Southern Illinois University
2-3 , 0-1
South Dakota
3-1 , 1-0
Recap | Football falls at No. 5 South Dakota
09/28/2024 | 5:19:00 | Football
The Coyotes (3-1, 1-0) dominated the action from the opening kick, holding a 126-11 advantage in total yards in the first quarter, and building a 28-0 lead early in the second.
The main problem for Southern's defense was an inability to stop the run. South Dakota averaged nearly seven yards per carry. Travis Theis (147 yards) and Charles Pierre Jr. (124 yards) did most of the damage.
A preseason All-Conference quarterback, Aidan Bouman completed only 11 passes, but most of those went for big chunks, totaling 247 yards.
"Teams are running the football on us, throwing the football on us," said SIU head coach Nick Hill. "We're not sacking the quarterback, we're not putting them in third-and-long situations."
The Salukis (2-3, 0-1) didn't put points on the board until just before halftime, as Southern cut the deficit to 28-7 when Keontez Lewis caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Simmons, catching the ball at the USD 25 and out-sprinting defenders down the middle of the field.
The momentum was short-lived, however, as Bouman tossed a 61-yard TD to Quaron Adams to cap a rapid-fire, three-play drive that made the score 35-7 at the half.
SIU's best quarter of play was the third period. The defense forced back-to-back punts, and the offense strung together an eight-play, 81-yard drive, capped by a seven-yard TD strike from Simmons to tight end Colton Hoag.
In his second-career start, Simmons had another 300-yard passing performance, completing 23-of-41 passes for 306 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. He spread the ball to nine-different receivers, led by Hoag's six catches for 52 yards.
Southern's run game was mostly held in check, picking up 60 yards for an average of 2.4 yards per carry. The inability to sustain drives led to seven punts.
"When you get beat like that, nothing was good enough, starting at the top," Hill said. "It was my job to have the team ready to go, it's my job to make sure in all three phases that the scheme is ready to go."
South Dakota's only points in the second half came on a 20-yard run by Theis in the fourth quarter. The Coyotes held a 35:19 to 24:41 advantage in time of possession in the contest.
Hill said his postgame remarks to the team were brief.
"Everybody knows — they don't need me up there screaming at them," he said. "We'll meet tomorrow night and have a detailed look at the film. It will give us as coaches a longer time to address the things where we have to do a better job."
Team Stats
SIU 0, USD 7
USD - Theis,Travis 1 yd run (Leyland,Will kick), 9 plays, 46 yards, TOP 04:57
SIU 0, USD 14
USD - Pierre Jr.,Charles 8 yd run (Leyland,Will kick), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 05:49
SIU 0, USD 21
USD - Galbreath,JJ 80 yd pass from Bouman,Aidan (Leyland,Will kick) 1 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:13
SIU 0, USD 28
USD - Pierre Jr.,Charles 24 yd run (Leyland,Will kick), 3 plays, 77 yards, TOP 01:25
SIU 7, USD 28
SIU - Lewis,Keontez 44 yd pass from Simmons,Hunter (Geelen,Paul kick) 1 plays, 44 yards, TOP 00:06
SIU 7, USD 35
USD - Adams,Quaron 61 yd pass from Bouman,Aidan (Leyland,Will kick) 3 plays, 75 yards, TOP 00:47
SIU 13, USD 35
SIU - Hoag,Colton 7 yd pass from Simmons,Hunter () 8 plays, 81 yards, TOP 03:18
SIU 13, USD 42
USD - Theis,Travis 20 yd run (Leyland,Will kick), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:23
