Salukis drop winnable game at Kansas State
SIU held a 23-21 halftime lead over Big 12 bully Kansas State University last Saturday night, but the Salukis could not generate enough second-half offensive juice to hold on.
This is a game that SIU definitely gave away. Don't take my word for it. Just ask SIU head coach Nick Hill.
"I'm sick to my stomach because I felt we should have won this game," said Hill in post-game after a gut wrenching, 31-23, last-second loss. And he was right.
SIU drove to the Wildcats' 21-yard line with 20-plus seconds left (plus one time out available). But SIU quarterback Nic Baker was stripped of the ball on an attempted pass to kill any hope for a Saluki victory.
Baker had completed five straight passes to take his Dawgs from their own 25 to the Cats' 21, but the sack killed one of SIU's best drives of the night.
SIU had one other long drive in the amazing second quarter. That drive was 75 yards, ending with a Javon Williams Jr. touchdown.
The quarter was amazing not only because of that drive. SIU scored three touchdowns in the course of two minutes, but it was the Dawgs' defense that set the table for the point feast. KSU star running back Deuce Vaughn fumbled at his team's own nine-yard line, and Williams again went into the Cats' end zone to make it 21-16 KSU favor just before halftime break.
The Wildcats wanted to return the scoring favor with a long drive, but KSU quarterback Will Howard was intercepted by star freshman cornerback PJ Jules. Jules zipped down the Saluki sideline for a 41-yard pick six (23-21 Saluki lead at half).
Hill might not think kindly of moral victories in his team's eight-point loss to a Big 12 power. However, KSU coach Chris Klineman was impressed.
"We are excited to get a win against a very good SIU football team," said Klineman. "We probably deserved to be down even more than 23-21 at half."
But the Cats' defense won the game for them in the end. SIU just never could get many 20-plus yard "chunk plays" Hill says are the usual staple of his offense.
"I felt like I had to do a better job of play calling," noted Hill. "We just never were able to get any explosive plays."
One thing SIU coaches have to do better is call Justin Strong's name more often. Strong averaged 5.8 yards per carry, but only got six attempts! That he was not called during obvious crucial points in the KSU game is an enigma. SIU ended up with just 100 rushing yards, but could have had a lot more utilizing the fleet Strong more often.
On Saturday, the Dawgs start their home season with Dayton University of the Pioneer League (6 p.m.). Dayton beat Eastern Illinois University last Saturday, so they will be another tough non-MVFC opponent.