Saturday, March 13
Carbondale, IL
12:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
4-1 , 3-1
17
vs
16
Northern Iowa
2-2 , 2-2
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
UNI
3
10
3
0
16
SIU
0
0
10
7
17
Team Stats
UNI
SIU
Total Yards
405
416
Pass Yards
254
224
Rushing Yards
151
192
Penalty Yards
20
70
1st Downs
19
23
3rd Downs
0
7
4th Downs
2
1
TOP
24:39
35:21
1st Quarter
UNI 3, SIU 0
UNI - Cook, Matthew 26 yd field goal 11 plays, 72 yards, TOP 5:35
2nd Quarter
UNI 6, SIU 0
UNI - Cook, Matthew 34 yd field goal 7 plays, 76 yards, TOP 2:52
UNI 13, SIU 0
UNI - Hoosman, Tyler 1 yd run (Cook, Matthew kick), 8 plays, 23 yards, TOP 3:32
3rd Quarter
UNI 13, SIU 3
SIU - Gualdoni, Nico 37 yd field goal 12 plays, 54 yards, TOP 6:43
UNI 13, SIU 10
SIU - Cox, Avante 42 yd pass from Williams Jr., J (Gualdoni, Nico kick) 7 plays, 80 yards, TOP 3:40
UNI 16, SIU 10
UNI - Cook, Matthew 41 yd field goal 5 plays, 53 yards, TOP 1:29
4th Quarter
UNI 16, SIU 17
SIU - Rollins, Jerron 3 yd pass from Labanowitz, Sto (Gualdoni, Nico kick) 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 6:05
Game Leaders
CMP
11
TD
1
YDS
91
INT
0
CMP
1
TD
1
YDS
42
INT
0
CMP
0
TD
0
YDS
0
INT
0
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
FB
/ Football
K
/ FootballQB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ FootballRB
/ Football
Football knocks off No. 4 Northern Iowa in a thriller, 17-16
03/13/2021 | 4:06:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — For the first time in school history, Southern Illinois has beaten two Top-5 opponents in the same season. Two weeks after Southern took down No. 1 North Dakota State, SIU validated that win with a 17-16 victory over No. 4 Northern Iowa in a thriller at Saluki Stadium on Saturday.
Trailing, 13-0 at halftime, and without its top two quarterbacks, the Salukis (4-1, 3-1) battled back in the second half to take the lead, 17-16, on a 3-yard touchdown pass from third-string QB Stone Labanowitz to Jerron Rollins with 9:43 remaining.
That touchdown held up, in dramatic fashion, as first Southern missed a 31-yard field goal with 6:40 remaining, and then UNI missed a 30 yarder wide left with seven seconds to go, setting off a wild celebration on the Saluki sideline.
"We never lost faith," said SIU safety Qua Brown, who forced two fumbles in the game. "We did everything we could and gave every last thing we had left in the tank to block the field goal. We were able to get him off course and he was able to miss the kick."
The No. 10-ranked Salukis are making a habit of big comebacks. Last week, they rallied from a 12-point deficit. Today, the odds seemed even longer, after starting quarterback Nic Baker left the game in the second quarter with a foot injury. Baker had replaced Kare Lyles, who suffered two broken ribs against North Dakota. They were facing a defense that allows only eight points per game and has one of the most fearsome front fours in the country.
In came Labanowitz — a year removed from back surgery — and he sparked the second-half rally by completing 11-of-15 passes for 91 yards and scrambling to evade pass rushers and pick up key yardage with his feet.
"He operated and made plays," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "He scrambled for first downs, he was tough, he made great decisions and he made some big throws."
Southern opened the second half with a 12-play drive that chewed up nearly half of the third quarter before Nico Gualdoni converted a 37-yard field goal to make it 13-3.
After SIU's defense got a stop, Labanowitz completed passes of 17 yards to Landon Lenoir and 14 yards to Romeir Elliott to move the ball into UNI territory. Operating out of the Wildcat formation at the Panthers' 42, Javon Williams Jr. connected on a 42-yard touchdown strike to a wide open Avante Cox. to draw Southern to within three, 13-10.
After UNI's Matthew Cook hit a 41-yard field goal to put the Panthers up, 16-10, Labanowitz led a game-defining 75-yard touchdown drive to start the fourth quarter.
The drive had some memorable moments. On 3rd-and-5 at the SIU 40, he found Cox for eight yards for a key first down. On the next play, Labanowitz evaded traffic and hit Lenoir for 15 yards. After a Romeir Elliott 13-yard run, Labanowitz picked up eight yards on his own, and then completed an eight-yard pass to Jacob Garrett to make it first-and-goal at the 8.
On 3rd-and-goal at the 3, Labanowitz rifled a fastball down the middle of the field to Rollins, who leaped high in the back of the end zone for the catch.
"I put that ball where nobody but Jerron could get it and he went up and made a huge play," Labanowitz said.
Southern had a chance to put the game out of reach after Brown forced a fumble on UNI's next possession that Southern recovered at the UNI 39, however SIU's drive stalled, and Gualdoni barely missed wide right on a field goal attempt.
With less than three minutes to go and still clinging to a 17-16 lead, SIU appeared to put the game on ice when Elliott rushed for 10 yards to the UNI 35, but the play was wiped out by holding.
Northern Iowa eventually got the ball back at its own 11 with 1:48 left and no timeouts. On 4th-and-10 at the UNI 24, Will McElvain found Quan Hampton deep over the middle, where he split two defenders and busted loose for a 52-yard gain. The play was for nought after Cook missed from 30.
With yet another likely Top 10 opponent coming to Carbondale next week in South Dakota State, Southern is thick in the hunt for its first playoff appearance since 2009.
"We're probably the most physical team in The Valley," Labanowitz said. "Up front, offensively and defensively, we're scary on film. There are guys that you've got to be worried about. ZeVeyon (Furcron) will punish you up front. (Anthony) Knighton is a menace."
"We don't quite get as much respect in this conference as we believe we should," Brown agreed.
Trailing, 13-0 at halftime, and without its top two quarterbacks, the Salukis (4-1, 3-1) battled back in the second half to take the lead, 17-16, on a 3-yard touchdown pass from third-string QB Stone Labanowitz to Jerron Rollins with 9:43 remaining.
That touchdown held up, in dramatic fashion, as first Southern missed a 31-yard field goal with 6:40 remaining, and then UNI missed a 30 yarder wide left with seven seconds to go, setting off a wild celebration on the Saluki sideline.
"We never lost faith," said SIU safety Qua Brown, who forced two fumbles in the game. "We did everything we could and gave every last thing we had left in the tank to block the field goal. We were able to get him off course and he was able to miss the kick."
The No. 10-ranked Salukis are making a habit of big comebacks. Last week, they rallied from a 12-point deficit. Today, the odds seemed even longer, after starting quarterback Nic Baker left the game in the second quarter with a foot injury. Baker had replaced Kare Lyles, who suffered two broken ribs against North Dakota. They were facing a defense that allows only eight points per game and has one of the most fearsome front fours in the country.
In came Labanowitz — a year removed from back surgery — and he sparked the second-half rally by completing 11-of-15 passes for 91 yards and scrambling to evade pass rushers and pick up key yardage with his feet.
"He operated and made plays," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "He scrambled for first downs, he was tough, he made great decisions and he made some big throws."
Southern opened the second half with a 12-play drive that chewed up nearly half of the third quarter before Nico Gualdoni converted a 37-yard field goal to make it 13-3.
After SIU's defense got a stop, Labanowitz completed passes of 17 yards to Landon Lenoir and 14 yards to Romeir Elliott to move the ball into UNI territory. Operating out of the Wildcat formation at the Panthers' 42, Javon Williams Jr. connected on a 42-yard touchdown strike to a wide open Avante Cox. to draw Southern to within three, 13-10.
After UNI's Matthew Cook hit a 41-yard field goal to put the Panthers up, 16-10, Labanowitz led a game-defining 75-yard touchdown drive to start the fourth quarter.
The drive had some memorable moments. On 3rd-and-5 at the SIU 40, he found Cox for eight yards for a key first down. On the next play, Labanowitz evaded traffic and hit Lenoir for 15 yards. After a Romeir Elliott 13-yard run, Labanowitz picked up eight yards on his own, and then completed an eight-yard pass to Jacob Garrett to make it first-and-goal at the 8.
On 3rd-and-goal at the 3, Labanowitz rifled a fastball down the middle of the field to Rollins, who leaped high in the back of the end zone for the catch.
"I put that ball where nobody but Jerron could get it and he went up and made a huge play," Labanowitz said.
Southern had a chance to put the game out of reach after Brown forced a fumble on UNI's next possession that Southern recovered at the UNI 39, however SIU's drive stalled, and Gualdoni barely missed wide right on a field goal attempt.
With less than three minutes to go and still clinging to a 17-16 lead, SIU appeared to put the game on ice when Elliott rushed for 10 yards to the UNI 35, but the play was wiped out by holding.
Northern Iowa eventually got the ball back at its own 11 with 1:48 left and no timeouts. On 4th-and-10 at the UNI 24, Will McElvain found Quan Hampton deep over the middle, where he split two defenders and busted loose for a 52-yard gain. The play was for nought after Cook missed from 30.
With yet another likely Top 10 opponent coming to Carbondale next week in South Dakota State, Southern is thick in the hunt for its first playoff appearance since 2009.
"We're probably the most physical team in The Valley," Labanowitz said. "Up front, offensively and defensively, we're scary on film. There are guys that you've got to be worried about. ZeVeyon (Furcron) will punish you up front. (Anthony) Knighton is a menace."
"We don't quite get as much respect in this conference as we believe we should," Brown agreed.
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