The SIU football team suffered a 42-0 loss to No. 7 University of South Dakota on Saturday at the DakotaDome.

The USD Coyotes (7-1, 4-1 MFVC) avenged their one score loss from last season in Carbondale.

Saturday’s matchup was only the fourth all-time meeting between the Missouri Valley Football Conference foes. In the first three games, the home team was the victor.

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The game featured the top two quarterbacks in the MVFC — in terms of touchdown passes — with junior Sam Straub of SIU and senior Chris Streveler of USD.

Straub and Streveler led the MVFC in scoring tosses entering the game with 20 TD’s and 19 TD’s respectively.

On the 10th play of the game Streveler kept the ball himself in a zone read and took a hard hit to the mid-section forcing him from the game. Sophomore quarterback Austin Simmons replaced Streveler following the play; Streveler did return to the sidelines in pads but never checked into the game.

On Simmons’s first pass attempt of the game, he found redshirt freshman tight end Brett Samson from two-yards-out for the first score of the game.

The ‘Yotes following possession resulted in another score with the help of three pass interference calls on the Saluki secondary. Freshman running back Kai Henry capped off the drive with a 1-yard TD run to put USD up 14-0.

SIU sophomore running back/kick returner D.J. Davis returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards, but the play was squashed by an illegal block in the back, pinning the Salukis deep inside their own territory. Southern failed to cross midfield and were forced to punt away.

After Southern forced a Coyote punt early in the second quarter, junior tight end Jaylon Graham was ejected from the game on a questionable targeting call during the return. Straub took a questionably-late hit on third-and-eight by the sidelines during the drive, rolling into the padded wall that surrounds the playing field and sustained an undisclosed injury.

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Sophomore quarterback Tanner Hearn entered the game with ten minutes left in the second quarter in place of Straub on SIU’s ensuing drive. He was unable to lead the Salukis into scoring position — throwing an interception on Southern’s only drive into USD territory after he entered the game — leading to SIU entering half time down 21-0 to USD.

Hearn remained at the helm of Southern’s offense after the half, as Straub remained on the sidelines in street clothes after exiting the locker room. Hearn led the Salukis down to USD’s 11-yard line on their first drive of the second half, where a failed third-down conversion forced head coach Nick Hill to call for a field goal attempt in hopes of putting SIU’s first points of the game on the board.

Sophomore kicker Matt Sotiropoulos missed the 28-yard attempt right of the post.

Later in the third quarter, the Coyote defense put pressure on Hearn causing him to put up a desperation pass that was intercepted by USD junior defensive back Andrew Gray, who returned the pick for a touchdown; but under official review, USD freshman linebacker Jack Cochrane was penalized for targeting Hearn, leading to his ejection from the game and the scoring play being reversed.

Later on the same drive, Gray struck again with a pick-six of Hearn — this time with no penalties on the play — for a 97-yard USD touchdown.

Coyotes’ junior running back Michael Fredrick continued to punish the Salukis by capping off a 12-play drive for USD with a 1-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter to put the ‘Yotes up 35-0.

USD’s dynamic defense came up with another pick-six late in the fourth quarter as sophomore defensive back Mike Johnson took an interception of Hearn 79 yards into the end zone to push the Coyotes lead to 42-0.

SIU failed to score on its final drive of the game following USD’s interception return, with the game ending in a 42-0 drubbing at the hands of South Dakota.

Saturday’s game was the first time that Southern Illinois has been shut out since the 2000 season. However, the Salukis did gather 402 offensive yards compared to USD’s 280.

Mistakes plagued the Salukis on Saturday despite a good offensive showing. Turnovers and 148-accumulated yards in penalties proved too much for SIU to overcome.

Up next

SIU (4-4, 2-3 MVFC) returns Saturday to Carbondale to take on Missouri State University at Saluki Stadium. Kickoff for the Bears vs. Salukis is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Sports reporter Nathan Dodd can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NathanMDodd.

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