Football Gets Back on Track with 31-17 Win Over Northern Iowa on Homecoming

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CARBONDALE, Ill. - On a day where Southern Illinois celebrated returns and Saluki Hall of Famers, the No. 16/18 Southern Illinois University football team (5-3, 2-2 MVFC) got back in the win column with a dominant, 31-17, win over Northern Iowa on Homecoming.

"When we go play solid football, taking care of the ball, playing complementary football, and our guys just get to go play, we have a really good team," head coach Nick Hill said. "I think that was on display today."

Among those that returned and were honored on Saturday included Jeremy Chinn and Fabray Collins, who were both inducted into the Saluki Hall of Fame on Friday night. Former SIU linebacker Branson Combs was also honored at the game, one week after making his NFL debut for the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday in London.

The Salukis controlled the game itself from the very beginning, out-scoring the Panthers, 24-3, in the first half. Three of SIU's first four drives ended in points with two of them being touchdowns. Southern led, 24-0, before Northern Iowa's first points, which came on a late field goal in the second quarter.

Five of UNI's opening six drives resulted in punts, with the only other one ending in a Jeremiah McClendon interception.

Southern Illinois totaled 433 yards of offense in the win, with 203 passing and 230 rushing. The Salukis' defense dominated on Saturday, holding the Panthers to just 247 total yards. Northern Iowa was unable to get its passing game going against SIU, as the hosts limited the Panthers to 127 passing yards.

"That was a great outing of just playing high-level defense," Hill said. "Those guys played incredibly well and set the tone."

Quarterback DJ Williams had an efficient day, going 19-of-23 for 190 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Williams also rushed for 49 yards which was third on the team behind Edward Robinson's 86 on nine carries and Chandler Chapman's 81 on six carries. Wide receiver Jay Jones led the team in receiving with 52 yards and a touchdown.

Cornerback Jeremiah McClendon stuffed the statsheet in the win, registering an interception, a sack, two pass breakups, and five tackles vs. UNI. The Salukis had four sacks, courtesy of McClendon, Bernadin Fleurima Jr., Vontrell Chairse, and Amir Dwight. This is tied for the most sacks SIU has had in a game this season (also had four at Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 20).

Southern Illinois received the opening possession and got the ground game going early. The Salukis ran the ball on four of their first five plays from scrimmage for a total of 66 yards. The two longest runs came from Edward Robinson of 31 yards and then Chapman who rushed 32 yards to the endzone for the first score of the day.

This marked the fourth-straight game where Chapman has found paydirt. During that span, the junior running back has scored five touchdowns.

After the defense forced a three-and-out on UNI's first possession, the Salukis put together a lengthy, 13-play drive that lasted nearly seven minutes and ended in a 40-yard field goal by senior Paul Geelen. Geelen is now 7-for-8 on field goal attempts in 2025.

McClendon registered his first interception of the season and first since Oct. 5, 2024, vs. Illinois State on Northern Iowa's next drive.

"Jeremiah is playing at a high level," Hill said. "There's a lot of good players in this league, but you turn on the tape. Consistently through eight weeks, Jeremiah has played really good football. He's gotten the player of the week from us as a staff a couple times, obviously this week it will probably be another one."

Williams threw his first of two passing touchdowns at the 9:44 mark of the second quarter, connecting with veteran tight end Aidan Quinn for 38 yards to extend Southern Illinois' lead to 17-0. This was Quinn's first touchdown since the 2023 season and the fourth of his career.

The last time the tight end found the endzone was in the first round of the FCS Playoffs vs. Nicholls on Nov. 25, 2023.

Southern's defense continued to stymie the Northern Iowa offense, forcing two consecutive punts after the Quinn score. This led to a 38-yard touchdown pass from Williams to Jones to finish off a four-play, 93-yard drive that started from SIU's own seven-yard line.

A blocked punt in the final minute of the half led to Northern Iowa getting on the board with a 35-yard field goal. At the halftime break, Southern led by a score of 24-3.

The defense picked up right where it left off for the Salukis, forcing a punt on Northern Iowa's first drive of the second half. From his own 19-yard line, Southern's Tae Marrero Jr. went 81 yards to the house for SIU's first punt return touchdown since Oct. 21, 2006 (Craig Turner, Western Kentucky).

Marrero's return gave Southern a 31-3 lead, an advantage it would hold on to until the 2:32 mark of the fourth quarter when Northern Iowa's Jaxon Dailey found Briggs Hughston for a 23-yard touchdown. The Panthers again found the endzone after blocking a Geelen punt, scoring after just two plays to make it 31-17.

The damage by the Panthers wasn't enough, as the Salukis finished it off for the 31-17 win.

With the win, Southern snaps a two-game losing skid and improves to 5-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The Salukis will be back on the road for their next two games, starting on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m., against Murray State.

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