Saluki Football runs over WIU, 45-21, for fifth-straight win

D.J. Davis and Javon Williams Jr. combined for 356 yards and five touchdowns

Next Game:
North Dakota State
11/23/2019 | 2 PM
ESPN+

MACOMB, Ill. — Southern Illinois ran for a season-high 388 yards and forced five turnovers to win its fifth-straight game, a 45-21 victory over Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon, setting up a showdown next week with No. 1-ranked North Dakota State.

One of the hottest teams in FCS football, the Salukis (7-4, 5-2) are playoff-eligible for the first time since 2009. The game didn’t start out like the blowout it eventually became, however.

Southern only led by three at halftime, 10-7, after making some uncharacteristic mistakes during the first half. After recovering a Western fumble on the opening kickoff, SIU was unable to score on four-straight plays from either the two or 1-yardline. The Salukis also had a punt blocked, when punter Jack Colquhoun mishandled a snap, and the defense committed a pair of 15-yard penalties that extended drives for the Leathernecks (1-10, 1-6).

“We were kind of getting in our own way,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said. “We couldn’t score on the one yard line, we dropped the ball on the one punt. Our personal foul got them going. There wasn’t any chewing out (at halftime) or rah-rah speeches. It was just — let’s go execute in the second half.”

Southern proceeded to reel off 21 unanswered points in the third quarter to squelch any thoughts of an upset. The Salukis did it with a devastating running game that chewed up a 41-19 advantage in time of possession and simply wore out Western’s defense

Senior running back D.J. Davis carried for a career high 208 yards on 31 attempts and scored on TD runs of 13 and 7 yards. Freshman Wildcat back Javon Williams Jr. added three more touchdowns, coming from 1, 8 and 2 yards out, to extend his TD total to a nation-best-among-freshmen of 18. He had 149 rushing yards and also completed two passes for 48 yards.

The second-half damage was done without both starting offensive tackles, as Ernest Dye Jr. and Beau Branyan left the game with injuries and were replaced by redshirt freshmen Lucas Davis and Brett Groves.

“We came out firing on all cylinders in the second half,” said Davis. “We stuck with the running game when it was getting three or four yards, then we started busting big ones. We have to keep trusting the O-line.”

Just as important as Southern’s ground game during the winning streak has been the dominating play of its defense. The Salukis held Western to 315 total yards, forced three fumbles, snagged an interception and racked up five sacks, including strip-sacks by Anthony Knighton, Chucky Sullivan and Jordan Berner.

“I can’t say enough about our defense about how they have played all season,” Hill said. “This is one of the best defenses in the country, in my opinion. I feel like they have given us a chance to win in all seven Missouri Valley games and they did again today.”

Buck Buchanan Award finalist Jeremy Chinn was a one-man wrecking crew with a career-high 15 tackles.

“We had to think about what we wanted to do and who we wanted to be, and after stepping back and looking at the big picture, we just came out and balled in the second half,” Chinn said. “To be able get seven wins under our belt and be in position to play some important games, that’s why I came here.”

SIU quarterback Kare Lyles went 12-for-18 through the air with 144 passing yards. Of SIU’s 14 receptions, 11 went to either Landon Lenoir (5 catches – 114 yards) or Avante Cox (6 catches – 53 yards). Cox also ran for a touchdown. Kicker Nico Gualdoni added a career-long 45-yard field goal in the winning effort.

Southern will go for its sixth-straight win next Saturday against unbeaten North Dakota State on Senior Day at Saluki Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. CT. Buy-one, get-one tickets are available using the promo code “BOGO”.

“I really hope fans show out next weekend at Saluki Stadium,” Hill said. “Not just because we have a team that deserves to be in the top-25 and has won five-straight games for the first time since the stadium has opened, but to show appreciation to those guys that came here in 2016. To show appreciation to the three fifth-year seniors that came here, Cody Crider, Ernest Dye Jr. and Jacob Marnin. Those are tough Salukis. To come out and watch one of the best players who has ever put on a Saluki uniform in Jeremy Chinn and D.J. Davis as well. We’re talking about Saluki Hall of Famers who will be talked about for a long, long time. And we’re playing the best team in the country.”