Southern Illinois Salukis – Official Athletics Website

CARBONDALE, Ill. – No. 2 North Dakota State remained undefeated against FCS opponents this season, topping Southern Illinois 24-3 on Saturday in a game that was closer than the final score would suggest.

Without their two best quarterbacks, the unranked Salukis (2-5, 0-3) have run the gauntlet of five straight games against ranked opponents.

Today the defense improved, holding NDSU to its fewest yards of the season (363) and its lowest point total in the last 13 games.

“There are no moral victories in this game, but progress was made today, things that needed to be fixed were fixed,” SIU head coach said Nick Hill. “It wasn't a win, there are things that will show on tape that we need to continue to get better at, but there are a lot of things we can build on.”

For the first time in 35 years, SIU started a true freshman at quarterback, with Jake Curry Takeover after injuries DJ Williams in week 3 and Hunter Simmons in week 6.

The rookie marched Southern down the field on the team's first possession and completed four passes in front of the freshman wide receiver Allen Middleton coughed up the football at the NDSU 26. It was SIU's first lost fumble of the season, and a promising drive ended with no points.

Curry completed 15 of 27 passes for 152 yards and an interception on the day, but it was a run that particularly stood out in the second quarter when he evaded the pass rush, escaped upfield and sunk his shoulder into defensive back Loshiaka Roques for a 10 -yard gain.

“I was proud of Jake,” Hill said. “To be in the starting line-up for the first time against this defense at the age of 18 – a difficult task. I thought the Saluki fans saw the kind of grit and competitiveness he has. He'll just keep getting better. I think the guys really got behind him because they saw that in his work all week.

Late in the second quarter, Curry actually scored points, completing an 18-yard pass to Middleton and a 24-yard strike to Middleton Vinson Davis III. This set up a 50-yard field goal Paul Geelen That made it 7:3.

The only loss for the Bison (6-1, 3-0) this year came in Week 1 at Colorado, 31-26, in a game that came down to the final possession. They mostly moved the ball at will against their opponents and averaged 43 points against FCS teams coming into today's game.

SIU's defense allowed just 3.9 yards per carry against NDSU's vaunted rushing attack and defensive end Louis Wilbert pushed CharMar Brown to a 4-1 loss at the SIU 39 on the first drive of the third quarter.

“The drives we gave up, they had to earn every yard,” Hill said. “We put them in some tough situations, we got them off the field.”

The offense left several points on the field – including a missed 41-yard field goal in the fourth quarter that could have cut the deficit to 11.

“We weren’t able to capitalize and get a few touchdowns on the board,” Hill said.

The Salukis have next Saturday off before a road game at Indiana State in two weeks.

“We really need a bye week,” Hill said. “The (guys) who don't practice during the week (due to injuries) need some time off. “The teams we played against don't make it easy to change quarterbacks. We need to regroup and the guys need to get healthy for a run.”