Big first half surges Salukis past No. 15 Illinois State, 42-7

The Southern Illinois football program ran out to a 21-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 42-7 win over 15th-ranked Illinois State on Homecoming. SIU’s defense forced five turnovers and five 3-and-outs, and the offense piled up 549 yard of total offense in the win.

“I just can’t say enough of how proud I am of the guys in that locker room,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said. “The way that they responded with their backs against the wall. Everyone just stuck to the plan we talked about. This is a process. We’ve taken a step forward with this program in the toughest conference in the country.”

Illinois State (4-2, 2-1 MVFC) entered the game 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. SIU had lost three-straight games and was winless in the MVFC. The Redbirds were allowing just 219 yards per game, but the Salukis had 320 yards by halftime en route to the blowout win. Last week, South Dakota State blitzed SIU in the first half and cruised to a win. This week, Southern did the same thing to Illinois State. 

“That just set the tone for the game,” SIU safety Jeremy Chinn said. “Coming off a rough week, we were frustrated. We knew we had to come out strong from the jump and it was going to be a dogfight for them, and it was going to be a dogfight for us. You set the tone.”

The Salukis set the tone early. SIU’s defense forced a 3-and-out on the opening drive, and the offense immediately went 70 yards in five plays to take a 7-0 lead. Southern (3-3, 1-2 MVFC) continued to dominate defensively for the remained of the half. Illinois State had seven possessions in the opening half, and six of them ended in a 3-and-out or a turnover. Chinn and Craig James had interceptions in the first half. 

“I always talk about how I love (the players and coaches),” Hill said. “I’m proud of the way that we came and stuck together. We talked about being a family and being here for each other and to have fun. I think that’s what they came out and did today.”

The Salukis featured a remarkably balanced offensive attack. Four players had at least 70 yards receiving, and three players had at least 45 yards rushing. D.J. Davis was the early star; of his first five touches, two went for touchdowns and three went for 20 yards or more. At halftime, Davis had 129 all-purpose yards on eight touches (16.1 yards per touch). 

“He’s a playmaker, and it’s our job to get him the football,” Hill said of Davis. “Sometimes we have to be creative with how we get it to him. When he touches the football, good things happen.”

SIU opened the second half with the ball and was forced into a 3rd-and-8, but Sam Straub threw a perfect deep ball–his fourth passing TD of the game–to Raphael Leonard for a 73-yard touchdown. The Redbirds scored late in the third quarter to get within 28-7, but they never truly got back into the game. SIU grinded out more than 17 minutes of possession time in the second half to seal the win. 

Straub ended up with 368 yards and four touchdowns, his third career four-touchdown game. Connor Iwema caught six passes for 118 yards, his fourth career 100-yard game. All told, the Salukis racked up 549 yards of total offense against a defense that was allowing fewer than 220 over its first five games. Defensively, the Salukis forced five turnovers in a game for the first time since 2014. 

“We put it all together. We have good players on this team,” Hill said. “Some of them are young, so that youthfulness shows itself at times. When we come together, we can get on a role, but we can also go and get beat next week if we don’t execute.”

UP NEXT

SIU travels to Indiana State for the Sycamores’ Homecoming game next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT in Terre Haute. 

NOTES

The Salukis beat a ranked opponent for the 16th consecutive year … SIU forced five turnovers for the first time since 2014 (vs. SEMO) … Straub’s 368 yards rank 10th in SIU single-game history (Straub now has three of the top 12 single-game passing yard marks in school history) … The Salukis have forced 15 turnovers this year, already more than the team had in each of the last two seasons (14 in each season).