Hunter Simmons picks up yardage Saturday in Carbondale in the Salukis’ 45-10 loss to Illinois State. Simmons suffered a broken tibia in his left leg in the second half that will end his season. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)
By Barry Bottino
CARBONDALE – Nick Hill paused to collect his thoughts Saturday night, trying to find the words to describe two big losses his Southern Illinois football team sustained in one day.
“Unfortunately in this game, you don’t get to pick the outcome. You work your butt off to try to win these football games. It’s frustrating,” he said after a 45-10 Missouri Valley Football Conference loss to in-state rival Illinois State.
The defeat came in a game that included SIU quarterback Hunter Simmons suffering a season-ending broken tibia in his left leg.
“There’s nobody more frustrated than me and the players in the locker room,” he said after No. 19 Southern (2-4 overall, 0-2 MVFC) lost its third consecutive game. “We’re just not getting the results that we want. You can look at a variety of different things. It’s a collective effort.
“You collectively have to dig yourself out of these holes,” he said. “We’ll stick together and we’ll keep fighting and try to get this thing turned around.”
The Salukis also committed 12 penalties for 109 yards. “We’re just not setting ourselves up for success in those situations,” Hill said.
Over the past three weeks, Southern has allowed 125 points.
On Saturday, all six Illinois State touchdowns came on plays of 20 yards or longer.
“It was like a blur,” SIU defensive back Jamir Conn said. “Everything went by really fast. They started running the ball. They scored really quick. We’ve got to do a better job defensively on (making offenses) keep snapping the ball. Make them make more mistakes.”
After Simmons scored on a 10-yard run with 12:42 remaining in the second quarter, the Salukis were outscored 38-3.
True freshman Jake Curry, an Edwardsville native, was 8-for-19 passing with two interceptions and was sacked three times.
“Like I told the team, we’re 2-4 and we’ve got to own that,” Hill said. “That’s who we are.”
Game changers
5:39, 3rd quarter: SIU kicker Paul Geelen missed a 29-yard field goal – his second miss of the night on three attempts.
9:38, 3rd quarter: Simmons sustained a broken tibia in his left leg when he was tackled after a 6-yard scramble.
12:42, 4th quarter: After SIU closed the gap to 24-10, ISU wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz took a handoff and heaved a 28-yard TD pass to Xavier Loyd.
What it means
The Salukis fell to 0-2 in conference play and lost their third game in a row. According to SIU records, no team has lost its first two league games and made the postseason.
Top Dawgs
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Southern Illinois players in the game:
Lewis, WR: The Wisconsin transfer had seven catches for 153 yards, including a 60-yard gain in the second half.
Simmons, QB: Before his injury, Simmons passed for 160 yards and led the team with 71 rushing yards and a TD on the ground.
Iverson Brown, S: The senior collected a team-best seven tackles.
What’s next?
FCS powerhouse North Dakota State rolls in to Carbondale for an Oct. 12 MVFC game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Saluki Stadium.
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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