep backfield with Justin (Strong), Javon (Williams), Romeir (Elliott). Once we get on the field, we have to make the best of our opportunity."
"I've played in some crazy games, but this is definitely one of the most memorable. South Dakota State is a great opponent. We knew we had to come up here today and get a win, and that's what we did. I love those guys to death — I love my offensive line, the defense, throughout this whole program — me just being a transfer here, they definitely pulled me in as a family."
Southern Illinois rallied from a 20-point deficit to stun No. 2 ranked South Dakota State, 42-41, in overtime on Saturday, in a battle for first place in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and a thrilling sequel to last year's quarterfinal FCS Playoff game.
Down the stretch, quarterback Nic Baker willed the No. 7 ranked Salukis (5-1, 3-0) to the victory — spinning away from pressure time and again, converting clutch plays on fourth down, and passing for 359 yards and four touchdowns. For good measure, he added another 46 yards rushing.
His final strike was a 19-yard back-shoulder TD to Landon Lenoir with 34 seconds left in regulation that sent the game to overtime. Lenoir's amazing one-handed grab was the cherry on top of a 14-play, 70-yard drive in the game's final three minutes that included conversions on 4th-and-6 and 4th-and-11. Misfires on either would have meant game-over.
Once the contest got to overtime, Southern won it on a 10-yard touchdown run by Donnavan Spencer. Although the No. 2-ranked Jackrabbits (4-1, 2-1) had a chance to tie it after scoring a TD of their own, they instead went for the win, and a two-point conversion pass was broken up in the end zone by SIU linebacker Branson Combs.
That the game even reached overtime was stunning in itself. Most of the crowd of 12,216 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium surely counted the Salukis out when the home team jumped to a 20-0 lead. After the first quarter, SDSU had out-gained the Salukis, 200-24, in total yards, and a blowout seemed more likely than a rally.
The crew from Carbondale never gave in, clawing back within reach by halftime, 20-14. Even a bizarre set of failed fourth-down plays inside the Jackrabbits' 5-yard line during a wacky third quarter couldn't squelch the comeback.
At one point in the third quarter, the Salukis were inches away from taking the lead, but as Javon Williams Jr. somersaulted toward the end zone, the ball popped out, and the Salukis could only watch helplessly as Malik Lofton returned it 97 yards for a Jackrabbits' TD. Instead of pulling ahead, Southern trailed, 28-14, a 14-point swing.
Baker rallied his team on SIU's next drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Zach Gibson. It was a spectacular diving catch by the redshirt freshman receiver, who was taking key snaps after Southern lost star Avante Cox to injury last week, and his backup, Jerron Rollins, left today's game with an injury.
The Jackrabbits struck back with an 85-yard touchdown run by Pierre Strong, pushing the SDSU lead again to two touchdowns, 35-21, with 10:18 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Not to be out-done, Spencer busted loose for a 63-yard TD scamper down the right sideline to draw the Salukis back to 35-28. The Western Carolina transfer led SIU with 103 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries.
The game all boiled down to whether the Salukis had any magic left with 3:36 to go in the game and the ball resting at its own 20. SDSU kicker Cole Frahm lined up for a 37-yard field goal that could have put the game out of reach, but the kick was blocked by Saluki defensive end Anthony Knighton, who busted into the backfield and deflected the ball at the height of his leap.
That set up Baker's heroics, and boy, did he deliver. On 4th-and-6 at his own 34, the 5-foot-8 Baker ducked under a heavy pass rush and sprinted ahead for eight yards. An even more remarkable feat was yet to come. On 4th-and-11 at the SIU 41, Baker spun away from a defender, scrambled to his right and threw back across his body to Izaiah Hartrup for an 18-yard gainer.
Resilience has become the trademark of this team the past two seasons, but after a second-straight overtime win for the Salukis, they could also be called the Kardiac Kids. They're off to their best start since 2014 and welcome North Dakota to Carbondale next Saturday for Homecoming.
Head coach Nick Hill
"It's a heckuva football game — really grateful for and proud of our team and the people on it. I told them that before the game. The keys to the game don't change that much week-to-week, so I take that time to tell them how proud I am of them, and grateful for their commitment and their resiliency. We just have a lot of big-time people on our team."
"It's not always going to be pretty, I think you see that around college football. Winning's not easy. I hope somebody watches us for the first time and is like, 'Wow. Southern plays with passion, they play with resiliency, and you can tell they care about each other.' On the sideline, our body language — they just play the game the right way...it takes time, a lot of preparation to get to that point. You truly have to love each other, believe in each other. We talked in pregame about an uncommon belief."
"I said the difference in this game is going to be at the margins, the six or eight plays where you really have to strain. It's 4th-and-6 Nic (Baker) and you've gotta step up, avoid a blitz, take off and get a first down by one yard. That's not Xs and Os. That's resiliency and just having a competitor and a warrior back there at quarterback."
"Obviously, we were bad in the red zone. We have to be better and that starts with me, with coaching. Down there, it's a collective thing. We have to have a better low-red (zone) plan if we can't just line up and run it in."
On the 97-yard fumble return. "I'm the one who called the play on 4th-and-2. No one felt they were punched in the gut more than me. You want it so bad for those guys. It was like, let's go, we got a lot of game left. We're not even in the fourth quarter yet."
"I don't know a quarterback who's played that good in a big-time game in Saluki Football history. I had an opportunity to do that one time at Northern Iowa, threw for 400 yards and we got beat, and I threw three interceptions, on the road, 1 vs. 2, and didn't get it done."
"Some people have 'it' and some people don't. Nic Baker's got 'it.' I've been telling people for a long time how much I believe in him. He's going to be challenged to do it over and over again."
QB Nic Baker
On the 4th-and-11 play: "It's 4th-and-11 so [stuff] has to get done. That's what I did. I just moved around and tried to find somebody. In a do-or-die, you gotta do it and found (Hartrup)."
"Everybody's talking about being down, 20-0, but when we were down seven on the one-yardline, and we gave up that 99-yard scoop-and-score, that was tough, too. We just had to bring everybody together. We're a confident group and we never blink."
"Everybody in that huddle is positive, everybody's fighters. Looking around, looking at everybody — and seeing, 'I'd die for that dude.' Everybody's got that attitude."
"You want to win the conference, you've gotta win that game. It's a really, really hard place to play. Last year in the playoffs, we were up, too, and we thought we should have won that game."
On the Lenoir game-tying TD: "I saw him pressed, and I got my eyes on that safety pre-snap. If he doesn't go over the top and cover him, we got Lando one-on-one and that's where I'm going."
RB Donnavan Spencer
On the game-winning TD run: "Bake had a check call, and he checked it to the run. As soon as he checked it, I saw it. Our line does exceptionally well under pressure. They're a veteran group, kudos to them, and Bake trusted me with the ball in my hands, and Coach (Hill) calling it."
"We have a deep backfield with Justin (Strong), Javon (Williams), Romeir (Elliott). Once we get on the field, we have to make the best of our opportunity."
"I've played in some crazy games, but this is definitely one of the most memorable. South Dakota State is a great opponent. We knew we had to come up here today and get a win, and that's what we did. I love those guys to death — I love my offensive line, the defense, throughout this whole program — me just being a transfer here, they definitely pulled me in as a family."
Team Stats
SIU
SDSU
Total Yards
546
559
Pass Yards
363
377
Rushing Yards
183
182
Penalty Yards
25
48
1st Downs
26
23
3rd Downs
7
2
4th Downs
3
0
TOP
30:11
29:49
1st Quarter
SIU 0, SDSU 7
SDSU - Strong,Pierre 20 yd run (Frahm,Cole kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 3:59
2nd Quarter
SIU 0, SDSU 10
SDSU - Frahm,Cole 40 yd field goal 8 plays, 36 yards, TOP 2:54
SIU 0, SDSU 17
SDSU - Janke,Jadon 19 yd pass from Strong,Pierre (Frahm,Cole kick) 1 plays, 19 yards, TOP 0:07
SIU 0, SDSU 20
SDSU - Frahm,Cole 22 yd field goal 10 plays, 76 yards, TOP 3:59
SIU 7, SDSU 20
SIU - Rollins, Jerron 61 yd pass from Baker, Nic (Gualdoni, Nico kick) 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 1:12
SIU 14, SDSU 20
SIU - Lenoir, Landon 18 yd pass from Baker, Nic (Gualdoni, Nico kick) 4 plays, 30 yards, TOP 1:35
3rd Quarter
SIU 14, SDSU 28
SDSU - Lofton,Malik 97 yd fumble recovery (Heins,Zach pass)
4th Quarter
SIU 21, SDSU 28
SIU - Gibson, Zach 19 yd pass from Baker, Nic (Gualdoni, Nico kick) 9 plays, 60 yards, TOP 3:23
SIU 21, SDSU 35
SDSU - Strong,Pierre 85 yd run (Frahm,Cole kick), 1 plays, 85 yards, TOP 0:15
SIU 28, SDSU 35
SIU - Spencer, Donnav 63 yd run (Gualdoni, Nico kick), 2 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:40
SIU 35, SDSU 35
SIU - Lenoir, Landon 19 yd pass from Baker, Nic (Gualdoni, Nico kick) 14 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:02
OT Quarter
SIU 42, SDSU 35
SIU - Spencer, Donnav 10 yd run (Gualdoni, Nico kick), 4 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:00
SIU 42, SDSU 41
SDSU - Kraft,Tucker 11 yd pass from Oladokun,Chris (Heins,Zach passfailed) 2 plays, 25 yards, TOP 0:00
Game Leaders
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
4
INT
0
Players Mentioned
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DE
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ FootballRB
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