SIU football opened its season Saturday with a last-drive loss to Indiana. 

The Salukis fell to the Hoosiers 47-48 in a back-and-forth game. 

Despite the loss, SIU set a school record for points against a Football Bowl Subdivision team and posted the team’s third highest total yards in a game — 659. 

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Senior quarterback Mark Iannotti had a career game, becoming the first quarterback in SIU history to surpass 400 passing and 100 rushing yards. 

Iannotti finished the game 24-31 with 527 total yards of offense — 411 passing and 116 rushing — and 5 total touchdowns, four in the air. 

Iannotti said that he hopes to repeat this type of performance, as his experience in high school was a similar read-option style system where the quarterback is viewed as both a runner and a passer.

The first quarter was highlighted by junior linebacker Chase Allen’s punt block, which was recovered for a touchdown by sophomore safety Kenny James. 

Iannotti ended the first half with a one-yard touchdown run and a Saluki lead 32-21. 

Indiana went to the passing game, taking advantage of a young SIU secondary, in the third quarter and regained the lead 38-32. 

The Hoosiers out-gained the Salukis in yardage, 185 to 48, in the quarter. 

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A fourth quarter touchdown from Indiana put the Hoosiers ahead 48-41. Coach Dale Lennon chose to try for a 2-point conversion in the final seconds of the game following an Iannotti 25-yard touchdown pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Jimmy Jones. 

On the 2-point try, sophomore wide receiver Connor Iwema dropped a pass from Iannotti, which would have put SIU up 49-48. 

Lennon said the try for two was the plan the whole drive, and he stuck to it.

Saturday’s matchup marked only the second time the two schools have met, the other being a 2006 SIU win, 35-28.

Sean Carley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @SCarleyDE