Southern Illinois quarterback Nic Baker celebrates his 6-yard touchdown run Saturday at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)
By Barry Bottino
Beware FBS schools: Invite Southern Illinois to your stadium at your own risk.
On Saturday in DeKalb, 24th-ranked SIU won its sixth game all-time against an FBS opponent — and second in the past two years — with a 14-11 victory against FBS Northern Illinois of the Mid-American Conference. Last fall, SIU knocked off Northwestern in Evanston.
Quarterback Nic Baker and running back Ro Elliott scored on 8- and 10-yard runs, respectively, in the first half and the Salukis (2-0) made it stand with a stingy defense.
SIU grabbed three interceptions — including one by junior safety Ubayd Steed (Towson transfer) with 33 seconds remaining in the game on a tipped pass to secure the win.
Of NIU’s 12 drives in the game, four others ended in punts, one was a turnover on downs and two ended with missed field goals.
“For us to win a one-possession football game here on the road against a MAC opponent was pretty special,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said. “You don’t have good offenses and defenses without the players. I feel like the personnel is really good. They’re fast, they’re physical.”
The Salukis, who were outgained Saturday, 360-219, won their seventh consecutive game against an in-state opponent.
Game changers
1:58, 1st quarter: Baker runs in an 8-yard score to put the Salukis up, 7-0.
11:45, 2nd quarter: Elliott powers through three potential NIU tacklers to find the end zone and help SIU increase its lead to 14-0.
0:33, 4th quarter: Steed grabs an interception on a tipped pass to secure the victory.
What it means
SIU won games against an FBS opponent for the second year in a row and has now won seven consecutive times against in-state schools. Oh, and for its trip to DeKalb, SIU got a $375,000 check from NIU.
Top Dawgs
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Southern Illinois players in the game:
P.J. Jules, S: The senior played an impressive game against the FBS Huskies, collecting 11 tackles, breaking up three passes and making 1.5 tackles for loss.
Tim Varga, DL: The Eastern Illinois transfer had two of the Salukis’ four sacks.
Nic Baker, QB: He threw for 148 yards on 16-for-24 passing and rushed for SIU’s first TD of the game.
What’s next?
SIU travels to regional rival Southeast Missouri for a 6 p.m. kickoff on Sept. 16.
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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