Southern Illinois University
2-7 , 0-5
Missouri State
7-2 , 5-0
Recap | Second-half comeback falls short for Saluki Football
11/02/2024 | 6:12:00 | Football
After falling behind, 24-0, the Salukis (2-7, 0-5) scored 14 unanswered points to trim the deficit to 24-14 early in the third quarter.
From that point forward, Southern could only add a late field goal, though, as the Bears (7-2, 5-0) remained unbeaten in their final season in the Missouri Valley Football Conference before moving up to the FBS in 2025.
"I like the grit, the fight, to be down 24-0, to come back and make it a game there in the third quarter," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "We just have to find a way to complete a comeback."
Little went right for Southern's offense in the first half, as the unit did not pick up a first down until midway through the second quarter.
A breakthrough came on the final possession of the half, as true freshman quarterback Jake Curry guided the offense 75 yards in 13 plays. He picked up a big chunk of the yardage on his own, with runs of 16 and 15 yards.
The touchdown was provided by kicker Paul Geelen on a fake field goal. He sprinted 15 yards around the right side for a touchdown on the final play of the half.
"Paul's an athletic kid," Hill said. "He played multiple sports growing up. He can run, he's one of the fastest guys on our team, and utilizing him in some of those situations is key for us."
The Salukis took the opening kickoff of the second half 79 yards in 12 plays before Curry scored on a 16-yard run to make it 24-14 with 10:39 left in the third quarter.
Curry was 15-of-33 passing for 105 yards and an interception, and he ran the ball 15 times for 85 yards. Southern rushed for 217 yards in the game, though it looked a bit unorthodox at times.
"Jake's scrambles and quarterback draws — any way we can spread them out and run the football to find success in the run game," Hill said.
Curry made just his third-career start, after taking the reigns from injured backup quarterback Hunter Simmons four games ago.
"Jake's just going to continue to learn," Hill said. "You're going to learn daily at practice, you're going to learn with every opportunity that you get. There's nothing like learning in-game and being thrown into the moment."
Southern's defense was often put into difficult situations, but held one of the most proficient offenses in the FCS to 357 total yards.
The Salukis had four sacks in the game. They also forced two red zone turnovers, when cornerback Jeremiah McClendon deflected a pass that was intercepted by linebacker Shane Roth, and later, McClendon forced a fumble near the goal line that was recovered in the end zone.
"I was proud of our defense," Hill said. "We got back-to-back stops to start the game. They had scored on their opening drive in four-straight games. We made it a grind for them to get going. That's a good offense, probably one of the best in our league."
Team Stats
SIU 0, MSU 7
MSU - Key,D'Vontae 13 yd pass from Clark,Jacob (Obeid,Yousef kick) 10 plays, 58 yards, TOP 05:11
SIU 0, MSU 10
MSU - Obeid,Yousef 48 yd field goal 9 plays, 48 yards, TOP 04:00
SIU 0, MSU 17
MSU - Becks,Jayden 29 yd run (Obeid,Yousef kick), 4 plays, 66 yards, TOP 01:16
SIU 0, MSU 24
MSU - Wood,Hunter 15 yd pass from Clark,Jacob (Obeid,Yousef kick) 3 plays, 33 yards, TOP 01:12
SIU 7, MSU 24
SIU - Geelen,Paul 9 yd run (Geelen,Paul kick), 13 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:52
SIU 14, MSU 24
SIU - Curry,Jake 16 yd run (Geelen,Paul kick), 12 plays, 79 yards, TOP 04:15
SIU 14, MSU 31
MSU - Wright,Jacardia 2 yd run (Obeid,Yousef kick), 10 plays, 64 yards, TOP 04:58
SIU 17, MSU 31
SIU - Geelen,Paul 25 yd field goal 10 plays, 72 yards, TOP 03:37
SIU 17, MSU 38
MSU - Becks,Jayden 1 yd run (Obeid,Yousef kick), 4 plays, 23 yards, TOP 00:37
