Southern Illinois 38, North Dakota State 14

Recap

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois rocked the world of college football on Saturday with a stunning 38-14 win over North Dakota State, ending a 39-game winning streak for one of the nation’s most dominant programs of the last decade.

The way the Salukis (2-1, 1-1) won the game was even more remarkable, as they completely overpowered the No. 1-ranked Bison (2-1, 1-1), dictating the action for 60 minutes.

“The talk before the game was that, in life, you just don’t get many opportunities like this,” said SIU head coach Nick Hill. “You get an opportunity to knock off the number-one team in the country and do something that leaves a legacy. This game will be recognized for a long time.”

Ball security and creating turnovers was an important emphasis this week after SIU committed five turnovers last week without any takeaways.

“If you can run the ball, control the game and win the turnover battle, you’re going to win a lot of games,” Hill said.

The Salukis delivered the knockout blow in the fourth quarter with three unanswered touchdowns in a 10-minute span. It started with a 7-yard TD pass from Baker to Landon Lenoir on a quick slant over the middle.

“I already knew (Baker) was a great quarterback,” Elliott said. “He’s just been waiting for his chance and he was able to get in there and do his thing.”

Full Recap (Southern Illinois) | Full Recap (North Dakota State) | Box Score

Stadium: Saluki Stadium

Location: Carbondale, Illinois

 

Attendance: 2400

Duration: 2:53

NDSU: Zeb Noland (159 PASS); Jalen Bussey (72 RUSH); Jake Lippe (53 REC);

SIU: Baker, Nic (254 PASS); Elliott, Romeir (89 RUSH); Cox, Avante (138 REC);