Southern Illinois quarterback D.J. Williams rushed for four touchdowns Saturday to lead the No. 24 Salukis to a 37-7 upset of No. 11 Illinois State. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)
By Barry Bottino
NORMAL – Southern Illinois stepped onto the Hancock Stadium turf Saturday at Illinois State facing a team seeking a top-eight FCS playoff seed.
By the time the No. 24 Salukis stepped off the field, they had made a strong case for their own playoff hopes with a dominant 37-7 upset victory against the No. 11 Redbirds in the regular-season finale for both teams.
SIU (7-5 overall, 4-4 Missouri Valley Football Conference) rolled up 296 rushing yards, outgained Illinois State, 455-217, and held the Redbirds scoreless for the game’s final 49 minutes, 43 seconds, which spanned 10 consecutive drives.
“Getting a big win, on the road, last game of the season … this is what it’s all about,” said SIU quarterback D.J. Williams, who rushed for 134 yards and four touchdowns. “If the (playoff) committee doesn’t think this team deserves to be in the playoffs, shame on them.”
Both Southern and ISU (8-4, 5-3) will learn their fate at 11 a.m. Sunday when the playoff pairings are revealed on ESPNU.
In losses to Youngstown State and South Dakota the past two weeks, Southern let second-half leads slip away. Saturday was different for the Salukis, who led 17-7 at halftime.
“That’s what we were preaching at halftime having that lead – just finish, just finish, just finish,” said SIU running back Eddie Robinson, who piled up a game-high 145 yards on 19 carries. “Shoutout to the offensive line. They came out and did their job and just allowed me and D.J. just to be us. My approach was just being a little more patient, reading it, then hitting it quicker.”
SIU head coach Nick Hill added: “I think we outphysicaled them. When you rush for 300 yards, it’s a combination of a lot of things.”
Southern’s reversal of fortunes Saturday came after a 53-51, five-overtime loss at home one week ago to South Dakota.
“Last week is about as tough as it gets,” Hill said. “When you have these feelings and these moments, that’s the reward. I’ll be the last person on the bus (today), just taking it all in. I’m looking forward to the bus ride, just listening to them laugh.”
Third downs were exemplary for the Salukis, who converted 10 of 16 on offense, while allowing ISU to convert just 3 of 12.
“Our defense was incredible,” Hill said. “When you talk about team defense, they scored on their first drive to make it 7-7 and never really got close again.”
After tying the game early, Illinois State was stopped on a fourth-down run at the SIU 28 early in the second quarter, then punted on its following drive, a three-and-out that featured two sacks by SIU defensive end Jake Parrella.
“I feel like I’ve been rushing pretty decent all year,” Parrella said. “I just haven’t been able to get home. Today, I got blessed with two sacks in three plays. That was awesome.”
On ISU’s next drive, Parrella blocked a 51-yard field goal attempt by Matt Maldonado 29 seconds before halftime.
In the second half, the SIU defense did not allow ISU past midfield. For the game, the Salukis collected two sacks, two interceptions and two turnovers on downs.
“They already had a playoff spot locked up,” Parrella said. “We want to get a playoff spot. We were hungrier today, and it showed.”
The Salukis held Illinois State to 73 rushing yards on 30 carries, with Victor Dawson’s 25 yards leading the way. All-American wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz, meanwhile, was limited to two catches for 18 yards.
“They have a ton of really good players on that team,” said SIU linebacker Colin Bohanek, who had a team-high 11 tackles. “They’ve got the playmakers. We were able to do our jobs and shut them down.
“We were winning on first and second down,” he said, “getting them into third and long and putting pressure on them.”
Bohanek, a sixth-year player whose career started at Eastern Illinois, is hoping the playoff committee delivers good news Sunday.
“I feel like we showed that we deserve to be in the playoffs. But if there’s a chance that we don’t, this is one hell of a way to go out,” he said.
In the first quarter, Williams surpassed Mark Iannotti’s single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback (716) and finished the regular season with 847.
Game changers
14:56, 2nd quarter: Williams scored on a 1-yard run, kicking off a spree of 30 consecutive SIU points.
0:29, 2nd quarter: Parrella blocked an Illinois State field goal attempt to keep SIU’s halftime lead at 17-7.
4:22, 4th quarter: Williams scored his fourth rushing TD of the day by escaping the Redbirds’ rush and zipping 42 yards for a score.
Standout Salukis
Prairie State Pigskin chooses the top three Southern Illinois players in Saturday’s game:
D.J. Williams, QB: SIU’s offensive leader passed for 159 yards, rushed for 134 and had four rushing TDs.
Robinson, RB: On just 19 carries, he piled up 145 yards and a whopping 7.6 yards a carry.
Parrella, DL: The senior had two sacks and blocked an Illinois State field goal attempt.
What it means
The Salukis finished very strong and can make a much better case today for the FCS playoffs than they could a week ago.
What’s next
SIU awaits the NCAA FCS playoff committee’s pairings, which will be released at 11 a.m. Sunday on ESPNU.
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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