Ground game tweaks will be one focus of Southern Illinois bye week

Ro Elliott (1) leads the Southern Illinois running game with 5.1 yards a carry and three touchdowns this season. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)

By Barry Bottino

The pandemonium of SIU’s rivalry win Saturday at Southeast Missouri was a moment many players will never forget.

However, Salukis head coach Nick Hill doesn’t want to repeat one specific aspect of the victory after the team’s bye this week.

“We can’t drop back and throw it 50-some times a game,” he said. “It’s not that that type of game might not happen at times this season … but to win in our league, we know the formula that we have to have. We’ve got to be able to run the ball.”

On a night when quarterback Nic Baker threw the ball 51 times, SIU’s running game featured 24 carries for a 3.4-yard average against SEMO. The Salukis were hindered by the fact that second-leading rusher Justin Strong did not play with an ankle injury.

Starter Ro Elliott was impressive while carrying the bulk of the load. He rushed 16 times for 67 yards (4.2 average) and ran for a TD. He also caught seven passes for 55 yards.

“Ro has been outstanding,” Hill said. “I’m really excited about the season he’s having, and hopefully it can continue. We wanted to get him around 20 carries and he got 16, but he’s been great in the pass game. (He had) another 100-yard game from scrimmage.”

A slow start on the ground against SEMO yielded only 41 yards in the first half, something Hill would like to correct about the run game, which he called “a work in progress.”

“I don’t think we’re satisfied with where it is at,” he said. “That’s on everybody, whether it’s schematically with getting our guys some better looks or (player performance).”

Eastern Illinois transfer Jaelin Benefield had only four carries Saturday for 14 yards, while Baker also was credited with four rushes.

“When we were in RPO (run-pass option), I thought a couple of times when we threw, we could have had big runs (had we handed it off),” Hill said. “I think we found our rhythm in the second half.”

Elliott broke off a game-high 23-yard run in the second half.

When SIU’s schedule continues Sept. 30 against Missouri State in Carbondale, Hill said all three backs will be ready to contribute and SIU will continue to rotate them.

Southern currently ranks eighth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 109 rushing yards a game.

“If you can’t run the ball, you can’t control the game,” Hill said. “You can’t dictate the terms of the game and run your entire offense. We will use this bye week to continue to look at some things.”

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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