Saturday, November 12
Carbondale, IL
1:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
5-5 , 4-3
18
vs
21
North Dakota St.
8-2 , 6-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
North Dakota St.
7
0
0
14
21
Southern Ill.
0
3
7
8
18
Football falls short in 21-18 loss to North Dakota State
11/12/2022 | 4:52:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill — Southern Illinois held No. 4-ranked North Dakota State to a season-low 229 yards, but the defending FCS champion Bison generated just enough offense to slip away with a 21-18 victory at Saluki Stadium on Saturday. It was the latest in a string of narrow defeats for SIU.
"Playing really good teams, the schedule that we do, there's really no margin for error," said Saluki head coach Nick Hill. "(NDSU's) a really good team that has a chance at winning another National Championship."
The hard-luck Salukis (5-5, 4-3) have lost four games by a total of 10 points this season. They out-gained the Bison (8-2, 6-1) by a 307-229 margin and had an eight-minute advantage in time of possession. A handful of plays ended up being the difference.
Trailing, 7-0, late in the first half, SIU had to settle for a 28-yard Jake Baumgarte field goal on the final play of the half to make it 7-3. The Salukis were set up 1st-and-goal at the NDSU 9, but two Wildcat runs by Javon Williams Jr. netted two yards, and a trick pass play to Jake Green lost three yards.
Southern took the lead, 10-7, with 5:18 left in the third quarter on a Jacob Garrett one-yard touchdown run. The 13-play, 60 yard scoring drive featured three, third-down conversions, including a 15-yard pass from Nic Baker to Pop Jones on 3rd-and-14.
On NDSU's next possession, the Bison appeared to be pinned deep in their own territory, following an explosive hit by Louis Wilbert, who dropped NDSU's DJ Hart on kickoff coverage at the 16. However, 30 yards of penalties were assessed against SIU on the play — one penalty on Wilbert for targeting, and another foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.
That set the Bison up at their own 46, and they drove 54 yards in 10 plays for a five-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cam Miller to regain the lead, 14-10. The key play in the drive was a 15-yard pass from Miller to Zach Mathis on 3rd-and-11.
"That series of events really swung the game," Hill said. "We couldn't get off the field."
Although Miller completed just 6-of-11 passs for 80 yards, he delivered another key, third down conversion on NDSU's next drive. On 3rd-and-12 at the NDSU 34, he found Jake Lippi for 13 yards to keep the chains moving.
"A key emphasis in practice is to get off the field on third downs," said SIU senior linebacker Ma'kel Calhoun, who had a sack in the game and remains the team's active sack leader. "Those third-down completions really hurt us."
The drive ultimately led to a Bison touchdown with 4:40 to go in the fourth quarter on a three-yard TD run by TaMerik Williams.
Trailing, 21-10, Southern countered with an 81-yard touchdown drive that included a 22-yard Baker to Miller pass on 4th-and-22. The drive ended with a Baker to D'Ante' Cox six-yard touchdown strike with 39 seconds left. A successful two-point conversion pass to Avante Cox trimmed the deficit to 21-18.
SIU attempted an onsides kick straight up the middle of the field, but it was recovered by NDSU's James Kaczor, allowing the Bison to take a knee and run out the clock.
With one game left at Youngstown State, Southern hasn't given up on a potential playoff berth. The Salukis are the only FCS squad to beat a Power Five opponent (Northwestern) this season.
"We've seen UNI get in at 6-5 before (in 2021) with some quality wins and quality, if you will, losses," said SIU senior fullback Jacob Garrett. "It's obvious we can compete with any of those teams in the top 5."
Added Hill, "You show up every single day ready to work, ready to grow, get better, until they tell you your season's over. That's the mentality."
"Playing really good teams, the schedule that we do, there's really no margin for error," said Saluki head coach Nick Hill. "(NDSU's) a really good team that has a chance at winning another National Championship."
The hard-luck Salukis (5-5, 4-3) have lost four games by a total of 10 points this season. They out-gained the Bison (8-2, 6-1) by a 307-229 margin and had an eight-minute advantage in time of possession. A handful of plays ended up being the difference.
Trailing, 7-0, late in the first half, SIU had to settle for a 28-yard Jake Baumgarte field goal on the final play of the half to make it 7-3. The Salukis were set up 1st-and-goal at the NDSU 9, but two Wildcat runs by Javon Williams Jr. netted two yards, and a trick pass play to Jake Green lost three yards.
Southern took the lead, 10-7, with 5:18 left in the third quarter on a Jacob Garrett one-yard touchdown run. The 13-play, 60 yard scoring drive featured three, third-down conversions, including a 15-yard pass from Nic Baker to Pop Jones on 3rd-and-14.
On NDSU's next possession, the Bison appeared to be pinned deep in their own territory, following an explosive hit by Louis Wilbert, who dropped NDSU's DJ Hart on kickoff coverage at the 16. However, 30 yards of penalties were assessed against SIU on the play — one penalty on Wilbert for targeting, and another foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.
That set the Bison up at their own 46, and they drove 54 yards in 10 plays for a five-yard touchdown run by quarterback Cam Miller to regain the lead, 14-10. The key play in the drive was a 15-yard pass from Miller to Zach Mathis on 3rd-and-11.
"That series of events really swung the game," Hill said. "We couldn't get off the field."
Although Miller completed just 6-of-11 passs for 80 yards, he delivered another key, third down conversion on NDSU's next drive. On 3rd-and-12 at the NDSU 34, he found Jake Lippi for 13 yards to keep the chains moving.
"A key emphasis in practice is to get off the field on third downs," said SIU senior linebacker Ma'kel Calhoun, who had a sack in the game and remains the team's active sack leader. "Those third-down completions really hurt us."
The drive ultimately led to a Bison touchdown with 4:40 to go in the fourth quarter on a three-yard TD run by TaMerik Williams.
Trailing, 21-10, Southern countered with an 81-yard touchdown drive that included a 22-yard Baker to Miller pass on 4th-and-22. The drive ended with a Baker to D'Ante' Cox six-yard touchdown strike with 39 seconds left. A successful two-point conversion pass to Avante Cox trimmed the deficit to 21-18.
SIU attempted an onsides kick straight up the middle of the field, but it was recovered by NDSU's James Kaczor, allowing the Bison to take a knee and run out the clock.
With one game left at Youngstown State, Southern hasn't given up on a potential playoff berth. The Salukis are the only FCS squad to beat a Power Five opponent (Northwestern) this season.
"We've seen UNI get in at 6-5 before (in 2021) with some quality wins and quality, if you will, losses," said SIU senior fullback Jacob Garrett. "It's obvious we can compete with any of those teams in the top 5."
Added Hill, "You show up every single day ready to work, ready to grow, get better, until they tell you your season's over. That's the mentality."
Team Stats
NDS
SIU
Total Yards
229
307
Pass Yards
80
186
Rushing Yards
149
121
Penalty Yards
25
55
1st Downs
17
18
3rd Downs
6
8
4th Downs
0
3
TOP
26:03
33:57
1st Quarter
NDS 7, SIU 0
NDS - Johnson,Kobe 27 yd pass from Miller,Cam (Crosa,Griffin kick) 6 plays, 78 yards, TOP 03:09
2nd Quarter
NDS 7, SIU 3
SIU - Baumgarte,Jake 28 yd field goal 5 plays, 28 yards, TOP 02:15
3rd Quarter
NDS 7, SIU 10
SIU - Garrett,Jacob 1 yd run (Baumgarte,Jake kick), 13 plays, 60 yards, TOP 07:31
4th Quarter
NDS 14, SIU 10
NDS - Miller,Cam 5 yd run (Crosa,Griffin kick), 10 plays, 69 yards, TOP 05:54
NDS 21, SIU 10
NDS - Williams,TaMerik 3 yd run (Crosa,Griffin kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 07:38
NDS 21, SIU 18
SIU - Cox,D'Ante' 6 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Cox,Avante pass) 14 plays, 81 yards, TOP 03:54
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
13
INT
0
Players Mentioned
OLB
/ Football
FB
/ Football
QB
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