Recap | Football Comes Away With Dominant, 37-10, Victory at UT Martin

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Sep 20

6 PM

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Southeast Missouri State

Cape Girardeau, MO

Oct 4

6 PM

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Indiana State

Carbondale, IL

Oct 11

2:30 PM

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Fargo, ND

Oct 18

2 PM

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Carbondale, IL

Oct 25

2 PM

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Carbondale, IL

Nov 1

4 PM

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Murray, KY

Nov 8

1 PM (CT)

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Youngstown, OH

Nov 15

12 PM

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Carbondale, IL

MARTIN, Tenn. - The No. 14/17 Southern Illinois University football team improved to 2-1 with a commanding, 37-10, win at UT Martin on Saturday.

The Salukis excelled all across the board in Martin, totaling 490 yards on offense while holding UT Martin to 290. Southern ran for a season-high 273 yards on the ground, its most in a game since Nov. 13, 2021, when it ran for 282 yards vs. Indiana State.

Senior quarterback DJ Williams did it all on Saturday, going 13-of-18 passing with 217 yards and one touchdown while also rushing 14 times for 128 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Both the rushing yards and rushing touchdowns were new career highs for Williams.

Another Saluki who set new career highs on the ground was running back Chandler Chapman. Chapman's 13 carries, 78 yards, and one rushing touchdown were all new career bests for the junior out of Bay St. Louis, Miss.

The Southern Illinois defense set the tone early, forcing a three-and-out on the opening drive. SIU capitalized on the other end, scoring after just three plays including a Williams 47-yard pass to wide receiver Jay Jones on the very first offensive snap.

Two plays later, Williams ran it in from four yards out for the opening score of the game.

Both teams traded turnovers on the following two drives before the Saluki defense stood tall and forced a turnover-on-downs on a 4th and 1 at Southern's 30-yard line.

SIU's next score came early in the second quarter. Williams connected with Fabian McCray for a 56-yard touchdown to give the visitors a 14-0 lead. McCray has now found the end zone in two of his first three games as a Saluki.

On the following UT Martin possession, safety Vinny Pierre Jr. picked-off the Skyhawks quarterback for his second interception in the last two weeks. Pierre Jr. has now recorded three interceptions during his career at Southern Illinois, with the third coming in 2024.

The Skyhawks found the end zone for the first time after an 11-play, 69-yard drive with 02:43 left in the second quarter.

With just 00:30 remaining in the first half, the Salukis got the ball on their own 31-yard line and got into field-goal range after a 32-yard run by Williams to UT Martin' 10. Senior Paul Geelen proceeded to drill a 28-yard field goal to extend SIU's lead to 17-7 at the half.

Williams got the third quarter started by capping off a seven-play drive with a 13-yard rushing touchdown to give the Salukis a 24-7 lead. UT Martin made it a two-score game once more with a 33-yard field goal on the next drive, but Southern answered back immediately with another Williams rushing score to put SIU ahead, 30-10.

The final trip to the end zone on Saturday came at the 01:51 mark of the fourth quarter. On a drive that saw Geelen fake a punt and run for 29 yards on 4th and 3, Chapman scored his first touchdown of his Saluki career after dashing for 44 yards.

Jones paced the Salukis in receiving with four receptions for 65 yards. Defensively, captain Colin Bohanek led the team in tackles with 13. Fellow captain Andrew Behm forced a fumble that was recovered by defensive lineman Caden Reeves.

Southern Illinois' 27-point win is its largest margin-of-victory in a road game since defeating Western Illinois by 63 points on Oct. 28, 2023.

Up Next
SIU will finish off a three-game road trip next Saturday at 6 p.m. in the "War for the Wheel" at Southeast Missouri State (SEMO).

Follow the Salukis
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Football, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiFootball and on Instagram at @SIU_Football. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

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