Southeast Missouri’s Paxton DeLaurent threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns Saturday against an SIU pass defense that ranks 122nd in the FCS. (Photo by GoRedhawks.com)
By Barry Bottino
While new Southern Illinois starting quarterback Hunter Simmons gained valuable game experience in Saturday’s 38-21 loss to Southeast Missouri, the Salukis are seeking to keep opposing quarterbacks more grounded.
“We’ve got to find a way to not give up 300 yards passing in games,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said Saturday night after the loss. “It’s three out of four weeks. Some of that is schematics. What are we doing?”
Entering this week’s Missouri Valley Football Conference opener at South Dakota (1 p.m. Saturday, ESPN-Plus), the No. 17 Salukis (2-2) are prioritizing a sharper pass defense. The unit ranks 122nd nationally among 123 FCS teams in pass yards allowed (326.8 per game), according to NCAA.com.
Some of their performance, though, can be attributed to a strong early season schedule, which ranks as the eighth toughest in FCS by MasseyRatings.com.
The Salukis have faced three high-level quarterbacks who are among the national leaders in passing yards.
SEMO’s Paxton DeLaurent, who ranks seventh in FCS with 1,068 passing yards, finished 25-for-40 for 301 yards and four touchdowns against SIU.
Incarnate Word’s Zach Calzada – No. 4 in FCS at 1,102 yards – passed for 366 yards and four touchdowns in an SIU victory Sept. 14.
DeLaurent (12) and Calzada (10) rank No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, in passing touchdowns among all FCS quarterbacks.
In Southern’s season-opening loss against FBS Brigham Young, Jake Retzlaff was 20-for-30 for 348 yards and three touchdowns. The Cougars’ starter completed 67% of his passes. Retzlaff ranks 17th in passing TDs (nine) among FBS quarterbacks and 27th in passing yards (990).
The success opposing quarterbacks have had is in contrast to SIU’s 2023 performance.
Last season, the Salukis allowed 188.2 yards a game via the air and seven passing touchdowns. Opponents completed 57.8% of their passes.
In four games this fall, opposing QBs are putting up nearly 139 more passing yards a game than last season, with 12 touchdowns and a 64.2% completion rate.
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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