Izaiah Hartrup caught five passes for 80 yards and a touchdown Saturday night in SIU’s 49-23 victory against Austin Peay. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)
By Barry Bottino
CARBONDALE — No matter where Nic Baker distributed the football Saturday night, the Southern Illinois offense seemed to find success.
“I feel like we’re a team that can do a lot running and throwing,” SIU’s quarterback said. “Just looking out there and knowing whatever play is called, I’ve got people that really want to go make a play. They want the ball every time. That’s how it should be.”
While rolling to a 49-23 victory against Austin Peay, which earned Southern a spot at No. 24 in the STATS Perform national FCS poll Monday, the Salukis were a model of efficiency.
They scored five touchdowns and missed a field goal on their first nine drives of the game while building a 35-3 lead.
Five different players had at least five rushing attempts – led by Ro Elliott (39 yards) and Justin Strong (38) – and six different players caught at least two passes, with Izaiah Hartrup (five catches, 80 yards) leading the way.
“The first half was pretty efficient football, taking what the defense gave us,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said.
The Salukis gained 5.8 yards per play, including 8.8 per reception.
Baker said several teammates came back to the huddle saying they were open and that they could beat their defenders.
“You’d much rather have it that way than the other way, for sure,” he said. “They give me confidence.”
With so many contributors, the offense was able create a more diverse attack.
“In our offense, we’re not just targeting a guy,” Hill said. “We’re going to take what the defense gives us. You want all those guys to have great games. How you build chemistry is they have to know that they have to be selfless. I felt like we had a good feel and a mix of guys subbing in and out – the backs, the receivers.
“Some nights, it’s going to be your night, based on coverage or defensive philosophy. The ball’s got to go where the defense dictates that it needs to go,” Hill said.
Along with a more than 15-minute edge in time of possession in the game, SIU had six drives of 43 or more yards and back-to-back first-quarter scoring drives of 13 and 14 plays.
“That’s hard,” Hill said. “Sometimes you get in your own way when you’ve got to go 15, 16 plays. As long as you can stay efficient, with no negative plays, penalties or tackles for loss, we feel good about our plan.”
The celebratory mood Saturday night among the Salukis was a contrast to last season, which started with 64-29 loss at Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
“Thanks for bringing that up,” Hill joked after the game. “There’s a lot of guys in that locker room that were on that trip. They felt like there was a sense of urgency (against Austin Peay), just knowing what happened last year. I felt like we were a focused team.”
Barry Bottino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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