Saturday, November 9
Carbondale, IL
12 PM
Southern Illinois University
3-7 , 1-5
37
vs
33
Youngstown State
3-8 , 2-5
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Youngstown St.
14
16
3
0
33
Southern Ill.
0
12
6
19
37
Recap | Football stuns Youngstown State, 37-33, with biggest comeback win in school history
11/09/2024 | 4:58:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois pulled off the biggest comeback in school history on Saturday, rallying from 28 points down to stun Youngstown State, 37-33.
True freshman quarterback Jake Curry threw a pair of touchdown passes in the final three minutes, including a 20-yard game-winning strike to Bradley Clark with 1:04 remaining.
The Salukis (3-7, 1-5), who snapped a six-game losing streak, still needed to hold off the Penguins (3-8, 2-5) on their final drive to seal the victory, and it wasn't easy.
After driving his team to the red zone, YSU quarterback Beau Brungard had three shots at the end zone from the SIU 17 in the final 14 seconds, but all three passes fell incomplete, setting off a wild celebration by the Salukis.
"We talked a lot this week about what it means to keep coming to work, what grit really means, what toughness really means, and they showed that today," said SIU head coach Nick Hill about a 28-point comeback that also matched the largest in conference history.
Staring down a 28-0 deficit, Curry and Co. never flinched, trimming the gap to 30-12 at halftime, before scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seize the lead.
Making just his fourth-career start, Curry moved the chains through the air and on the ground. He completed 19-of-26 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns, and was the team's leading rusher with 10 carries for 85 yards and a rushing TD.
Measuring in at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Curry is not an imposing presence, but his elusiveness in the pocket and ability to make plays off-schedule drew comparisons to his 5-foot-9 predecessor at SIU.
"Obviously, he'll get the comparisons to Nic (Baker) a lot," said Hill. "It's why nobody else recruited him, but we did, because we'd seen it in Nic — undersized guy, winner in high school, loved his competitiveness. That's just who he is. There's just been a demeanor about him. The moment's not been too big for him. He proved today he can play high-level football."
Southern's first points came just before the two-minute warning in the second quarter. At the time, a six-yard QB draw by Curry for a touchdown didn't seem like the start of something big, but on YSU's next possession, Saluki safety Desman Hearns picked off a pass at the SIU 25 with 30 seconds to go.
Curry promptly completed a 55-yard bomb to Jay Jones, and two plays later found Allen Middleton over the middle for a 20-yard score. Southern went for two, but Curry fumbled near the goal line and Youngstown returned it 99 yards for a two-point conversion to make it 30-12 at halftime.
The Salukis regrouped in the locker room, especially on defense, deciding to play more four-man fronts in the second half.
"The was just our worst first half ever, honestly," said linebacker Chris Presto, who had a career-high 16 tackles. "Coach (Antonio) James was just telling us to lock in. A lot of us were watching guys make plays, we have to make plays ourselves. We were being very passive, and then we locked in and started playing our brand of defense."
The defense allowed only a field goal in the second half, and four players finished with double-digit tackles — Presto, Jamir Conn (11), Shug Walker (10) and Ubayd Steed (10).
Curry's fourth-quarter heroics started with a fade route to tight end Colton Hoag for an 18-yard touchdown in the right corner of the end zone, making it 33-31 with 2:59 remaining.
After the defense forced a three-and-out, Curry needed just four plays to move the offense 65 yards for the game winner — a perfect strike to Clark, who beat his defender over the middle.
"I think this is a group of guys who really have grit and they fight, no matter the situation," Curry said. "We have a great group of guys. Everyone has confidence in me, and I have confidence in the whole team."
As the team celebrated on the field afterward, Hill hugged several of the seniors, who have helped lead the team through adversity this season.
"I see every day what they put into this thing," Hill said. "They've been an encouragement to me. Oftentimes as a coach, you're there to lift your team up, but I've drawn strength from Chase (Evans) and from Iverson (Brown), and Jake Green, and (Ubayd) Steed, just watching them practice hard."
Southern has two games left, with a trip to South Dakota State next weekend, followed by Senior Day versus Murray State on Nov. 23.
"We know this season hasn't gone the way we drew it up at the beginning, but the coaches all instill in us that the grit, the fight, the wanna-do-it — we need to show up with that every single day," Presto said.
Added Hill, "we still have a couple more chapters to write in this book of what this team is about."
True freshman quarterback Jake Curry threw a pair of touchdown passes in the final three minutes, including a 20-yard game-winning strike to Bradley Clark with 1:04 remaining.
The Salukis (3-7, 1-5), who snapped a six-game losing streak, still needed to hold off the Penguins (3-8, 2-5) on their final drive to seal the victory, and it wasn't easy.
After driving his team to the red zone, YSU quarterback Beau Brungard had three shots at the end zone from the SIU 17 in the final 14 seconds, but all three passes fell incomplete, setting off a wild celebration by the Salukis.
"We talked a lot this week about what it means to keep coming to work, what grit really means, what toughness really means, and they showed that today," said SIU head coach Nick Hill about a 28-point comeback that also matched the largest in conference history.
Staring down a 28-0 deficit, Curry and Co. never flinched, trimming the gap to 30-12 at halftime, before scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seize the lead.
Making just his fourth-career start, Curry moved the chains through the air and on the ground. He completed 19-of-26 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns, and was the team's leading rusher with 10 carries for 85 yards and a rushing TD.
Measuring in at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds, Curry is not an imposing presence, but his elusiveness in the pocket and ability to make plays off-schedule drew comparisons to his 5-foot-9 predecessor at SIU.
"Obviously, he'll get the comparisons to Nic (Baker) a lot," said Hill. "It's why nobody else recruited him, but we did, because we'd seen it in Nic — undersized guy, winner in high school, loved his competitiveness. That's just who he is. There's just been a demeanor about him. The moment's not been too big for him. He proved today he can play high-level football."
Southern's first points came just before the two-minute warning in the second quarter. At the time, a six-yard QB draw by Curry for a touchdown didn't seem like the start of something big, but on YSU's next possession, Saluki safety Desman Hearns picked off a pass at the SIU 25 with 30 seconds to go.
Curry promptly completed a 55-yard bomb to Jay Jones, and two plays later found Allen Middleton over the middle for a 20-yard score. Southern went for two, but Curry fumbled near the goal line and Youngstown returned it 99 yards for a two-point conversion to make it 30-12 at halftime.
The Salukis regrouped in the locker room, especially on defense, deciding to play more four-man fronts in the second half.
"The was just our worst first half ever, honestly," said linebacker Chris Presto, who had a career-high 16 tackles. "Coach (Antonio) James was just telling us to lock in. A lot of us were watching guys make plays, we have to make plays ourselves. We were being very passive, and then we locked in and started playing our brand of defense."
The defense allowed only a field goal in the second half, and four players finished with double-digit tackles — Presto, Jamir Conn (11), Shug Walker (10) and Ubayd Steed (10).
Curry's fourth-quarter heroics started with a fade route to tight end Colton Hoag for an 18-yard touchdown in the right corner of the end zone, making it 33-31 with 2:59 remaining.
After the defense forced a three-and-out, Curry needed just four plays to move the offense 65 yards for the game winner — a perfect strike to Clark, who beat his defender over the middle.
"I think this is a group of guys who really have grit and they fight, no matter the situation," Curry said. "We have a great group of guys. Everyone has confidence in me, and I have confidence in the whole team."
As the team celebrated on the field afterward, Hill hugged several of the seniors, who have helped lead the team through adversity this season.
"I see every day what they put into this thing," Hill said. "They've been an encouragement to me. Oftentimes as a coach, you're there to lift your team up, but I've drawn strength from Chase (Evans) and from Iverson (Brown), and Jake Green, and (Ubayd) Steed, just watching them practice hard."
Southern has two games left, with a trip to South Dakota State next weekend, followed by Senior Day versus Murray State on Nov. 23.
"We know this season hasn't gone the way we drew it up at the beginning, but the coaches all instill in us that the grit, the fight, the wanna-do-it — we need to show up with that every single day," Presto said.
Added Hill, "we still have a couple more chapters to write in this book of what this team is about."
Team Stats
YSU
SIU
Total Yards
478
488
Pass Yards
266
322
Rushing Yards
212
166
Penalty Yards
88
52
1st Downs
24
24
3rd Downs
8
3
4th Downs
2
0
TOP
38:02
21:58
1st Quarter
YSU 7, SIU 0
YSU - Brungard,Beau 3 yd run (Lastovka,Andrew kick), 6 plays, 66 yards, TOP 02:32
YSU 14, SIU 0
YSU - Brungard,Beau 27 yd run (Lastovka,Andrew kick), 7 plays, 46 yards, TOP 04:30
2nd Quarter
YSU 21, SIU 0
YSU - Brungard,Beau 26 yd run (Lastovka,Andrew kick), 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 06:12
YSU 28, SIU 0
YSU - King,Tyshon 3 yd pass from Brungard,Beau (Lastovka,Andrew kick) 6 plays, 61 yards, TOP 03:25
YSU 28, SIU 6
SIU - Curry,Jake 6 yd run (), 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:47
YSU 28, SIU 12
SIU - Middleton,Allen 20 yd pass from Curry,Jake ( rush) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:22
YSU 30, SIU 12
YSU - Wells,Michael 96 yd PAT return
3rd Quarter
YSU 30, SIU 18
SIU - Athans,Jimmy 3 yd run (), 8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 02:57
YSU 33, SIU 18
YSU - Lastovka,Andrew 38 yd field goal 9 plays, 60 yards, TOP 03:13
4th Quarter
YSU 33, SIU 25
SIU - Parker,Jerrian 1 yd run (Geelen,Paul kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:30
YSU 33, SIU 31
SIU - Hoag,Colton 18 yd pass from Curry,Jake () 5 plays, 66 yards, TOP 01:24
YSU 33, SIU 37
SIU - Clark,Bradley 20 yd pass from Curry,Jake () 3 plays, 65 yards, TOP 00:39
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
19
TD
3
YDS
322
INT
1
Players Mentioned
WR
/ Football
CB
/ FootballQB
/ Football
G
/ Football
S
/ Football
TE
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
S
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LB
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