On what had the potential to be a record-setting weekend, the Southern Illinois Salukis (4-1, 1-1 in MVC) suffered one of their worst performances in recent memory, nearly getting shut out by the Youngstown State Penguins (3-2, 1-1 in MVC) on the road on Oct. 7. They’ll try to redeem themselves Saturday in their game at Murray State.
Last weekend’s final score of 31-3 represents the worst loss by the Salukis since the 2022 opener against Incarnate Word. It was the first time since September 2012 that SIU scored just three points or fewer against an unranked team.
“It’s a humbling game,” head coach Nick Hill said. “It’s a humbling sport. They whooped us in every fashion that you possibly could do.”
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Quarterback Nic Baker entered Saturday only needing 121 passing yards to tie Joel Sambursky’s all-time school record. However, Baker threw for just 94 yards, a career-worst for the senior, who hopes to claim that record this week.
Baker completed just 12 of his 27 passing attempts, marking just the second time in his career that he had a completion percentage under 50%; the first came against Youngstown State in November 2021. He also took seven sacks on Saturday.
The Salukis played without starting running back Ro Elliott and wide receiver D’Ante’ Cox, which likely worsened the offense’s inability to get anything going on Saturday. The rushing game especially suffered, as the team could only muster six total yards on the ground.
“Not being able to run the football, and then when you get behind, having to throw the football… isn’t ideal,” Hill said.
Despite struggling to move the ball, SIU was still within a reasonable comeback range for most of the game. The Penguins’ 14-3 halftime lead was still a slimmer margin than the 15-0 deficit Southern rallied from against SEMO on Sept. 16.
To open the second half, the Saluki defense held the Penguins to just three points across four drives, capping the span off with a fourth-quarter fumble recovery that gave SIU the ball down two scores.
“I think the bright spot was, I think our defense in the second half gave us opportunities,” Hill said.
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However, the offense was never able to capitalize on defensive stands, and Youngstown would eventually break through with touchdowns on its final two drives to cement a 28-point victory.
Southern Illinois has historically struggled against Youngstown State. Saturday’s loss marks the third in a row against Youngstown State, and the Salukis are just 4-10 against the Penguins since 2010.
Just one week after being ranked No. 5 in the country by the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 6 by the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, the Salukis will have to regroup ahead of another road challenge against regional rival Murray State (2-3, 1-1 in MVC).
“The character that we have in the room will be tested,” Hill said. “We have to swallow this pill, listen to the outside noise, just like they hear it whenever things are going well.”
The Racers will be looking to wash a similar taste out of their mouths, suffering a 38-7 road loss to No. 15/21 South Dakota on Oct. 7.
“If we want to accomplish what we want to accomplish, we can’t let one loss define us,” wide receiver Izaiah Hartrup said. “It’s time to get back to it.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s contest against Murray State is scheduled for 2 p.m. from Roy Stewart Stadium in Murray, Kentucky.
Sports Editor Brandyn Wilcoxen can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @BrandynWilcoxen. To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.
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