Saturday, October 21
Carbondale, IL
2 PM
Southern Illinois University
5-2 , 2-2
10
vs
17
South Dakota St.
7-0 , 4-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
South Dakota St.
0
7
7
3
17
Southern Ill.
0
0
0
10
10
Photo by: Saluki Athletic Communications
South Dakota State holds on to beat Saluki Football, 17-10
10/21/2023 | 6:28:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — In a showdown of FCS heavyweights on Saturday, South Dakota State held on for a 17-10 win over Southern Illinois in front of nearly 12,000 fans on Homecoming at Saluki Stadium.
Both teams finished with exactly 308 yards of offense, but it was the No. 1-ranked Jackrabbits (7-0, 4-0) who remained unbeaten on the season and extended their winning streak to 21 games.
The contest was scoreless for the first 27 minutes, and Southern will look back at several missed opportunities to put points on the board in the first half.
On its first drive, SIU converted a fake punt on 4th-and-4, as Colton Hoag took a direct snap and raced 21 yards to the SDSU 39. The drive ended on downs when running back Justin Strong was stuffed up the middle on 4th-and-2 at the 19.
The Salukis had another drive into SDSU territory in the second quarter that came up empty after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on quarterback Nic Baker, who followed by throwing an interception on a deep ball to an open D'Ante Cox, that was returned 31 yards by Dalys Beanum to the SIU 37.
"I just underthrew it," said Baker, who was 20-for-24 passing on the day for 225 yards a TD and a pick. "That's one of the plays I'm talking about. They hit their post for a touchdown (in the second half). We had an opportunity to hit it and I threw a pick. I just under threw it, maybe the wind killed it. There's just no excuse for that."
Six plays after the INT, Isaiah Davis scored from three yards out to make it 7-0 Jackrabbits. South Dakota State added a 49-yard touchdown pass from Mark Gronowski to Griffin Wilde early in the third quarter to push the lead to 14-0.
Midway through the third, Southern missed another scoring opportunity shortly after Baker connected with Vinson Davis III on a 45-yard strike. On first down at the SDSU 20, Baker was sacked, lost the ball and it was recovered by SDSU's Ryan Van Marel.
"It just came out of my hands — not something I usually do," Baker said. "I usually hold on to those balls, just didn't today."
Momentum switched to SIU on the first play of the fourth quarter, when cornerback Mark Davis made a diving interception in the corner of the end zone to snuff out an SDSU drive.
"I felt like our defense played their hearts out just like they have all season," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "You're not going to just shut somebody out like (SDSU), but they competed and gave us a shot."
Baker then marched Southern 80 yards in eight plays, converting a 24-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to D'Ante Cox on 4th-and-2, drawing SIU within 14-7 with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
The atmosphere in Saluki Stadium was electric, but South Dakota State quieted the fans with a 15-play, 60-yard drive, eating up 9:18 of clock time before kicking a field goal to make it 17-7. The Jackrabbits converted a pair of third downs and one fourth down play on the drive.
Thomas Burks added a 39-yard field goal for SIU with 32 seconds left in the game, but his onside kick attempt went out of bounds to end the game.
"The expectation was to come out here and get a win," Hill said. "We knew and respected the opponent we were going against. They're a really good football team and I feel like we have a really good football team."
The Jackrabbits entered the day averaging 43 points per game, and Southern held them 26 points below their average.
"They're rightfully where they need to be (No. 1), and if that's the best team in the country, our guys know that we have a really good football team and we have to find a way to get to 6-2 by winning next week," Hill said.
Both teams finished with exactly 308 yards of offense, but it was the No. 1-ranked Jackrabbits (7-0, 4-0) who remained unbeaten on the season and extended their winning streak to 21 games.
The contest was scoreless for the first 27 minutes, and Southern will look back at several missed opportunities to put points on the board in the first half.
On its first drive, SIU converted a fake punt on 4th-and-4, as Colton Hoag took a direct snap and raced 21 yards to the SDSU 39. The drive ended on downs when running back Justin Strong was stuffed up the middle on 4th-and-2 at the 19.
The Salukis had another drive into SDSU territory in the second quarter that came up empty after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on quarterback Nic Baker, who followed by throwing an interception on a deep ball to an open D'Ante Cox, that was returned 31 yards by Dalys Beanum to the SIU 37.
"I just underthrew it," said Baker, who was 20-for-24 passing on the day for 225 yards a TD and a pick. "That's one of the plays I'm talking about. They hit their post for a touchdown (in the second half). We had an opportunity to hit it and I threw a pick. I just under threw it, maybe the wind killed it. There's just no excuse for that."
Six plays after the INT, Isaiah Davis scored from three yards out to make it 7-0 Jackrabbits. South Dakota State added a 49-yard touchdown pass from Mark Gronowski to Griffin Wilde early in the third quarter to push the lead to 14-0.
Midway through the third, Southern missed another scoring opportunity shortly after Baker connected with Vinson Davis III on a 45-yard strike. On first down at the SDSU 20, Baker was sacked, lost the ball and it was recovered by SDSU's Ryan Van Marel.
"It just came out of my hands — not something I usually do," Baker said. "I usually hold on to those balls, just didn't today."
Momentum switched to SIU on the first play of the fourth quarter, when cornerback Mark Davis made a diving interception in the corner of the end zone to snuff out an SDSU drive.
"I felt like our defense played their hearts out just like they have all season," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "You're not going to just shut somebody out like (SDSU), but they competed and gave us a shot."
Baker then marched Southern 80 yards in eight plays, converting a 24-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field to D'Ante Cox on 4th-and-2, drawing SIU within 14-7 with 12 minutes remaining in the game.
The atmosphere in Saluki Stadium was electric, but South Dakota State quieted the fans with a 15-play, 60-yard drive, eating up 9:18 of clock time before kicking a field goal to make it 17-7. The Jackrabbits converted a pair of third downs and one fourth down play on the drive.
Thomas Burks added a 39-yard field goal for SIU with 32 seconds left in the game, but his onside kick attempt went out of bounds to end the game.
"The expectation was to come out here and get a win," Hill said. "We knew and respected the opponent we were going against. They're a really good football team and I feel like we have a really good football team."
The Jackrabbits entered the day averaging 43 points per game, and Southern held them 26 points below their average.
"They're rightfully where they need to be (No. 1), and if that's the best team in the country, our guys know that we have a really good football team and we have to find a way to get to 6-2 by winning next week," Hill said.
Team Stats
SDS
SIU
Total Yards
308
308
Pass Yards
161
225
Rushing Yards
147
83
Penalty Yards
125
45
1st Downs
15
20
3rd Downs
4
4
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
31:50
28:10
2nd Quarter
SDS 7, SIU 0
SDS - Davis,Isaiah 3 yd run (Dustman,Hunter kick), 5 plays, 37 yards, TOP 02:48
3rd Quarter
SDS 14, SIU 0
SDS - Wilde,Griffin 49 yd pass from Gronowski,Mark (Dustman,Hunter kick) 3 plays, 72 yards, TOP 01:24
4th Quarter
SDS 14, SIU 7
SIU - Cox,D'Ante' 24 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 6 plays, 80 yards, TOP 02:48
SDS 17, SIU 7
SDS - Dustman,Hunter 44 yd field goal 15 plays, 60 yards, TOP 09:18
SDS 17, SIU 10
SIU - Burks,Thomas 39 yd field goal 9 plays, 59 yards, TOP 02:03
Players Mentioned
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
TE
/ Football
RB
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