Saturday, September 24
Carbondale
2:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
2-2 , 1-0
34
vs
17
North Dakota
2-2 , 1-1
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
North Dakota
0
10
0
7
17
Southern Ill.
10
14
7
3
34
Football cruises to win over No. 19-ranked North Dakota
09/24/2022 | 5:42:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Nic Baker threw four touchdown passes, including two more to fullback Jacob Garrett, and Southern Illinois cruised to a 34-17 win over North Dakota on Saturday.
A week after their stunning upset of Big Ten Northwestern, the No. 24-ranked Salukis (2-2) showed no signs of a let-down, never trailing in the game against the No. 19-ranked Fighting Hawks (2-2) and out-gaining them by a margin of 458-271.
Winning two-straight games after starting the season 0-2 hasn't changed the team's mindset, according to Garrett, who was one of the heroes last week at Northwestern with two TD catches.
"I definitely think our backs are still against the wall," he said. "Until we have the job finished, until we have that trophy in our hand, I don't think we'll ever have a different mentality."
Southern jumped out to a 10-0 lead after one quarter, thanks to an 11-play drive that resulted in an eight-yard TD pass to Garrett, and a 12-play drive that ended with a 34-yard Jake Baumgarte field goal.
The Salukis extended their lead to 24-10 by halftime, as D'Ante Cox caught a pass from Baker on a short crossing route and raced 67 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. With just seven seconds left in the half, twin brother, Avante Cox caught an 8-yard touchdown.
"This one feels just the same as the Northwestern win," said Avante Cox. "Being 1-0 in the conference is all we were shooting for."
After giving up 98 points in the first two weeks, SIU's defense has risen to the challenge in consecutive weeks. The unit held North Dakota to just 38 rushing yards and racked up seven sacks on the day, including two by defensive end Richie Hagarty.
"We didn't take Northwestern as a huge win," Hagarty said. "We took it as a good win, but move on to the next. We have conference, we have bigger goals to achieve. We realized we had to come together as a unit and become one. We showed it at Northwestern and even more today."
The Salukis extended their lead to 31-10 late in the third quarter on a 25-yard touchdown catch over the middle by Garrett. His four TDs in the last two games are one more than he caught in his first four seasons at SIU combined.
"It's just not a fluke when you're able to do it continually," said SIU head coach Nick Hill, who called Garrett the "glue" of the team. "We have several captains, but that's who you want leading your team. He does everything right. He's graduated, he's a phenomenal student. The leadership he's shown from Week 1 to right now, as a coach, you're proud to have him on your team."
Baker has thrown seven touchdown passes and no interceptions in the last two games. Hill described his work today as "efficient" — completing 21-of-27 passes for 289 yards and the four scores.
"If you look at the way he spread the ball around, the way he was on third down, the way he was at getting the ball out of his hand — no sacks against a team that brings a lot of pressure," Hill said. "Nic's played some of the best football a quarterback's played around here."
The Salukis beat a ranked opponent for the ninth time since the 2021 spring season and improved to 3-1 all-time against North Dakota.
"That's a good team," Hill said of North Dakota. "They're going to win a lot of games in our league and probably be a playoff team. It's one of the cleaner, more efficient games we've played in a while. From start to finish, just really executing what they were called to do."
Southern did the things winning teams do. It converted 8-of-12 on third down, didn't turn the ball over and never punted — a stark reversal of the first two games.
"We pressed hard in the first couple games, wanting to make a play," Hill observed. "It hurts you to do that. You have to allow the game to come to you and trust the other 10 guys to do their job. When the ball comes to you, and you're asked to make an individual play, you gotta go make that play. You just have to play sound football."
"They've really answered the call," he concluded.
A week after their stunning upset of Big Ten Northwestern, the No. 24-ranked Salukis (2-2) showed no signs of a let-down, never trailing in the game against the No. 19-ranked Fighting Hawks (2-2) and out-gaining them by a margin of 458-271.
Winning two-straight games after starting the season 0-2 hasn't changed the team's mindset, according to Garrett, who was one of the heroes last week at Northwestern with two TD catches.
"I definitely think our backs are still against the wall," he said. "Until we have the job finished, until we have that trophy in our hand, I don't think we'll ever have a different mentality."
Southern jumped out to a 10-0 lead after one quarter, thanks to an 11-play drive that resulted in an eight-yard TD pass to Garrett, and a 12-play drive that ended with a 34-yard Jake Baumgarte field goal.
The Salukis extended their lead to 24-10 by halftime, as D'Ante Cox caught a pass from Baker on a short crossing route and raced 67 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. With just seven seconds left in the half, twin brother, Avante Cox caught an 8-yard touchdown.
"This one feels just the same as the Northwestern win," said Avante Cox. "Being 1-0 in the conference is all we were shooting for."
After giving up 98 points in the first two weeks, SIU's defense has risen to the challenge in consecutive weeks. The unit held North Dakota to just 38 rushing yards and racked up seven sacks on the day, including two by defensive end Richie Hagarty.
"We didn't take Northwestern as a huge win," Hagarty said. "We took it as a good win, but move on to the next. We have conference, we have bigger goals to achieve. We realized we had to come together as a unit and become one. We showed it at Northwestern and even more today."
The Salukis extended their lead to 31-10 late in the third quarter on a 25-yard touchdown catch over the middle by Garrett. His four TDs in the last two games are one more than he caught in his first four seasons at SIU combined.
"It's just not a fluke when you're able to do it continually," said SIU head coach Nick Hill, who called Garrett the "glue" of the team. "We have several captains, but that's who you want leading your team. He does everything right. He's graduated, he's a phenomenal student. The leadership he's shown from Week 1 to right now, as a coach, you're proud to have him on your team."
Baker has thrown seven touchdown passes and no interceptions in the last two games. Hill described his work today as "efficient" — completing 21-of-27 passes for 289 yards and the four scores.
"If you look at the way he spread the ball around, the way he was on third down, the way he was at getting the ball out of his hand — no sacks against a team that brings a lot of pressure," Hill said. "Nic's played some of the best football a quarterback's played around here."
The Salukis beat a ranked opponent for the ninth time since the 2021 spring season and improved to 3-1 all-time against North Dakota.
"That's a good team," Hill said of North Dakota. "They're going to win a lot of games in our league and probably be a playoff team. It's one of the cleaner, more efficient games we've played in a while. From start to finish, just really executing what they were called to do."
Southern did the things winning teams do. It converted 8-of-12 on third down, didn't turn the ball over and never punted — a stark reversal of the first two games.
"We pressed hard in the first couple games, wanting to make a play," Hill observed. "It hurts you to do that. You have to allow the game to come to you and trust the other 10 guys to do their job. When the ball comes to you, and you're asked to make an individual play, you gotta go make that play. You just have to play sound football."
"They've really answered the call," he concluded.
Team Stats
UND
SIU
Total Yards
271
458
Pass Yards
233
310
Rushing Yards
38
148
Penalty Yards
20
46
1st Downs
21
25
3rd Downs
6
8
4th Downs
0
0
TOP
29:55
30:05
1st Quarter
UND 0, SIU 7
SIU - Garrett,Jacob 8 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 11 plays, 77 yards, TOP 04:49
UND 0, SIU 10
SIU - Baumgarte,Jake 34 yd field goal 12 plays, 62 yards, TOP 05:10
2nd Quarter
UND 7, SIU 10
UND - Hoosman,Tyler 1 yd run (Stevens,Brady kick), 12 plays, 65 yards, TOP 06:43
UND 7, SIU 17
SIU - Cox,D'Ante' 67 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 3 plays, 68 yards, TOP 01:06
UND 10, SIU 17
UND - Stevens,Brady 32 yd field goal 8 plays, 59 yards, TOP 03:41
UND 10, SIU 24
SIU - Cox,Avante 8 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:44
3rd Quarter
UND 10, SIU 31
SIU - Garrett,Jacob 25 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 8 plays, 85 yards, TOP 03:17
4th Quarter
UND 17, SIU 31
UND - Hoosman,Tyler 4 yd run (Stevens,Brady kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:56
UND 17, SIU 34
SIU - Baumgarte,Jake 45 yd field goal 8 plays, 37 yards, TOP 03:58
Game Leaders
CMP
1
TD
0
YDS
21
INT
0
Players Mentioned
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
FB
/ Football
DE
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