Saturday, November 18
Carbondale, IL
1 PM
Southern Illinois University
7-4 , 4-4
38
vs
9
Indiana St.
1-10 , 1-7
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Indiana St.
3
0
0
6
9
Southern Ill.
14
17
0
7
38
Recap | Football makes strong case for playoff bid with 38-9 win over Indiana State
11/18/2023 | 5:19:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois made a convincing case for a playoff bid with a dominating, 38-9 win over Indiana State on Saturday, in the regular-season finale at Saluki Stadium.
The No. 16-ranked Salukis (7-4, 4-4) jumped out a 31-3 halftime lead and cruised to an easy victory over the Sycamores (1-10, 1-7), a team that has played most conference schools tough this year, including an overtime loss to No. 13 North Dakota.
SIU now waits for Selection Sunday to find out its postseason fate. The 24-team FCS Playoff bracket will be announced on ESPNU at 11:30 a.m.
"If they're going to try to put the best field together, then we deserve to be in," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "I don't think there's any question with that."
The Salukis have an impressive resume with wins over Austin Peay — the champion of the United Athletic Conference, and Northern Illinois — a bowl-eligible FBS team from the Mid-American Conference. Southern also played the fifth-toughest schedule in the FCS and had no losses to teams outside the Top 25. The Salukis were the only Valley team to play No. 1 South Dakota State close, falling by a 17-10 margin.
"If you're looking at quality wins, quality strength of schedule, you get to seven wins in the Missouri Valley — the toughest conference in the country — that resume stacks up with anybody," Hill said. "We've never shied away from having a strong strength of schedule. We've scheduled it that way to know that, when you get to seven wins, you should be in the playoffs."
After Indiana State took a 3-0 lead, SIU responded with 31-unanswered points in the first half. Ro Elliott started the scoring with a 9-yard TD run. Quarterback Nic Baker threw three, first-half touchdowns, including a pair of TD tosses to Izaiah Hartrup that went for 22 and 60 yards.
Baker, who owns most of the school's passing records, tied Joel Sambursky for the career lead in touchdown passes with 65. Hill recalled how SIU was the 5-foot-9 QB's only scholarship offer.
"He's always been counted out," Hill said. "He's got a big heart. He hasn't always played perfect, but he's never made an excuse the whole time that we've coached him. If he makes a bad decision, if he doesn't make a throw, he puts it on himself. I'm happy that he had a game like he did today."
The Salukis pushed the lead to 38-3 in the fourth quarter when defensive end Devin Cowan had a 61-yard scoop-and-score, after linebacker Dune Smith sacked Cade Chambers and rattled the ball loose.
Southern's defense did not allow a touchdown for the third time this season, as Indiana State's only TD came off a 15-yard fumble return by Maddix Blackwell.
It was the final regular-season home game for 16 seniors, who were introduced individually before the game, and each hugged Hill at midfield.
"Senior Day is an emotional day because they mean so much to me," Hill said. "All these guys are graduating and walking away with degrees. The ones who have been here longest, committed to play here when we weren't winning."
Hill delivered hand-written letters to each of his seniors before the game.
"I let them all know how much they mean to me, man-to-man, and what they mean to my family," Hill said. "That's the reward that this game provides, that goes beyond the wins and losses, just the relationships that you build, and seeing these young men grow, is pretty special."
The No. 16-ranked Salukis (7-4, 4-4) jumped out a 31-3 halftime lead and cruised to an easy victory over the Sycamores (1-10, 1-7), a team that has played most conference schools tough this year, including an overtime loss to No. 13 North Dakota.
SIU now waits for Selection Sunday to find out its postseason fate. The 24-team FCS Playoff bracket will be announced on ESPNU at 11:30 a.m.
"If they're going to try to put the best field together, then we deserve to be in," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "I don't think there's any question with that."
The Salukis have an impressive resume with wins over Austin Peay — the champion of the United Athletic Conference, and Northern Illinois — a bowl-eligible FBS team from the Mid-American Conference. Southern also played the fifth-toughest schedule in the FCS and had no losses to teams outside the Top 25. The Salukis were the only Valley team to play No. 1 South Dakota State close, falling by a 17-10 margin.
"If you're looking at quality wins, quality strength of schedule, you get to seven wins in the Missouri Valley — the toughest conference in the country — that resume stacks up with anybody," Hill said. "We've never shied away from having a strong strength of schedule. We've scheduled it that way to know that, when you get to seven wins, you should be in the playoffs."
After Indiana State took a 3-0 lead, SIU responded with 31-unanswered points in the first half. Ro Elliott started the scoring with a 9-yard TD run. Quarterback Nic Baker threw three, first-half touchdowns, including a pair of TD tosses to Izaiah Hartrup that went for 22 and 60 yards.
Baker, who owns most of the school's passing records, tied Joel Sambursky for the career lead in touchdown passes with 65. Hill recalled how SIU was the 5-foot-9 QB's only scholarship offer.
"He's always been counted out," Hill said. "He's got a big heart. He hasn't always played perfect, but he's never made an excuse the whole time that we've coached him. If he makes a bad decision, if he doesn't make a throw, he puts it on himself. I'm happy that he had a game like he did today."
The Salukis pushed the lead to 38-3 in the fourth quarter when defensive end Devin Cowan had a 61-yard scoop-and-score, after linebacker Dune Smith sacked Cade Chambers and rattled the ball loose.
Southern's defense did not allow a touchdown for the third time this season, as Indiana State's only TD came off a 15-yard fumble return by Maddix Blackwell.
It was the final regular-season home game for 16 seniors, who were introduced individually before the game, and each hugged Hill at midfield.
"Senior Day is an emotional day because they mean so much to me," Hill said. "All these guys are graduating and walking away with degrees. The ones who have been here longest, committed to play here when we weren't winning."
Hill delivered hand-written letters to each of his seniors before the game.
"I let them all know how much they mean to me, man-to-man, and what they mean to my family," Hill said. "That's the reward that this game provides, that goes beyond the wins and losses, just the relationships that you build, and seeing these young men grow, is pretty special."
Team Stats
INS
SIU
Total Yards
226
347
Pass Yards
154
297
Rushing Yards
72
50
Penalty Yards
32
20
1st Downs
14
19
3rd Downs
6
3
4th Downs
0
2
TOP
30:25
29:35
1st Quarter
INS 3, SIU 0
INS - Andjelic,Jake 39 yd field goal 15 plays, 55 yards, TOP 07:46
INS 3, SIU 7
SIU - Elliott,Ro 9 yd run (Baumgarte,Jake kick), 9 plays, 80 yards, TOP 04:26
INS 3, SIU 14
SIU - Hartrup,Izaiah 22 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 1 plays, 22 yards, TOP 00:06
2nd Quarter
INS 3, SIU 21
SIU - Strong,Justin 3 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 5 plays, 31 yards, TOP 01:56
INS 3, SIU 24
SIU - Baumgarte,Jake 25 yd field goal 10 plays, 61 yards, TOP 05:49
INS 3, SIU 31
SIU - Hartrup,Izaiah 60 yd pass from Baker,Nic (Baumgarte,Jake kick) 5 plays, 70 yards, TOP 00:52
4th Quarter
INS 3, SIU 38
SIU - Cowan,Devin 61 yd fumble recovery (Baumgarte,Jake kick)
INS 9, SIU 38
INS - Blackwell,Maddix 15 yd fumble recovery ()
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
2
TD
0
YDS
15
INT
0
Players Mentioned
DE
/ Football
RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
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