Southern Illinois University
2-1 , 1-1
North Dakota St.
2-1 , 1-1
Team Stats
NDSU 0, SIU 3
SIU - Gualdoni, Nico 39 yd field goal 12 plays, 49 yards, TOP 6:43
NDSU 0, SIU 10
SIU - Elliott, Romeir 3 yd run (Gualdoni, Nico kick), 12 plays, 93 yards, TOP 6:50
NDSU 0, SIU 17
SIU - Williams Jr., J 1 yd run (Gualdoni, Nico kick), 7 plays, 74 yards, TOP 4:25
NDSU 7, SIU 17
NDSU - Jake Lippe 37 yd pass from Zeb Noland (Jake Reinholz kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 0:52
NDSU 7, SIU 24
SIU - Lenoir, Landon 7 yd pass from Baker, Nic (Gualdoni, Nico kick) 5 plays, 51 yards, TOP 2:32
NDSU 7, SIU 31
SIU - Williams Jr., J 3 yd run (Gualdoni, Nico kick), 4 plays, 13 yards, TOP 1:27
NDSU 7, SIU 38
SIU - Elliott, Romeir 20 yd run (Gualdoni, Nico kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 7:18
NDSU 14, SIU 38
NDSU - Zeb Noland 5 yd run (Jake Reinholz kick), 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 0:51
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Salukis rock No. 1 North Dakota State, 38-14
02/27/2021 | 4:40:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois rocked the world of college football on Saturday with a stunning 38-14 win over North Dakota State, ending a 39-game winning streak for one of the nation's most dominant programs of the last decade.
The way the Salukis (2-1, 1-1) won the game was even more remarkable, as they completely overpowered the No. 1-ranked Bison (2-1, 1-1), dictating the action for 60 minutes.
"The talk before the game was that, in life, you just don't get many opportunities like this," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "You get an opportunity to knock off the number-one team in the country and do something that leaves a legacy. This game will be recognized for a long time."
Making his first-career start at quarterback, sophomore Nic Baker was in command all afternoon, connecting on 17-of-23 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown, and guiding the Saluki offense to a 443-268 total yardage advantage.
Baker's passing was complemented by a dominant rushing attack that totaled 170 yards against one of the nation's top run defenses. Romeir Elliott rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns, Javon Williams Jr. added 40 yards and a pair of scores, and Justin Strong had 35 rushing yards and caught two passes for 27 yards.
Southern staked out a 17-0 first-half lead behind a Nico Gualdoni 39-yard field goal, a 3-yard touchdown run by Elliott that capped a 93-yard, 12-play drive, and a clutch one-yard TD plunge by Williams Jr. on 4th-and-1 with 55 seconds left in the half.
SIU dominated first-half time of possession, 21:17 to 8:43. Only a 37-yard Hail Mary touchdown throw by Bison quarterback Zeb Noland to Jake Lippe as time expired in the second quarter kept the half from being a Saluki whitewash.
The teams played a scoreless third quarter, thanks in part to a huge strip-sack by SIU safety Clayton Bush, who knocked the ball loose from Nolan at midfield where it was recovered by Jordan Berner, ending one of the day's few promising NDSU drives.
Ball security and creating turnovers was an important emphasis this week after SIU committed five turnovers last week without any takeaways.
"If you can run the ball, control the game and win the turnover battle, you're going to win a lot of games," Hill said.
The Salukis delivered the knockout blow in the fourth quarter with three unanswered touchdowns in a 10-minute span. It started with a 7-yard TD pass from Baker to Landon Lenoir on a quick slant over the middle.
"I already knew (Baker) was a great quarterback," Elliott said. "He's just been waiting for his chance and he was able to get in there and do his thing."
On the next possession for the Bison, Salukis safety Roderick Campbell picked off a Noland pass and returned it to the NDSU 13.
The Salukis' defense was absolutely smothering. Not including the Hail Mary and a late 63-yard run by Jalen Bussey after the game was decided, SIU surrendered only 168 yards of offense.
"We beat them to the punch," said linebacker Bryce Notree, who had five tackles. "We told everybody it was going to be a physical game and that's how we played it the entire game. We didn't' see it as a David versus Goliath story. We just saw them as another opponent."
Campbell's interception set up a Williams Jr. 3-yard touchdown run, in which he bounced off a pack of defenders and leaped over the goal line.
Southern's final TD came with 3:07 left in the contest when Elliott made a dazzling 20-yard run, diving over the pylon in the right corner of the end zone.
For the Salukis, it was their second victory over a No. 1-ranked team in school history — equaling the accomplishment of the 2005 squad that beat No. 1 Western Kentucky.
The fact that it came a week after Southern fell at North Dakota, 44-21, was not lost on Hill.
"Honestly, I don't know if we come out and play the way we played today without taking the loss last week," Hill said. "I'm just extremely proud of these guy's resiliency and trust that we showed."
It was the program's biggest win of the Nick Hill era and the biggest win since Saluki Stadium opened in 2010.
"It's still only a Week Two win," Hill cautioned. "Our team played better last year when we felt like our backs were against the wall. Tomorrow, we've got to have the same type of attitude."
"I expect to go and win. I look around the room and I see a lot of really good, developed players who've got a lot of confidence in themselves."