Bend but don’t break.

The Salukis’ defensive unit defined the statement Saturday, giving up 301 total yards but almost all of them were between the 20’s. The Dawgs allowed Illinois State entry into the end zone only once (followed by a two-point conversion) and an early 42-yard field goal in the second quarter.

The Saluki defense not only kept the Redbirds out of the end zone, but helped their own cause by getting into it themselves. In the second quarter, SIUC junior cornerback Cornell Baker picked off a Bill Hagman pass and streaked 43 yards for a touchdown.

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Saluki head football coach Shawn Watson said Baker’s interception was a key to the Dawgs’ win.

That’s everything. That’s a big play, he said. Cornell baker has been coming on real strong. He earned a the starting nod. I think he answered the bell, no doubt.

That interception was big.

SIUC senior safety Darnell Hendricks, who also intercepted a pass Saturday, agreed with Watson and said the interception was a key to the victory.

Once Cornell Baker got that interception, he’s one of the top three fastest guys on the team, he said. He got the pick with a lot of green, so I just watched him go to the end zone I didn’t even try to block.

Along with the two interceptions, the defense held the Redbirds to 87 yards rushing on 34 attempts. The Dawgs defense held steady the entire game, causing the Redbirds to punt seven times in their 13 possessions in the contest.

In addition, the defense kept ISU pinned to its own side of the field almost the entire game, as the Redbirds started drives from inside their own 30 yard line 10 times. Illinois State ventured into Saluki territory only three times, resulting in the TD, a field goal and a missed field goal.

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Watson was happy to see his defense play as well as it did, despite nagging injuries to the squad.

The defense played great, he said. We had kids roll off the shelf who were beat up and banged up.

Aside from the performance against Indiana State Sept. 30, when the Salukis lost 52-3 and gave up 417 total yards and six touchdowns, the Saluki defense has been rock solid.

Hendricks said the Indiana State contest was behind them when the team hit the field, and it was just time to play ball.

We gave up 52 points last week, and that’s a let down for the defense, but games go that way sometimes, he said. This week, we came out here with a mean on, we came out here with intensity and we got the job done.

Senior tri-captain, linebacker Brian Tranchitella said part of the Salukis’ success Saturday was the size and enthusiasm of the crowd.

Tremendous crowd today, he said. It was unbelievable. I 100 percent believe that was a big factor. As close as this game was, I think the crowd was a big factor.

Making noise on third-and-short that just gets us fired up. They (the crowd) may not realize it, but it does.

Watson said in addition to the 12,600 that packed McAndrew Stadium Saturday, part of the credit for the defense’s improvement against the Redbirds was perching defensive coordinator Linwood Ferguson in the pressbox to get a bird’s-eye view of the field.

It just felt like maybe he could be of better use up there, in terms of seeing what he needed to see, he said. It’s hard to see on the sidelines. It’s hard to see what’s going on and you get to play Nintendo’ up there.

He got to play Nintendo’ today.

Apparently, Ferguson is pushing the right buttons with his defensive squad, because they believe they can defeat anyone.

I think this is the beginning of a new era, Baker said. We’re looking real good, especially the defense.

The defense is mad. We should be nationally-ranked soon.