NCAAF 2020 Week 09 Southeast Missouri State vs Southern Illinois

state on the best run in program history over the past two years back-to-back playoff appearances 2019 ovc champs in hungary for another wheel in 2020. the salukis knocked in the playoff door last year and they will try to cement their place in the fcs playoffs this year the 88th war for the wheel is next we welcome you to carbondale illinois the home of the 1983 fcs national champions and tonight the home of the only college football game in this region in 2020 if you're gonna play one make it this one the war for the wheel with two top 25 teams at semo and siu so great to be back with you i'm connor onion connor james in a moment not sure if we would be here tonight canceled once moved back another time but here we are 88th edition of this rivalry and some high stakes as well these two teams have been on the cusp of the playoffs for semo they've made it two straight years siu knocked in the door last year it was one of the last teams out they're both in the top 25 both have teams in their conferences ahead of them in the rankings austin peay in the ovc is number 13 and siu has three conference rivals in the top five four in the top ten so tonight's game has crucial implications for the playoff picture with the selection in april connor james is with us tonight the former captain and linebacker for siu he's played in this rivalry game what's it like conor especially with these added implications tonight he's not gonna say much when he does it for me this rivalry really embodies this region there's a sense of toughness there's a chip on the shoulder a little bit of an underdog mentality for both programs entering the contest you look at semo the red hawks they've got a new quarterback at the helm leading the way andrew bunch he comes from nebraska and then the breakout freshman from a year ago for the saluki offense javon williams will be leading the running back a tandem of running backs for the salukis tonight we talked about the offensive guys the last two years in this game the first one to 40 has taken home the wheel that's been the red hawks saluki's trying to win it for the first time next in a top 25 friday night matchup [Music] 25 semo number 24 siu in the only game for these two teams in the fall connor onion connor james adam king of channel 12 is down in the field tonight hey adam hey connor you know you kind of said it perfectly there we've almost made it we've got like five minutes left and then we can say we get to see semo and saluki football here it's been a wild ride over the last few months a lot of the time these players didn't know if they would even get this chance well here we are we're going to see the war for the wheel later in this game i want to talk about that wheel because coach tuk showed us yesterday he broke the wheel in year one so the winner of this one they get kind of a minimized war for the wheel they got to glue that back together we'll uh we'll talk a lot more about this game so much excitement from down here he pulled it out of his desk he knew exactly where that thing was that he broke off after sema won here in 2018. connor we finally made it it's exciting exciting for uh both this entire region and saluki nation and semo nation across the country standing by for kickoff and here we go both teams have longed to hear it college football in 2020 and it's a short kick to zach smith he takes it at the 10. and he shakes a couple of tackles and a good return for 20 yards up to the 30. so andrew bunch the new quarterback the transfer from nebraska will start his first drive with good field position played in scott frost's nebraska system talented quarterback room he transferred three months ago and now he's leading the ship for the red hawks got a good foundation around him three starters return on the offensive line both running backs are back and it starts with zion custis and he's wrapped up defense ready for that maybe one in the play brought down by 58 penetration there by chucky sullivan coming across right down the line making the play there this is a saluki defense strong in the front seven they had three move on there's a late flag down in the play on the saluki sideline [Music] attached up that was aaron alston the wide receiver mikel calhoun outside linebacker getting tangled up and one play in we've got our first flag well so we can make it a few more without without another flag let's get this thing rolling here but back to andrew bunch the transfer one of the things you win i think when you when you have an fbf transfer coming in we'll get to it after this play here to throw for the first time he's got three out on that side and a little tall for zach smith and out of bounds and you have an fbs transfer coming in you're going to get a guy that's experienced you're probably going to get a guy that didn't win the job at his former you know place and so i think what comes with that is humility and humility is something you want in your program it's something that uh there's there's got to be a toughness there with the guys that coach took his brought in here to semo and i also think the the challenge or the potential downside is that continuity so bunch has been here through a pandemic for three months and here he is out here on a big third down to start the game to try to lead his offense and keep moving the chains so bunch on his first series straight drop collapsing pocket and down he goes samuki's getting home in the backfield blake pars it's blake we talked to coach petrino defensive coordinator a week a show ago he said blake partz is one of the most improved defensive lineman on this front just bowl rushes right there great hands fantastic job there by blake parsic getting a sack on a third and long getting defense off the field he was a captain last year suspended violation of team rules came back late in the year and that's given him new life gets an extra year and maybe two this is a short punt and the salukis will have great field position close to midfield on a bit of a shank there by adam krause the semo punter you talk about this game connor and you think about it the feel of is this a win or go home game does it feel like what what's the psyche of these play callers and uh offensive coordinators come out they've got their script of 15 to 20 plays that they work through who's going to be the first coordinator to get off script and call the shot down the field and get aggressive and maybe maybe try to fake a special teams play or something like that saluki's quarterback is corey lyles and they'll let him air it out and there's your shot looking for cox down there and that ball's intercepted shabari davis takes it out of the hands of cox and he returns it past the 30. there's your answer there's the shot there's the quick change for semo aggressive right away and corey under throws this a little bit we see on the replay it is man-to-man coverage with cox he's the speedster that you want corey lau sees it launches and good play there usually it's the the dbs or the uh the wide receivers you talked about somebody davis kind of went over the he sure did shoulders and there see it from this angle as well ranging back over his shoulder making that play but that ball's got to be that ball's got to be towards the sideline with a little bit more air under it there to come just to save you money so shabari davis last year got a ton of experience when al young got hurt davis was part of a secondary last year conor that was great at making plays just like that they led the ovc in interceptions and on their first play they've got another one i think he's got to be the guy this year for them and he's proven it right out of the right of the shoot here he is proving that he needs to be the playmaker for that secondary and making a big time play for his team especially when didn't start out well on offense simo didn't and they're back on the field with another opportunity two years ago here it was a 48-44 semo win and neither defense could really get a stop but the defenses have been strong to start this one and custis has a little bit of a hole up the middle he gets five it'll be second and five tackle made by clayton bush let's see custis here make a make a cut on agnew and and sullivan picking up some yards after contacting semo has two good backs they had a third back mark robinson transferred during the summer he was a three-headed monster the the last couple years after marquez terry graduated in 2018. [Applause] custis staying in there he gets it again makes a move past maddox and has a first down for the first first down for either team custis moves the change with seven and i think that's gonna be both of these these programs you look at this look at that crease there i mean that's what you want right there up front semo off into the line lost uh i think two two seniors and an nfl draft pick a year ago and starting off well there elijah zuelo was an all-american at left guard last year two years ago is drew forbes on that offensive line and another stacked up backfield with chucky sullivan leading the charge again for siu you're seeing saluki defensive line if they're they're taking creases and so you're going to see they're penetrating gas they're taking creases here early on fragmenting that line of scrimmage you see that they're bringing some pressure from the second level as well now this is not the same siu defense that you saw on the opener against semo last year and certainly not the siu defense of 2018 when simo saw him first carry for geno hess a little stretch on the outside and he's got a couple and another third down coming up for the red hawks another third and long here we'll see what this saluki defense dials up pretty complex in their their pressure structures so they'll bring a lot of different uh they'll bring four from a base look they'll go sneak we saw last year bring the safety jeremy chin who's in the nfl having an awesome start to his nfl career we'll see here if salukis bring pressure or just bring four big part of the saluki defensive turn around last year was their third down defense bunch to the sidelines short in the salukis back-to-back times on defense will get off the field just just bring four there and bunch under throws that really didn't give his receiver a chance to can to move the chains there and saluki secondary was driving pretty hard on that ball anyway so saluki defense has done their job you look at them with the second year under their coordinator and you saw it towards the end of last year really they started to really just get better kept getting better playing both of these programs were playing incredible football i would have said top ten type tier programs near the end of the year last year cox lets that skip inside the five and that is a perfect punt good bounce back from kraus after a short one and that one at the one so the salukis will have to go 99 yards for their first score it was all offense the last two years defenses off to a strong start in the wheel game [Music] director dennis galloway as we went to break the salukis will start it at their one yard line on their second drive in a nothing nothing game adam king what do you got for us well i was going to say we finally had the chance to see andrew bunch in a semo uniform and play a couple series now i talked to bunch yesterday it's been an odd time for him transitioning from schools in the middle of this pandemic so how do you kind of mesh with your receivers in your offensive line when you can't see them in person well they play call of duty that's how they become a unit you can see struggling a little early here but you know you hope that that call of duty starts to pay off later in the game for bunch and the redhawks do you like college football players playing call of duty saw an all-time uptick during quarantine no absolutely absolutely so look he's gashed it inside for a couple on first and ten from their own one so after a first play pick siu's offense in another difficult spot here they're going up tempo backed up but on the ball very quickly here romer elliott was the third back last year and he becomes more the featured back this season and he gets it close to a first down it'll be third down and manageable about three we talked with coach hill this week it really feels like they have three backs that can be breakout backs for them this year obviously javon williams was last year we haven't seen him carry the football yet he's kind of his own package corey under center here so heavy dose of romeo elliott and he's tripped up close needed three maybe got about two and a half this is not the ball it doesn't look like you got it so three straight rushes to throw mere eliot and unable to pick it up we'll see this spot they got a good spot big offensive line saying they got it bring the chains out and measure it well they gave it to him second effort oh wow okay well that's good good for the salukis there to uh you know what's coming right our first review or yes it is yes it is just looking at that initial replay i think it's going to be close with his elbow he was kind of crawling toward that first down mark so he needed the 11 and the chains have already moved and for now it looks like the salukis will have a little breathing room but could be fourth in inches see what they come back with on the got another look here [Music] see where that oh that elbow it's just tough with the angles you know and they did go ahead and give them the first down so we will see what they decide [Music] replay coming from up in the booth tonight it's tom hawes the replay official and brad carrell on the comms talking upstairs right now yep college football fans know it well by now have to have inconclusive clear and convincing evidence and that'll be tough with a lot of bodies in there and you can't really see the you can't really see the sticks from that angle from the sideline you can this semo defense is really led by the anchor in the middle there and and uh he he is he's a fifth year senior he has really just been a guy an anchor you want to talk about an anchor in the middle of that defense the terry and richardson he's just a guy that they believe in they build the defense around him this this defense is really a bear front so i mean it's uh it's a defense where they don't want you to they're going to clog up the middle what do you got there they're going to clog up the middle and make sure that you can't rush the ball and so salukis come back after the interception and run it three straight times trying to get 10 yards and now we're under review here seeing if they did it's going to be tough with this review and that angle and we'll see bryce saya is the defensive coordinator he used to be a defensive coach here at southern and his final year here was your first year here yeah intensity intensity out of touch and saya and coach tuke actually recruited me to siu and it's just been really neat to follow them from afar and see the impact that they've had on a program i really i was speaking on it earlier i do think that these two programs i mean cmo quietly i think quietly i say quietly because i don't i think that they are i just think that people don't understand how good of a team they've been i mean just the the intensity that they play with and what they've been able to do to accomplish uh with the region they just kept getting better and better and it looks like we're getting a call here but [Music] after review [Music] yep so not enough there probably had one or two good angles to look at and neither convincing enough so the salukis move the sticks for the first time well it took us a couple minutes but uh we've got the right call and that's what we need so a first down here salukis were backed up and corey lies under center romer elliott back out but we'll see if this offense gets a little bit more unique in play design we talked earlier about offensive script coming into the game when you're backed up you go off script so they just went three straight run plays there we'll see now with the little breathing room a little motion probably back on script here a couple of tight ends in there and a lot of motion heading to that left side as avonte cox gets his first touch and he's wrapped up near the line she might have gotten a yard there's the all-conference defensive back by darius knighton and this is this is a heck of a play by by darius knight watch this he thinks cox is going to come inside see him tracking here and then he says inside out to the football and goes and makes a tackle knighton is the top returning tackler for this simo secondary that is athletic they are old and that is one of their best units and you see why there there's lawrence johnson coming up and jarring it free from jacob garrett the tight end this is just a three-step drop here trying to get the ball out quickly trying to get to a third medium unable to convert to another third and long backed up here looks like jaron rollins coming into the game for the salukis kovid nothing more disappointing for a player jaron rollins he's going to graduate in december so this is his game number four out at wideout he's at the bottom of the bunch and lyles will throw it on third down as his first completion and that'll move the chains second first down to this drive and landon lenoir with catch 99 of his career big landmark game for him tonight here comes the replay here you throw this it really throws this into a tight window there's a couple defenders there and it's a nice throw and catch for the first down there and you can see those semo redhawks pulling at that football no surprise there they want to force turnovers one of the interesting battles tonight is the turnover numbers as you mentioned salukis late in the season very good securing the ball zemo's very good at taking it away and that's going back to my experience with coach tsai and coach tuke i mean it's part of their culture it's part of who they are they teach it and everybody believes in it and here we've got a little uh little romerelli taking the direct snap there so much there brandon minsey who's one of two linebackers in the middle mike matthews also in the stop those two have a huge role on the semo defense zach former buchanan award winner for the best defensive player in the fcs now gone look you've got 900 pounds for your listeners and viewers viewers at home there's 900 pounds of just man in the middle of this semo defense and these linebackers get to run free and pursue the football that's that's what they're there for the third and long for lyles and he's flushed and a throw way short of the sticks as lenore is up and it'll be punt time for the salukis so good stand after a couple of first downs for the cmo d yeah really just swarming football there by the red hawk defense and and really did a good job on first down i think that's really what it comes down to um know how important running the football is we also know that this semo defense they want to stop the run you see a little motion here on special teams doing little wrinkles here and there that maybe the redhawks haven't seen looks like a flag down already you've got a helmet off you got a couple of flags down you've got a booming punt it'll be downed inside the 20. there was a lot going on there justin strong who's playing running back this year for siu loses helmets he was in there blocking for cahoon but the flag comes down near where shabari davis was getting set to return that ball and any idea what this could be it was almost that the flag was thrown before the returner even did anything so i have no idea honestly something in relation to the return man potentially maybe they had 12 on i mean it looked as though they threw the flag even before or during the punt so and the sema redhawks getting set to send the offense back on the field [Music] all right so penalty declined and semo will have it inside their own 20 scoreless game midway first quarter about 300 or so friends and family and those close to the players or coaches are allowed in here tonight initially it was going to be a limited capacity crowd with some season ticket holders allowed but that was recently mixed semo's embarking on their third offensive drive and they keep it on the ground with custis and once again he's bottled up let's go down to adam what's going on well you know i think this is something that we kind of expected with this game you know normally this is a game that's high scoring you said earlier in the broadcast first one to 41 the last two years but we have been preparing for kind of a slow start for these teams both of the coaches talked about it earlier in the week nick hill saying that you know without a spring and with a fall that was kind of odd they had to stop and start their practice to see these guys come out here and you know struggle to get it going early is there's nothing to be surprised by fans of this rivalry adam are kind of thinking what is this defense stuff though right you mentioned it the high score in the last couple years 48 44 two years ago here and then semo won with 44 points last year what do you think conor are we seeing good defense or bad offense speaking to matter at a time before these offense start clicking i really do [Music] big third down here bunch keeps it looks like he picked it up asked andrew bunch this week how much will they have you run how many design quarterback runs will they have and he smiled and said i can't tell you that so there's there's your answer it's at least something they're capable of doing yeah i think bunch coming in here like we said he won the job i think winning the quarterback job during a pandemic you know practice is shut down at times you're not with the whole team at times but did a heck of a job winning over his team and winning the job and out here trying to lead his offense down the field now an illinois native geno hess the carrier he was a great player at peoria high school made a deep run down state i'm really interested in seeing you know how these saluki safeties you yeah you lose one of the premier safeties uh all time in saluki history jeremy chin playing playing last night for the carolina panthers and now he's got who's going to fill those shoes raequan lindsey going for a ride he couldn't bring down hess and off he goes he hits the sideline maddox trying to get to him so is jules and he's taken down inside the 5. there's the big play capability of geno hess it only took a little bit of time here for this running game to get get rolling we'll take a look at the replay here look at that pulling around there and just an opportunity there for wake rayquan lindsay and he just misses that tackle and look you pay the consequences if you missed tackles you got to tackle well and hess turns it into a big play red hawks down in the red zone's red zone here first big offensive play of the night goes for 64. geno hess he was seventh in the ovc in rushing last year and he gets it again and he's down to the one geno as a former defensive guy i go back i look at that play pj jules is coming across the field pursuing the football he's the one who who brought hess down here inside the five so you just never know we used to say when when i was on defense make him snap it again make him snap it again whatever you can do that's an effort play to chase down hess there you know and and try to make this red hawk offense snap it again saluki defense that was good on third down they were good in the red zone last year but tested with the ball at the one back to hess moving the pile and he's pushed in our first score comes from geno hess he carried the load and he gets the glory and this is just this is just you know this is the semo offense the initial contact it looks like hess is going to be stopped we'll see it on the replay here watch initial contact looks like saluki defense had him stopped you've got a couple wrapped him up there and then look at that offensive line piling behind and push him so semo getting it done on the ground it was the 64-yard run by hess to set it up and he punches it in from two yards out and there's your offense we were wondering when we were gonna see it and the answer is on semo's third drive tillers point after is geno hess getting the offense rolling for the redhawks they strike first up seven to nothing over the salukis [Music] geno has a little over 15 yards of carry most of them coming on that scoring drive for semo 64-yard run followed by a two-yard run for a touchdown and semo gets the offense started with a 7-0 lead over siu back to receive it inside his own five for siu he's got the speed he's got the talent and he carries a pile across the 25. number 11. wondering if you'd have the blocking his blocking was out on the other side tried to do it on his own there adam king hello hi connor you know this is a big game in the rivalry in its own right and i think we all got really excited when we heard that semo and siu were going to play just to see them play a game this fall but it also matters so much for what's to come in the spring both of these teams will only play conference games come february and this is an siu team that just barely missed the playoffs last year and now they're only taking 16 teams in the spring and they're going to count this game tonight two top 25 teams this game matters a lot for what's to come later in the season yeah adam craig haley who is a contributor and a writer for fcs football it says that this is potentially a playoff elimination game even though they're going to play some games in the spring because if you don't win your conference championship committee's looking at this game right here yeah not many at large when you get to the spring javon williams into the game carried on first down and second down this is such an important piece it was late in the season last year after that semo game he took off well no doubt about it i had a breakout game there when they played umass um and he's the guy he's so dynamic he can do so many things he's a former quarterback and see you're gonna hear him you see him line up here take the direct snap he can do a lot of things here he can run he can pass and he's going to run it for the first down designed run for williams he was one of two guys for siu last year that ran over 1 000 yards that had never been done in school history before only school in the fcs to do it yeah we'll see on the replay here then pick up the first down but a little jet action motion there across he is a back that is not easy to bring down with one defender i can surprise you with the speed too back to the air and that ball was almost brought in by lenore but just a little bit short on the delivery from lions looks looked a little unsettled here on this throw this is just a three step uh this is should be pitch and catch but feet were a little a little unsteady and was unable to to convert there on the first down it was an amazing effort by lenore just to make that close menorah went over 100 catches in his career on the last drive this to the other side with cox and he's shoved out of bounds by 92 yards and you know they've had a lot of one-back sets had a gun trying to maybe just get get lyles into the game here with a couple easy throws after making that early mistake with the interception we'll see what they do here on third and short a little bit of a cloudy picture with some pressure and siu runs right into it and why wouldn't you when you got that guy williams pulls his way for a first down you mentioned the two 1 000 yard rushers from a season ago for saluki offense the other being dj davis graduates on and javon returns javon williams but again coach coach hill talked about he's got a group of really three backs one is one that we haven't seen yet tonight we saw romeo led we've seen romer elliott we've seen javon williams justin strong moves from the defensive side of the ball from safety to running back we'll see him later tonight williams with another carry and by it was deterion richardson that dragged him down from behind the advantage you would think for siu would be on the edges tonight because semo is is heavy up front they play four backers and they can make things hard up the middle well they they're begging they're they're telling you hey if you want to run it in the a or b gaps good luck i mean by alignment at the snap of the ball that's essentially what they're they're taking away a little quick toss out to cox and he plunges ahead for a first down yeah a little run pass option right here by lyles and this is a good read we'll see on the replay he has the option to hand this off but he's reading that edge defender right there cox just runs a quick little sticker out and sticks right there and completion and picks up the first down so first drive we've seen javon williams heavily featured for siu featured it all he didn't get a touch and the first couple of drives for siu and we will flip fields salukis driving but semo in front thanks to geno hess after one quarter [Music] hey tonight's game sponsor is bantera banks show your saluki pride by getting your bantera saluki visa debit card today with saluki checking at bantera bank there's tonight's game sponsor so stop by bantera to learn more bantera bank member fdic pantera of course has the naming rights as of about a year and a half ago salukis right before the first quarter ended have gone to javon williams and they found some success in the ground they've been able to move the ball put themselves in manageable third down situation here we're gonna i think we're gonna see justin strong for the first time on saluki offense with no yeah it looks like just justin strong in that running back so they bring williams out this will be strong's first carry a running back [Applause] yep they go to him out of the backfield justin strong with his first touch on offense and it's a big one the former safety turned running back down inside the tent we'll watch this he sneaks out of the backfield here just a little wheel route takes the hand off look at him there he is wide open corey lyles easy to hit that that one there and as we mentioned justin strong moving over from the defensive side of the football to offense in the off-season semo throwing a heavy box at him all sorts of white jerseys [Music] you lose jacob martin from a year ago and uh but he's got two guards that have played a lot of football i mean a lot of football next to him coach hill mentioned the other day it helps having them and it looks like the salukis are going to go their heavy package here yep as heavy as it gets jacob garrett is the lead blocker for javon williams sticking it up in there and he runs into a wall at the 5. javon williams defense for semo brandon minsey was there to lead the charge at the will linebacker spot a lot of it's just by just by alignment too and just the style of play there's five bodies on the line of scrimmage at the snap of the ball every time and then their backers are really good and they're downhill backers they're physical i mentioned i mean just there's a massive humanity of white jerseys inside the b gaps they are there to clog everything up on the inside of that and make it hard to run i think we'll see the saluki offense try to threaten the alleys at some point we'll see what they do here on third down semo calls it a three-man front but really a five-man front and there's a flag at the end of that play as landon lenoir was streaking across the middle jaron rollins was as well so really both of them in the in the area it looks like the flag [Music] [Applause] defensive staff up here next to us saying that ball is uncatchable we might have an argument there there were two salukis in the area the penalty will move the ball to the right bari davis gets called for pass interference [Music] cole stewart out of salem into the game jacob garrett in it running back and javon williams will take the snap the nor the decoy williams to the edge stiff arm nope williams and brian [Music] he's just he's a good he's a great player i mean he really is you can see him there tackles well um has a great get off he's smart he just brings a level of experience to the outside of the edge of this defense watch us gets off a block and then fights off the stiff arm that we've we've seen javon williams throw that stiff arm and be successful with it and fights that off there and makes a good play for the semo defense purdell a guy that's won everywhere two-time state champion in high school played at utah won a pac-12 division championship as lyles is on the roll and that's broken up more good defensive back work that was lawrence johnson saluki offense tries to move the pocket a little bit here and we'll see it on the replay this is well covered by johnson i mean he he closes you see him close that out fast another returning starter back there for semo's defense they were really anchored by this defense on the way to an ovc championship last year the offense was down about 10 points per game from the year prior it won a lot of games with this defense slant route is broken up and these db's are everywhere and some redemption for shabari davis after the pass interference call well this this was there team the redhawks bring pressure and this one is there just a little thrown in front of him there looked like lenore could have come up with that on the field to attempt a 23-yard field goal [Music] local product from johnston city nico galdoni handling all the place kicking duties this year so justin strong with his first touches of saluki to get it inside the 10. but the salukis don't finish the drive it ends in a field goal [Music] justin strong set up a field goal for the salukis their first score of the night semo leads it on the geno hess touchdown after a 64-yard run he punched it in from two yards out [Music] only game for these two teams in the fall sebo back-to-back playoff appearances trying to get there for a third consecutive year for the first time in school history siu trying to get back for the first time since 2009 after a near miss last year and this a big game for the committee with selection coming up in april and a fair catch will bring it out to the 25 for andrew bunch in the semo offense adam what do you got on justin strong after that big catch well you know we talked to nick hill earlier in the week about maybe the one player that'll stick out from this game and moving forward into the spring that we don't know yet but we will know later and justin strong was the guy he talked about transitioning from safety and he said that that transition wasn't always easy when it comes to the middle of a pandemic but he worked hard to be ready to play you saw that wheel route there the big play that set them up for the field goal so it seems like nick hill can expect a little bit more coming tonight from justin strong justin strong this how about this nick hill said that if you put him in a combine with jeremy chin who's playing for the panthers second round pick they'd have similar combine here comes andrew bunch he told us that he couldn't tell us if he could run it on the ground well the answer is a resounding yes a long run down inside the 35-yard line for the transfer from nebraska this is this is the same concept that the hess run was off of but they run with the quarterback just pulling the two the guard and in the center around there uncovered as you said call it hold him around and they were out to shoot offensive line to the second level there that's great play design 42-yard run for bunch coming right back to it spent three years at nebraska he's handing it off there the ball came out at the end of that play like semo got on top of it but there's a scrum down there and pj jules the near side corner was in on the tackle and may have forced that ball out look for these these offensive linemen it's the exact same play to them they don't care who's carrying the ball they're just looking to move people and they come around and we'll see if this this football does come out i do think it was recovered by semo he's he's fighting for extra yards he's rolling off and it does look like that ball came out he just he recovered custis just lost it on his own bryson strong right on top of him bunch on the roll and he's on target to aaron alston and they're two yards short it'll be third and two [Music] really feels a little bit like bunch they gave him the designed run two possessions ago and ever since then it feels like it's it's complemented both areas of his game design run um him and then here he can he uh puts that one on the money third down here though see the saluki defense that they bring fresher seems like kind of that idea of once you get that first hit in it wakes you up a bit for bunch and digging into the bag of tricks here with alston and he gets them enough four yards for the first down to their top returning wide receiver aaron alston and this is what this or semo offense i really think watch this if you're a defender look at all these these bodies moving i mean different directions if i'm a linebacker if i'm a safety here you've got to be extremely disciplined with your eyes right there and this is where i really do feel the redhawk offense underneath coach tuke over the past few years has has really taken that next step and they're off into play calling and by emotions and movement and getting a little bit more dynamic than just to run it down your throat type team and then that play was all messed up well there they went empty with bunch and it was going to be looked like another quarterback designed run but uh didn't look like they were on the snap counter it's all conference left tackle jichai baker you're right though speaking of the play calling remember two years ago that shootout game here that semo won it was a throwback play to the tight end austin crump that won that game with a little bit of trickeration with 25 seconds left and coach has had a few different offensive coordinators but they've been able to they've had some some quality wide receivers over the years and backs and i do just think that making it by scheme look at karzage again he has been in the backfield multiple times tonight and we'll say it again coach petrino the defensive coordinator said the most improved player since last year [Applause] better and better with his hands that was the area [Music] one of the leaders that we've had a chance to spend a lot of time with personally he's got a great heart guys really look to him even though he was you know he made a mistake that he owned up to and came back and really excited to see what he does with his fifth year [Music] custis turning the legs getting back close to the initial line of scrimmage but it will be third and long if you're jeremy mcdowell the cmo offensive coordinator now what it'll be third and 12. [Music] i think you've got to test the middle of the field you know you really haven't you really haven't you've tested these safeties in the run game it's third and long you're down in near the red zone area you've got enough space to to threaten across the middle of the field with with your tight end crump you mentioned so we'll see what they do here [Music] salukis going with the three down front a couple of backers up on the line of scrimmage standing up bunch going to the air he's got alston down there and it's broken up and intercepted aaron medics off of the tip from pj jules tapped the feet and kept it in bounds and this was an excellent recovery by dj jules he leaves his feet a little early i mean he loses the man when the ball's in the air we'll see it here on replay but bj drew with some range able to elevate and knock this ball back towards his safety maddox with his first interception as a saluki transferring over from colorado joining his brother here salukis making it play on defense trying to add some life to the sideline so the big question was how do you replace the two safeties quay brown transferred after being the top tackler one of the top tacklers in the fcs last year jeremy chin of course goes to the nfl he's rookie of the month in october no big deal how do you replace that you bring in two transfers and just high caliber players to transfer down from the fbs level to come here to siu so quick change for the saluki offense and cox has been the man for lyle's underneath so far he's close to another first down little play-action look there able to get the ball out quickly on time and pick up an excellent second one nine yards there on first down this is the situation you want to be in another fbs transfer avante cox spent his freshman year at wyoming his quarterback was a guy by the name of josh allen now the grow back in the buffalo bills and the chains move with romer elliott avonte out of uh perennial power rochester his brother deonte actually joined the salukis transferred in fortunately suffered a knee injury at the beginning of camp and was unable to would have been out there this year but unable to join just one more weapon that siu he's got some blockers out in front cox has great speed and he uses it to get inside semo territory down to the 40-yard line trickeration here out of coach hill coach blake dialing up a little bit of reverse get him going one way with romere and quick pitch there to cox executed garrett out in front there big play for this lucky offense kill the saluki head coach said avonte cox could be one of the best receivers in the country this year and showing why early going to him again and just out of his reaches and there is a flag down on the sideline [Music] seem very late so so good cox was blowing kisses number 25. wow hodges not gonna like that [Applause] you look at lyles as a quarterback and a guy that we'll see the replay here definitely some contact definitely some contact i think it was earlier actually it was around where they threw the flag it looked like a little bit but there was some contact there it had to have been earlier than that because that was nothing right right that we saw late on that route you look at uh lyles twice now who do you think his down the field target is twice he's trying to take a shot down the field to avonte cox late last year it was lenore but he's definitely favored cox deep down the field tonight and cox this time on the sweep is bottled up omar douglas in there [Music] you can see this saluki offense really this this series has really threatened the perimeter with the reverse little outside zone action possession tell you the semo staff was very concerned about tackling as most coaches are this time of year they've been good in that area tonight and really good in the defensive backfield as well that one broken up intended for landon lenoir by kareem golden i'm just impressed with this red hawk coverage i mean they're they're dbs tight coverage everywhere you look tight coverage i mean there's only been a through a few completions where there hasn't been a white jersey right there galden is a transfer from stony brook he was on stony brook in 2018 when semo beat stoney brook for their first ever playoff win so liked what he saw he must have it collapsing pocket for lyles and too tall for cox there's pressure in his face and a decision for coach hill in the salukis this is about the area where he said that they would start thinking about a field goal with nico galdoni be 46 yards from here looks like they're gonna bring him out field position important short field to look at for jack cahoon there's not any wind tonight about 55 degrees at kick and a beautiful punt by cahoon and he's got guys down there and inside the five that's excellent execution right there the former aussie football player getting it done the all newcomer jack cahoon a year ago in the valley backs up semo they'll have to go 96 but they're up by four stadium and adam king's on our sidelines yeah you know you were talking about jeremy chen on that last drive after the interception a big big player to try to replace for the salukis and the opportunity leading up to the draft to have many conversations with chin about where he would be picked if he could sneak into that first round and there was some talk that he might be a little underrated but we've seen him in the pros now for almost half an nfl season he's the defensive player of the month you saw last night running fake punts he's clearly proving that a saluki can be very successful in the nfl salukis got a little shout out graphically on the thursday night football game after that 28 yard fake punt for jeremy chin little sidebar did you catch that yeah i did i think uh look coaches are going to reward guys that get it done and and the recent second recent draft picks here drew forbes offensive lineman and jeremy chin last year's draft but jeremy chin rewarded there with the fake punt really i mean i think it was a guy that was had put in the work and presented that opportunity bunch here with another run some big bodies on the current semo offensive line drew forbes was a guy that was picked in the sixth round a couple years ago out of southeast missouri state and had he not opted out he was in line to start for what turned out to be a pretty good cleveland browns team yes i said it good cleveland brown hurts a little bit zach smith the motion man as geno hess grinds out a couple more yards 100 already thanks to that one drive he had a 64-yard run and then the two-yard touchdown yeah saluki defense early in the early in possession here bringing a little extra bringing it bringing five they're trying to find some negative plays this red hawk offense has some things rolling right now in the run game especially off the right side and really the saluki defense is searching to slow down that running game go heavy again austin crump a little bit of a counter play and hess with six more for a first down connor get this this i think this will blow your mind a little bit geno has peoria high school opening game of his senior year check out the stat line 61 carries well that's impressive that's that's enough to blow your mind but he had 574 yards and eight touchdowns who was he playing that's the thing it was a seven point game okay they needed every one of those eight times about a shootout they won 70-63 that night where did the defensive line line up now look at night and close right there and bunch still completes this great strike to johnny king an immediate impact junior college transfer that jeremy mcdowell and this offensive staff are very high on it wide receiver you're going to see number 11 flash across the stream make contact with bunch delivers this thing low and away make ensuring that no saluki defender can catch it [Music] king's a guy that spent a couple of years in junior college at northeast oklahoma a m and he plays a part in replacing christian wilkerson who's now with the patriots he was an all-american wide receiver last year for the red hawks [Music] under this block it doesn't look like the ball was out [Music] you go back to wilkerson you want to talk about a guy that had an incredible career but tried to keep his team in it last year in their playoff run against illinois state with a tremendous catch too much james robinson in that game he's now at the jaguars redbirds running back 297 yards in that game and the defensive back goes he's got he's got some range he's got some link to him here and you see it close out good position don't throw your hands up there pj don't don't give him any reason and he's excited he's playing with it that's what you want to see you want to see these guys out here having fun they've gone through just these coaches and these teams have gone through a couple of months of fear and doubt and what do we covet and all of this you want to see them out here having fun that's what they came here to do it's exciting to see that he was so good on special teams last year pocket collapses bunch stays on his feet he's nearing the first down needs the 48 and jules was the one who got to him and bunches a yard short [Applause] this is just pursuit here by no tree to to make sure he doesn't get the first down but it looks like semo's going to get on the ball here quickly you can see him signaling over from the sideline they're trying to get him to hurry to the line here aggressive on fourth down last year and inside two minutes to go in the half they have all three timeouts and they'll take one of them here to think about it so we'll step aside final 90 seconds of the first half coming semo trying to take a two score lead a big fourth and one coming up well pretty much every coach in this game is somehow tied to jerry kill the former siu head coach from 01 to 2007 and coach kill has got to be watching this score and loving it all defense so far coach kill a mentor and a guy who personally to me has given me a lot of opportunity as a player here at siu and in many other ways yes you were right there there's a coaching tree involved here that involves him at the top of it i think the thing that we've seen here tonight is you factor in you really don't have a fall camp you really don't get to finish spring ball summer was odd but ultimately it hasn't been it's been a pretty clean game tackling has been pretty well you've seen both offensive lines have had some success moving the football and so from a technique standpoint really hats off to both of these coaches and these staffs and these players so far here tonight and playing a quality football game not too many penalties the officials are letting them play down the field in the passing game as well tom matukowitz was a coach when nick hill was the quarterback at siu and the saluki offense has a chance to go down the field and get a scoreboard before halftime with three timeouts somewhat of a conservative call with a little over a minute to go ron williams gets sick over the course of watching coach hill in his careers really in two-minute drill start to ease into the drive right and in a play like that where we'll see maybe a conservative pass play here another run play so they want to see can we get that first down and then and then we'll talk about you know we'll start to talk on the headset what do we need to do next it looks like it's going to be third and short here now the salukis will take that first timeout so you do think it was a kind of a wait and see first set of downs and then if you get it maybe you start to take some shots yeah i think that's you're you're you're backed up a little bit the last thing you want to do you're you're in a close game here you you're satisfied going in half seven to three not satisfied but i think easing into the drive has been more of his mentality with a little bit more of a conservative approach and seeing if your premier running back to vaughn williams can't break it's a tackle second level and turn a what was it a six yard gain into a 15 20 yard gain and and really let the let the possession and the two-minute drill develop a little bit were you surprised matukowitz and simo pundit on 4th and 1. given the time left in the half i i do think it was an interesting call but that's that falls in line a little bit with what they've been known to do is we're going to put our defense on the field we trust him we believe in him we'll see what slookies do on third down back to the ground three straight runs for williams and they do get that first down so two timeouts left the chains will move and the clock will stop until they're set and 42 seconds to maybe try to get into field goal range is that what you're thinking here we'll see see what they do here on first down it will let lyles throw it but he tucks it and doesn't slide he went into three semo defenders and gets seven [Music] and the second time out taken by siu that was a brave run by the saluki quarterback he puts his head down here lyles does and he wants the extra yards watch this collision stays on his feet power in the legs there no way to stay on your feet without it lyles feels like he'll be a little bit more mobile this year he dropped down to the exact pound 13 pounds from 220 to 207 to start the year yeah coach hill talked about just his work off the field his his kind of his his mentality and and he's in the film room he can't get him out of the film room he can't get him out of the way room he can't get out of the training room so he is somebody that works a ton and i think you're seeing that in his physique and his physical ability transfer from wisconsin he said that he used to watch film with phil collins playlist on and he wouldn't stop until the end of the playlist when i can feel it coming in the air tonight comes on that's when he knew it was time to come home he's a film junkie and he throws a strike but it's drops landon came free across the middle it'll be third and short for the salukis with 22 to go until the half trailing by four twice now that lenora's had a ball delivered within catching range and not come down with it but a senior receiver has been known to to come back strong and make plays lyle's got a low snap and it's batted down and here's two minute drill here you're seeing a loss of uh jacob martin senior from a year ago two two low to low snaps on this possession really impact timing impact plays and those are just those little things that you're trying to get points on the board here towards the end of the half those are things that uh that that's kill drives marjorie douglas was the one that batted that thing down had a little mutumbo on the play and this back seven for semo has been great in the first half looks like they're heading into the locker room only giving up three points shibari davis a bunch of dancing and almost ran the width of the field sideways but didn't get a yard on the return jack cahoon with more good punt work so seven seconds left and you got to think that andrew bunch and the semo offense will take a knee or hand it off here [Music] you know i mean you just never know you never know seven seconds you think you just take a knee and you run into the locker room [Music] but you never know [Music] they've gotten it done on the ground in this half geno hess is three yards away from 100 they've only thrown it seven times and it will be a handoff two hess and he can get to a hundred before halftime just to make it a nice round 100 he gets three yards and that brings us to the break defense is king in the wheel game how about this and hess was fired up getting off that pile after a big first half but seven to three sema going to the break defense ruling here a little bit of passion there going into the locker room all right adam kings down in the sideline he has a preview of what's coming up at halftime yeah you guys got to stay with us here we've got some feature stories coming for you including how we got to this point when back in march and especially back in august it didn't seem we'd get to see the war for the wheel we've got some highlights for you so stay with us through the break 7-3 as we go to halftime here at the war for the wheel [Music] defensive first half here now we're gonna take a look at how we got to the point of just playing the war for the wheel it's the biggest game of the season that almost wasn't my heart just breaks for our student athletes and our coaches a top 25 matchup a rivalry game but a summer filled with questions of if and frustration surrounding when the problem is we start controlling and start trying to do the math and oh we're going to do this and then that's how i start punching holes in balls face shields on temperatures taken the salukis and redhawks doing everything in their power to meet in carbondale our team are dying to play and they're willing to take on the protocols that are going to try and keep us safe but on august 7th it all stopped the mvc moving the conference season to the spring and semo stopping their fall camp right now with saluki football we're we're obviously uh disappointed that we're not playing football it's obviously different that as coaches and players and everybody's uh world or what we're used to has kind of been flipped upside down saluki stadium empty and hauck sitting quiet any shot at a moment like this the war of the wheel baby right here we want it seeming slim but behind the scenes the hope for a war for the wheel was churning the ncaa allowing players to return to practice we need football right now and so if we're going to get everybody together we're going to practice and be around 100 people every day it only makes sense to try and play a game and so just just felt a bit about that i called nick kell about it he agreed cue the tweets all the talk shifts from if or when now to friday night a it's a big game i mean they beat us the past two years and this game means a lot this isn't just coming out and having a fun friendly scrimmage this game means a lot to both programs after all the questions all the waiting the rivalry is back on and the wheel is back up for grabs i'm excited about the rivalry it's a rivalry that i have not been able to be a part of yet and i'm really excited to you know join these guys in that rivalry adam king heartland it's the red hawks on top by four here leading siu coming up later after the break we're going to talk about the salukis [Music] the salukis and speaking of defense let's get to know a saluki linebacker bryce notrey come on hey complete with yourself that's the main thing compete with y'all sales let's go complete omega peel do that right and football is my passion i love to play football and that's one of the things that i do that has it brings a lot of fun a lot of joy so just being out there around people that i love the most is just it brings the best out of me fish box finish bush there you go um i can talk to anybody on the team i feel like um i can go up to to to anybody and just have a normal conversation with them and i think people see me as a very fun outspoken person hey what's going on tired you're tired hey why y'all walking i just keep competing bring up the energy a little bit y'all let's go the energy that he brings is unmatched i mean he's the voice of the linebacker room um good day bad day you're gonna hear bryce you're gonna see him dancing he's definitely the guy that brings the energy and brings the juice for the linebackers and probably most of the defense so going up to somebody that doesn't talk as much or who who stands in the back in the crowd like those that's my you know that's my emphasis those are people that i want to open up to and uh once they open up to me that gives me the trust it gives them the trust that they need to perform and that way i know that they have my back and i have theirs if a person is feeling down like out of practice or anything like that i'll come up to them one-on-one ask them what's wrong see what's up with them see how their day's going but it's past just doing that like after practice i'll text them or call them and see what's up with them um i'll let them know that i'm there for them whether it's whether the situation may be good or bad you know like i i might not know at the time but i always just be that person and let them know that i'm gonna be there for them well you got lucky boy phone hey if i want to fail you would have been toast boy i treat everybody on this team as my brother so i wouldn't want my brother to be walking around upset and that's just how i see it hi jack jack so it'll be times when we come for lyft and we don't have anything until practice i wouldn't even go back home i'll just stay at the facility just know because my guys are around and that's like the highlight of my day being able to talk to them actually it keeps me in a good head space whenever i'm around the people that i want to be around the most i took advantage of the time being at home from the pandemic and i really opened my eyes to a lot of different things outside of football as far as like diet how i go about eating at certain times of the day working out all that stuff like that coach pacino stresses consistency and habits and everything like that and i want to be the best i can be on the field and off the field to show and exemplify those habits and working hard every day it's more than just football and it took me to be outside of the game for a little while to understand that so this is the only touchdown that we have to show you after a half of play semo punched it in with geno hess after he set up his own score he had 102 yards in the first half red hawks lead it seven to three second half coming up next [Music] for this emo leads it by four at halftime nick hill and the salukis set to get the ball first in the second half after semo had the only touchdown in the first half short field goal by nico galdoni in the second quarter the only salukis score siu trying to win their first wheel third consecutive year these two teams have played for the ship's wheel semo's won it twice and the second half is underway with cox and strong back to receive it and strong will take it out from one yard deep and he's got some blocking and he's upended at the 30. and that's where the first saluki drive will start of the second half but first adam king you know we talked a lot before this game about how the running backs are of central point for this semo offense and we kind of saw that in the first half the passing game less than 30 yards meanwhile custit's going for over a hundred with this team and now we see if in the second half maybe matukowitz opens it up a little bit because you have to think siu is going to start to open it up on this semo defense with all the gadgets that they have andrew bunch threw to seven passes in a semo debut he was three for seven lyles was seven of 16 and they start in the ground strong run for javon williams he gets six we've just seen both of these defenses really bottle up with the exception of two or three plays hess had the big run there and that was a beyond the x's and o's type play he i mean the salukis had a defender right there but he made the big run and we've seen javon williams you've seen some of these saluki backs be close we'll see here in the second half who's going to be the the back that breaks that second level tackle and turns a 10-yard run into a big gain semo outrushed siu by a hundred yards in the first half and that won't help as mike matthews the mike linebacker got in there to stand up javon williams this is a little read here for javon williams really nowhere to go from you can see right there alert alert alarm was going off right when he decided not to hand that off there was nowhere to go up in front mike matthews fittingly the mike linebacker and [Music] he's got a chance to be one of the great ones after a freshman all-american season last year 6-1 235 runs all over the field really well on third down for the salukis it'll be blown dead there's a flag on the far side and it looks like it's going against the salukis on a false start so that makes third down and eight third down and thirteen salukis were actually pretty good despite only three points in the first half they were good moving it on third down they're five of nine over 50 they're able to able to execute just weren't able to to extend those drives long enough and then had the opportunity see what nick hills got on his menu for third down and 13. lyles has four options and simo brings pressure douglas got home but it's flipped out to williams and he cannot improvise his way to a first down these are just little things here this is a free runner for semo i i mean unblocked off the edge there that comes down to protections and sliding your protection the right way and seeing it you saw lyles poorly in the snap count or in the play clock there moved javon williams up for protection but did not see the defender coming off the edge there high snap for cahoon and semo almost got home on that one and it looks like it was rough this is going to be an automatic first down and he is down and looks injured still got off a pretty good punt it rolls down to the 22-yard line but the concern is all conference punter jack cahoon was so good in his first college football season last year they come after this punt they're trying to block it a little bit of a high snap a little bit tangled up there on his plant leg it looked like it was zach smith starting wide receiver that came in and clipped the leg [Music] and with that contact that makes you think that it'll be roughing not running into roughing would be a first down looks like the official's trying to clarify some things with coach hill we'll get it sorted out here that penalty's decline first down southeast missouri so they end up calling running into instead of roughing you can tell coach hill is not exactly excited about that call take another look here running into the kicker only a five-yard penalty so they would have had to re-punt anyway [Music] the red hawk player trying to to block that punt had no control over his body so the the rule for running into the kicker is just displacing as the ball comes out and cemo's back on top of it but they told that smith simply displaced cahoon from his kicking position that's why it was running into not roughing his uh passing bunch got a little tangled up on a low snap if there's and that has impacted plays and produced negative plays for their offense both are new starters it's shyron rogers starting at center and jonathan thompson jonathan thompson just really well liked a leader on the saluki team strong relationships uh compassionate brings a lot of energy to that locker room the first time we've called his name here tonight that's usually when you're a foreigner that's usually what you want you want to be your name getting called for an interception or a pass breakup but if it's not being called it means you're doing your job out there blanket coverage he's the guy that there is some film on the other corner pj jules who's been targeted he's had a couple of nice plays less of a known commodity and a conservative call on third down will bring out the punting unit and another flag is in at the bottom of that pile and it was the aforementioned pj jules that was at the bottom of it and he's he's signaling to the sideline like it's on them not going to admit to it if it was him right he was right it was jachai baker second time the left tackle has been penalized tonight this is this will back them up it's a dead ball foul so tack it on to the the fourth the third down stop that's a great answer for the siu defense after they had to punt on their opening drive of the second half and they'll get it back presumably with good field position and javon williams their big play machine back to return this kick new punter this year for semo jake reynolds decided he's going to graduate in december and it leaves the punting duties to adam krause and the salukis run into the kicker but it was deflected and williams is shot down at the 45. so both teams on special teams kind of going for the jugular on punt blocks here early in the second half and the salukis nearly got home as well had it had a chance there and made contact obviously because if they wouldn't have it would have been a flag it looked like but javon williams taking a chance there and trying to return that a little bit dangerous but we'll see what we have when we come back after break both teams three and out to start the second half defense standing strong 7-3 semo early second half three and outs for both offenses to begin the second half that semo by four and we send it down to adam king you know home field advantage is always important in any game but especially in a rivalry game you get your fans behind you a different feel tonight just family members for both teams here but i have to say down on the field it sounds like there are so many fans here saluki fans really pumping up their team you have to wonder how that will affect the red hawks down the stretch although they do have a good crowd on their side of the field and adam finally something for the saluki fans to cheer about in the second half avonte cox with a 15-yard catch for a first down that's a deep out route here corey lyles best throw of the night calm in the pocket steps into it liked what he saw and delivers that one on time and on target cox was the favorite target in the first half that was his fifth reception and they keep it on the ground for a pickup of three so we've seen with the saluki offense a running back how did i stay how do i stay loose how do i stay warm i mean romer elliott he started the game with several carries and then haven't seen him and now here he is in the second half second possession getting some carries again just gotta stay ready and make your mark when you get an opportunity it has been a stingy run defense for semo time to throw for lyles and that ball is intercepted lawrence johnson jumps the route and he's got room to run sheds one spins off another and near midfield second pick of the night for the semo secondary and this is eyes all the way all the way look you can see him in the back of the inner the picture there flips his hips turns and makes that play lyles must not have seen him because that's a middle to field close safety that's a guy laurence johnson that is one of several former high school quarterbacks in this simo secondary he was a dual threat quarterback at riverview high school in st louis through 42 touchdowns as a senior so you know he knows how to read eyes absolutely and if you're corey lyle's here just a mistake you can't have you come out you have the best field position you've had you move the chains on first down it's just one of those where you've got to know you've got gotta know that safety's there you see bunch here trying to uh that's that's a tough one there's a tough one bunch had pressure he throws that up looks like it would be pass interference it definitely was interference that was one where the ball being under thrown actually helped wideman the intended receiver i think the reaction i had was because bunch was just getting trying to get rid of that thing defense number 54 15-yard pin on the in an automatic first down it was a very similar play to what won semo the game two years ago here on that throwback to a tight end yeah we'll see the replay here it's it's absolutely its interference you could maybe make a case it would have been hard to catch [Music] because you've been there as a linebacker i'm sure running with your eyes to the ball your eyes away from the ball sure tackling on the outside great play by clayton bush the transfer comes in and making an impact in the run game there a little passionate after he makes the tackle and look this these this red hawk often see the replay here good job tackling this this teemo offense 7.7 yards per carry the first half they came out they had a negative play that's what stalled their last drive [Music] do do things like that on first down that's what has prevented them look at no tree just immediate pressure right there they bring a linebacker pressure and bunches is hurt bryson strong laid the hammer he was in free on the mike linebacker blitz and strong and no tree getting a chance to play together this year it was strong who filled in so admirably last year for bryce notre when he went down in the semo game bryson strong tying that up perfectly if you look right now andrew bunch you can tell his right shoulder he has been uh shaking it a little bit since contacting since he was driven but a big third down here third long it's been a while since bunch has taken a hit his last start was in 2018 at nebraska gives it on third down to hess who spins his way across the 30. he's about three yards short in the first down you can tell hess is feels like as the game's gone on here a little bit he's ran through some tackles and he's made calhoun there with the initial contact but kind of had to spiral around and broke that tackle and really put this red hawk off into a fourth and medium here and it looks like their offense is going to stay on the field [Applause] [Music] the two hits and the semo staff decided not to go for it on fourth and one near midfield and they're going to think about this one some more even though the guys on the field didn't know it bunch in the offensive line were lined up ready to go but semo takes a timeout we'll see if they keep their offense on the field at the plus 30 needing three yards to keep the drive going up by four took a time out to think about it and this time they will keep the offense on the field on fourth and three they've had 337 days since their last game so a lot of time to think about these fourth down calls but a little bit of hesitation on each of them so needed a little extra time all the personnel i think got two tight ends out on the field here fourth of medium you've got a lot of options let's see what the saluki defense does saluki defense has seven in the box with heavy personnel in for semo and bunch fakes it to hess looking for the edge dives forward and it'll be close [Music] and he's right at the marker needed three and may have gotten just enough to get the nose of the football across saluki sideline appeared to make it seem like they made it [Music] just tell by their reaction and bunch bunch really he elevated left his feet to try to go get that first down john elway on that looks like he's got it they're gonna call the sticks out and measure this on what feels like a really big spot simo starting to drive the ball looking for their second touchdown and a chance to go up two scores here that is a long long run for the james moment of truth and it is the nose of the football for a first down for andrew bunch he's been impressive with his legs andrew bunch did have that long 42-yard run so that's part of it but 63 yards on the ground for the quarterback that's the type of play that that you've come to to expect and see out of a red hot quarterback right i mean sport the medium they're going to go quarterback run and our quarterback's gonna lead us to a a tough physical run to get the four yards that we need to move the chains and to keep the drive alive you gotta think people back fans are holding their breath though because daniel santa catarina a physical runner the past couple years using his legs to extend plays got hurt late last year and couldn't play in their playoff game and it made a difference it really did [Music] the bunch and this semo offense of the fresh set of downs and a modest gain with geno hess grinding away for a yard and this semo offensive line that has had problems keeping blake parsec out of the backfield tonight he has six tackles four have gone for negative yardage he's been all over the place in the backfield and right there was stout inside prevented that run from being more than a short game a big question for semo coming in without elijah zuela at that left guard how would a couple of new starters on the offensive line fair so far they've run the ball well now they get it on the end with smith and the salukis snuff out the jet sweep clayton bush at the point of contact there anticipating the handoff and running up and making the tackle you'll see him flash on the left of the screen there that's two sure-handed tackles he's made on this drive he's been keeping contained from that safety spot [Music] so we come to a third down in medium after the redhawks converted on a fourth and three pressure here out of the saluki defense looks like they're bringing it they are bringing it in the play blown dead kind of uh anti-climax there before the three third down at five brought seven down it got the semo front a little flinchy didn't it absolutely did now they're backed up third and long here this does this changes your play call it didn't look like they were going to go for the end zone there on third medium they've got a big play target aaron alston who's pictured there johnny king justin drudek the wide receivers coach says that they're looking forward to throwing him some jump balls let's see what type of coverage lookies will throw at him looks like they're manned up on the outside now third down and 10 for bunch who rolls the pocket pressure comes again no tree couldn't get there and now bunch looking for the end zone and it's intercepted clayton bush with another play what a drive for him and this all started at point of attack pressure right away this this play was over from the beginning of the play bunch we'll see on the replay here this is sprint out to the left but the reason that there's no ball being thrown right now until late is because bunch at the point of attack there was pressure in his face and it forced him to roll back and make an errant throw bush comes up and snatches that thing out of the air flag did come down to the end zone and college football has a new rule this year connor players can now wear the number zero so clayton bush is the first number zero in saluki history and he took to twitter to say it's a no-fly zone that's why he's wearing number zero and he backed it up on that drive you're seeing the zeros are out and about when you turn on a college football game i mean start triple digit numbers maybe maybe next year in order we'll see a heck of a play there by clayton bush two times now your two new safeties for saluki football this season two again we said fbs transfers both intercept passes in the end zone and kill simo drives let's see if that's the jolt the saluki offense needed and not on that play devonta cox taken down to the backfield on the jet sweep this is just an aggressive play right here look at this speed this is speed taking a chance tackle for a loss and if he doesn't make that tackle there was a lot of green grass out in front of cox here one of the several players that ray smith the defensive back coach has brought in from georgia robert hatchett strong safety coming up and making that stick so the salukis behind the chains again on offense and lyles does it himself and he gets back near the initial line of scrimmage maybe a yard you said behind the chains and the negative plays if you look at the drives this half all of them have had negative rushing plays of two yards or more that kills drives absolutely kills drives semo was able to convert on that fourth down but outside of that both of these offensive have had negative rushing plays and that's a credit to the defensive lines of both units as well the salukis need to be on schedule to use javon williams but they do convert on a third down there's the first collegiate catch for branson combs just a nice fitting right into the window there combs saluki offense is back on the ball here quickly trying to go a little bit up branson comes a physical receiver they're really excited about coming out of evansville indiana they're excited about the strength of justin strong and this time a little more traditional carry for him after his big catch in the first half he gets nine and you can see a little bit of the strength there the speed we mentioned earlier in the in the broadcast that coach hill says physically this young man has this the physical ability similar to jeremy chin from a testing standpoint is one of the strongest fastest guys on this saluki roster [Music] it's been a game connor third and short here but it's almost like momentum is just out there waiting for a team to latch on and and keep it and it's like it's almost been hot potato momentum this game there's been a couple big plays and again that's credit to both of these defenses because they have tackled pretty well but they haven't let an offense really just latch onto momentum and keep it so here you go the salukis stay on schedule a third and two and they got it to williams and he's doing what he does best breaking tackles seeking the end zone and he's in javon 40 yards out the first saluki touchdown at 2020. there's some momentum for this saluki offense right here watch this vision on the replay folks at home watch him get to the second level first of all he makes a nice little cut right here and then watch him use his blocker to get into the end zone that's that's vision that's awareness and that's one of the things that impressed really the country last year when they saw javon williams getting to the next level was vision and some of those intangible characteristics that he brings back to this saluki the all-american a year ago seizes that momentum javon williams 40 yard touchdown and siu is waiting for a big play they've got their first lead of the night and that woke up adam king down in the sidelines right oh it definitely woke me up down here you could definitely hear the saluki fans on that one you know we talked to the defensive coordinator for semo earlier in the week and i asked him plain and simple how do you stop guys like javon williams and he kind of threw his hands up in the air he said if you've got ideas let me know that play is a perfect example of why he makes one guy miss and the next thing you know you're looking at a 10 to 7 deficit here in the game that ought to wake you up too adam an onside kick easily recovered by semo and they'll have great field position to try to regain the lead we talked at the open of the broadcast who's going to be the coach that's going to take chances and treat this game like it's a win or go home game because there's only one now obviously it is part of a larger string of games but those aren't for several months and you see coach hill right there taking a chance on special teams trying to get get another turnover and keep that momentum what they've actually done because they weren't able to execute is give semo an opportunity here to get right back in the game and try to take the lead salukis recovered an onside kick last year against illinois state but not there colby cornett went up top to catch it and jonathan thompson met him right away saw andrew bunch and his receivers practicing this exact concept before the game just a simple throwing catch would like to see your receiver there try to break that tackle but thompson closed so quickly make the tackle cornett's a guy that can burn a little bit semo fans know his story by now but 2016-17 walk-on that barely played thought about quitting had a breakout in 2018 and now he's on scholarship zion custis has given most of the carries tonight to geno hess but custis with a good run there for a first down see salukis bring pressure off the edge here but it opens up a little bit of a middle crease and you saw rayquan and lindsey right there just press into that block just enough to make just in this game you can tell he's starting to feel the game a little bit the more the more contact he's felt as the game's worn on the more contact he's avoided or ran through and the more tackles he's broken 20 yards on those two carries and he'll come out of the game geno hess back in these two guys are pretty much interchangeable last year semo offense that ran for 250 yards on siu with four different backs and having a good night over 200 yards in the ground tonight and they keep it that way with hess and he chugs ahead just outside the red zone give him five on first down [Music] see you wonder how the carries would be split what role would be whose with mark robinson deciding to transfer out there's a semo offensive lineman down that's the center rogers but so far custis and hess seem to be embracing the fact that they are the two guys and they're the only two running backs to carry it tonight [Applause] looking at the the injury there sorry he looks in a lot of pain somebody looks like he's rolled under him i think immediate contact there and then yeah it looks like get rolled up those are always tough tyrone rogers the new starter at center who beat out an incumbent to win the job and dane nelson who started nine games at center last year will come in and replace him so plenty of depth on the offensive line for semo and nelson has no problem after paving the way for custis and hess last year stepping into that center spot you go back to the first down play you pick up six yards those are the positive plays that the cimo offense is living off that's how they've been able to advance the ball and keep the run game alive it's really just been this battle of saluki defense going to create a negative play or or is the offense going to pick up four or five yards and just be consistent semo's lead most of the night trying to regain the lead and hess is snuffed out by thompson not just a covered corner jonathan thompson sticking his nose in on the run you can see this second level for the salukis they're closing quick tonight you see initially this looks like oh there's going to be some room there but then you see three red jerseys all three of those red jerseys that showed up to the football that's secondary that's in saluki secondary flying around football [Music] tyrone rogers getting attention ben fox the lead athletic trainer for southeast missouri state another big third down they've converted a couple of times put it in bunches hands and he converts for a touchdown johnny king going over the top for the score you'll see keem this is an excellent adjustment late late in this round he creates a little bit of separation pick it up there that's all right but maddox is covering he's in a pretty good spot king creates a little bit of separation right before that they're able to go up and catch that football so johnny king they loved him for his heights at 6'4 and went up and didn't exactly high point it but did leave his feet to go get it the juco transfer out of northeast oklahoma a m has his first semo touchdown you can see that short field led immediately to a touchdown for the salukis back on the attempted onside kick by saluki so the saluki lead did not last long the offense for simo bounces right back on a short field and johnny king on a third down puts it in for six so this is more like the offense that we expect in the cimo siu game back-to-back drives with scores yeah now it all started when semo threw the interception in the end zone to uh to chance or to bush bush made the interception in the end zone saluki offense rolled down the field scored a touchdown and then tried to steal a possession with an onside kick and unable to execute there and then you see semo on third down making a big play and that's what you have to do you got to make big plays against quality opponents you've got to make big plays and we've seen both of these teams do that on these last possessions what do you think was that an anomaly for both offenses or are they starting to cook i think you get into the second half you get familiar with who who's the personnel out there you get familiar with what are they doing in certain situations i can guarantee you that that was a third medium call i can guarantee you somebody made a note in that semo offensive room two doors down from us here's what they were in on third medium last time we're probably gonna have a chance you've got you've got your feel for those plays you have third medium what are the plays what are the ones that we want to take a chance on we're outside of the red zone what are those ones so the answer connor is i believe that these offenses are going to start moving a little bit here and big plays it was a short low kick and siu won't get past the 20. [Music] isaiah the true freshman with the return brandon mincy make the special teams tackle the starting linebacker and now the siu offense backed up again they have had some tough field position to begin with that's part of the offensive struggles you would think but they finally got some good field position last drive and turned an interception into a touchdown another low snap for lyles and they stick it inside with romer elliott he gets to the second level deceptively fast he's obviously low center of gravity you can see him there on the screen it looks a little bit like a a bowling ball compact and but if he gets to the second level he can turn it on and he can he can make a safety miss and um be explosive this red hawk defensive line has really bottled him up got a couple of extra yards on that inside run he had such big shoes to fill coming into this year stepping into dj davis's role second in all-purpose yards in school history dj davis a four-year starter but when davis was hurt last year elliot had a 100 yard rushing game they're really excited about what he can do one of the things you lose with dj davis graduating on too is he he was a dynamic receiver as a running back you see what saluki offense on third and short here javon williams to take the direct snap look out last time they gave this look they scored and they get another big chunk across midfield for a first down that's the formula get it to third and two and then let williams run wild watch watch here at home i mean this is that's saluki offensive line [Music] javon williams is a great running back [Music] calvin francis all five have starting experience despite losing ernest dye and jacob martin to graduation and a little counter play for williams found this interesting it's it's an athletic front but it's also a very strong and heavy front for siu iowa right they're they're kind of the the class of college football producing offensive lineman this is a heavier offensive line than the iowa hawkeyes for siu wow that's uh they're having some good meals then during covet having some good meals [Applause] right now they're they've got their work cut out for them with this this red hawk defensive line that'll be the end of the third quarter and we're seeing the light start to come on a little bit for these offenses siu scored their last time down and they're driving again down by four as we go to the fourth [Music] final scheduled quarter until february for each of these teams it's been a good one in the third wheel game 88th meeting all time and javon williams going the high road for a first down and siu getting deeper into semo territory of the first down adam you know we talked to coach tuke and coach hill about having so much time to prepare for each other in this game normally you only get a week to prepare for a team these guys have been locked in for over a month now and they kind of described it as a bowl game atmosphere so you have to wonder if now they're kind of putting all that scheming aside getting back to work here and letting themselves develop each play based on what they're seeing and that's maybe why we've seen back-to-back touchdowns here the full game analogy is interesting you start thinking about the lead up to the game having a month and then you almost have a whole nother off season siu doesn't play another game until south dakota states here on the 20th of february and then on the 21st the following day semo has their ovc opener this play blown dead and it's getting chippy [Applause] so this late whistles this is a this is a legal procedure from the start but the whistles are late or maybe there wasn't even a whistle so javon williams carries this football and then there's uh absolutely we'll see it here you can tell it's so there's there wasn't a whistle wasn't a whistle now the whistle happened before the initial contact there you can see why javon williams is not happy watch him take this hit at the end of the play the whistle has happened you can tell javon lets up and that's that's contact that is unnecessary well i was going to say he wasn't mad at terrell who had him wrapped up it was douglas who came in and was standing over him terrell was standing between him and and williams was pointing out it at douglas we'll sort this out and get the illegal procedure and you think there might be another flag on semo for that i didn't see it thrown but there was a lengthy discussion there so far offense number 74. there is no foul for an illegal substitution because the fall start was a dead ball penalty yeah so they didn't even factor in at all the the contact that was late it wasn't official that we went over and talked to coach hill and i did you see javon devon williams talk to the referee [Music] nick hill and this saluki team know how important this game can be even though april 18th election day feels like a long way away this was a game if they won last year they probably get in you got less than a quarter left less than a quarter left until you you're going to enter what feels like another off season salukis during the off season of course dejected about not getting into the playoffs last year wore shirts that said nobody cares where carter they had a patch on the back that had the date of the selection show where they gathered here on campus and got the disappointing news and couldn't wait for tonight a chance to march toward the playoffs with the win trailing by four they go back to williams and he'll get back near the original line of scrimmage with a four-yard gain seen custis and williams both as this game has gone on seems like more and more defenders have been needed to bring them down [Music] second and long here for the safety offense [Music] wonder at some point former quarterback jevon williams who's in the quarterback room as true freshman year if they might think about a throw he's split out into the slot and an unbalanced formation brings cox into the formation as the running back and lyles fakes it to him and throws it to cox and he loses his footing in a whole bunch of yardage that'll end up being a loss of seven and it'll be about third and 19. we'll see the replay here trying to get unique with the formation wasn't there obviously earlier in the game he's going two interceptions [Music] he chooses to check it down but unfortunately cox slips and turns into a big loss for the saluki offense third forever another cloudy picture for lyles they showed pressure bring it and jaron rollins with the catch but he's nowhere close complete wrapped up by douglas at the 35 and remember this is the spot that they're going to start thinking about sending nico galdoni out there their kicker we saw same same kind of area of the field opposite opposite side incomplete red hawk offense way down inside the five but gonna go for it here on fourth and long [Applause] fourth and fourteen even though the salukis are in field goal range the offense out and lyle's looking to the air now he tucks it and he stopped way short but william holmes was able to stack him up and the semo defense gets off the field [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] excited making a big play getting off the field on fourth down result of the play will place the ball at the red hawk 32. we'll see what the redhawks do here they flashed onto that momentum they've stacked possession on possession here complimentary football semo trying to win three straight games against siu for the first time since 2002 and taking a shot and intended for alston but broken up there was thompson again comes over the top there with a violent hand preventing any possibility of a catch landon lenore the saluki wide receiver said the guy that makes me better in practice and one-on-ones most often is jonathan thompson and he was in single coverage there you see that just for a glimpse there it looks like a lot it looks like there's a possibility of a big play redhawks thompson comes over the top again left violent hand through the hands of the receiver simo is looking for a game break there and now trouble with the snap it was bobbled by bunch and he got it back before the salukis could hop on top with jacob petzl almost a disastrous play with a new center into the game remember last drive dane nelson came in for the injured shyrun rodgers we keep seeing these offenses with some negative plays we've seen three centers now who have had bad snaps low snaps have have really put their offense in tough situations with timing and here and actual loss of yardage the salukis had third and 21. went for it on fourth down and couldn't convert now run play on third down and zion custis is bottled up at the line of scrimmage about six salukis there to bring down the sema running back seen coach tuke and this red hawk offense conservative this just conservative approach to the game and and that's his i think that's has been his style because he that's just the way he plays we run the football well and we play really good defense and we make it really hard for the opposing offense to drive on us and we don't give them big plays and when we play well on special teams i'm going to call the game conservatively he had fourth and one on the 40 and they punted it away there a while back and there you see there they're backed up but hey let's run and see if we can make a play javon williams here salukis had a goal to have a big special teams play in this game and they got it with javon williams into sibo territory and special teams coordinator jared petrino is running down the sideline jumping up like a kid and you can understand why great return that's a little bit of the life and energy that salukis needed so we break a couple minutes into the fourth quarter semo and siu couple of teams with playoffs on their minds playing in a tight one [Music] the ball rogers the starting center for semo getting some attention on the semo sideline more on that with adam king yeah got a chance to take a look at it he's over there he's got a shoe off ice on his ankle it looks like he's very doubtful to return tonight which means that nelson the backup center will now have the role here likely for the last 10 minutes and while he did play last year nine games he lost the job and this is his first game ever playing with andrew bunch you have to wonder we saw him struggle on that one snap and have to wonder if it's going to affect this team down the stretch and adam we might be relying on you again there's another semo player down looks like somebody along the defensive front maybe bryson donnell he was being worked on as well they were taping up his ankle and he is face down so we'll give you an update on bryson donnell the starting defensive tackle for semo after this salukis in red hawks territory with 9 45 left somebody's walking out of here with a ranked win to add to their resume for the playoffs in the spring as james sackey just went off the field with an injury and romer elliott out of the timeout rushes inside the 25 for a saluki first down elliot with the last two runs it's been a little burst he's been able to break through that line of scrimmage and you've seen the burst that he has the saluki offense at the point of attack winning the line of scrimmage here are these last last few plays that's what powered them to that late season five-game winning streak last year that got them in the playoff conversation for the best rushing teams in the country and showing why here late in the fourth quarter we'll see look at the push up front there elliott with a good cut finishes the runoff [Music] ron williams over 100 yards tonight to the air here cox turns back inside and to the end zone avonte cox with his first touchdown of 2020 and siu back in front in the fourth quarter we heard coach hill say that 11 rochester could be one of the most dynamic players in the country you can see why while right here you give him any space he's going to take it to the house once he caught the ball his teammates on the sideline knew it was six what a great angle that was cox all mvfc last year all newcomer pick a couple of huge games against an fbs team in arkansas state and a huge game against south dakota and his touchdown makes it a two-point saluki lead and galdoni makes it three [Music] so nick kill got it rolling with that saluki offense on the ground and they finish it through the air corey lyles to avonte cox well it's been a game of runs it really has when when both teams have been clicking both teams have been clicking together as far as offensively speaking we'll see another look here big play here in the fourth quarter gets it right out through the receiver just a quick throw and catch but he did all the work you think david you think davis thought he had safety help inside is that why he played it he slipped he slipped right away so this is a quick hit route route and he went to to put his foot into the ground to drive on it and he slipped and fell [Music] that was all set up by the special teams play javon williams with the big punk return and smith siu stuck it in there on the ground 18 yards from lyles to cox puts that drive away so a couple lead changes late third quarter early fourth quarter this is this is the part where you know within a season you get a feel for a team and what they're like in the fourth quarter and then you get a feel for a mentality in the fourth quarter well we're only being one game makes this fourth quarter interesting with eight minutes to play here eight minutes 42 seconds you want to see which which team is going to actually go for the jugular which team is going to finish the game who's going to finish the game and semo's been a team that's been their mentality they've finished games you look at them nine wins the past two season that's a program record and that's why i said earlier in the broadcast the redhawks have just quietly they've built the program coach tuke has built a dominant program in the ovc they've won opc championships they've won a playoff game two years ago probably you know would have contested illinois state even more last year in the playoffs and then you look at the salukis at the end of the year last year they went toe to toe with the the national to be national champions in north dakota state but out here tonight it's a dog 17-14 in the fourth quarter who's going to finish the game [Music] again bryson strong was there to bring him down well you mentioned ovc champs for semo last year it was not by blowing people out five of their seven wins in conference or by a touchdown or less they played a ton of close games and that and that's what i'm speaking to is that i was on some teams in 2008 in 2009 that we could be down 17 or up seven in the fourth quarter but we always knew we were going to find a way and that's what semo had last year was a team that look at bunch here on this run bunch improvised had pressure and another long run for andrew bunch trying to win his semo debut and here come the red hawks right back down the field bunch a little bit slow to get up there you see but he has he has made plays with his feet if saluki nation red hog nation knows anything or their new starter he's a guy that can make plays he's beyond the x's and o's as we like to call him beyond the x's and o's because you can have it up and have to play to where it should be over with but who's going to make a play beyond those excellent notes andrew just made one right there for his red hawk siu recruited bunch out of high school he said no he wanted to play power five football and a chance to beat him in his semo debut tonight back in the ground with gino who's over 100 yards 130 including the touchdown in the first half we've got a late flag here that's it a couple of times now hess has been involved in one of those shoving match at the end of the play and his shoved his coach his coach had to shove him off the field there i didn't see the contact after the whistle i i was watching bunch bunch looks to be in some pain or ever since the run has been kind of killed over at times offense number six 15-yard penalty that's number six first time sportsmanlike of the game the down counting it'll be second down wow that is a huge penalty not only are you way behind the chains now but maybe out of field goal range well and you don't have you don't have a play call you don't have a play call on on the sheet we've got the replay there the contact after just unnecessary stuff maybe some creative language there from bryson strong to bring out the flag he was there that's who hess was mad at and now second and 22. and the other running back zion custis trying to make up for the mistake of his backfield mate trying to create a turnover there and thought he had one [Applause] so the crowd that is here on the saluki sideline will try to get up on their feet for this third down suzuki defensive end chucky sullivan trying to trying to get the crowd in and get the crowd that is here on their feet some of them are standing up getting a little life out of that sideline realizing that up three points this is a big third down here third long this is potentially in the range of tiller their kicker and it's a quarterback sweep for bunch and slipping off a few tackles but then popped by bush six yards short of the first down and a flag is out again what this flag is bunch absolutely with a violent violence [Music] on bunt bunch here we'll see what the flag is after the play unsportsmanlike conduct defense number zero oh my that penalty is half the distance to goal in an automatic first down wow bush with the big hit but turns the big play [Applause] and nullifies the big play in the big hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty coach hill you can see [Music] bush has been great tonight he had the interception he's had a couple of good tackles and after semo almost gave this drive away with an unsportsmanlike penalty call and they called it on bush but coach hill was yelling at somebody else on the sideline so let's drive very much alive for semo and zach smith wrapped up in the backfield by thompson again thompson with a big time play by seven jonathan [Music] thompson winding down here i don't know saluki saluki fans redhawk fans we probably don't want the game to end right we don't get any more football until the spring are they going to field goal to tie it how many overtimes how many overtimes bunch had the big run to get him into saluki territory now the throw and in thompson's area and he'll be the one called for the penalty them and aaron alston one of the favorite targets of daniel santa catarina a year ago was the one in the back of the end zone tangled up with thompson let's see if there's contact here the back judge that threw the flag just you got to help yourself out a little bit there by trying to locate the football they have been letting him play throughout the game with hand contact and playing a good physical game out there in the secondary but did look like there was contact there [Music] there are two fouls on the play ineligible player downfield offend number 84 pass interference defense number seven those penalties offset that a bit of a break for the salukis because looked like a clear pass interference call i would say yeah that's a big break for the salukis because that would have been first down here's a goal line and the redhawks would have had a great opportunity there to put a touchdown in and go up semo can get another first down without scoring but looking for the end zone again and it's that same matchup and this time thompson swats it away and to me this this looked like offensive pass interference initially thompson breaks off of this and that's the ball out of the air that's what you really want to see the football players just coming right back coming right back have a short have a short memory maybe you got called for pass interference but you come right back and you play you play physical football you play the way that that you know that is your kind of style of play you want to see that out of your player you don't want to shy away and mentally get out of the game because they got a call third down here they need 12 to get to the one and they will take another timeout and agonize over another third down i thought they only used those on fourth down this time you like the timeout here knowing that you you might need those for a potential game-winning drive if the salukis go score later well you got to get it right the redhawks have one one timeout remaining now salukis have all three you've got to get the play call right you want us you want to score but you've also you have to realize you've had two two balls intercepted in the end zone tonight dramatically changed the the course of this game and so you want to be careful with what you call here quickly down to adam who is uh holding a decoration i i have stolen the wheel and i don't know who trusted me to it's very heavy much heavier than i thought it's upside down by the way well i have to show you where coach took broke the wheel with semo i'm convinced he broke it so that sema will always have a piece of the wheel but we are now five minutes away from either siu or semo taking home this very heavy trophy good tangible evidence that he was able to steal away from the end zone yeah semo's won it both years that that ship's wheel has been a thing they've been playing since 1909 but it's a new trophy rivalry game we didn't have that back in the day when when i was playing [Music] it it is a neat uh you see that a lot the big ten and those rivalry games it is a neat component to the game semo on third and 12 going with the reverse ulston struck down in the backfield anthony knight one of the best defensive ends in program history with a massive play on third down he's quiet natured but his play doesn't embody that watch this feathers this we call that feather this gets off the block makes trump look silly and makes a big time play there for his defense on third down forces the redhawks into a field goal situation here still an opportunity for them to tie this game late so kendrick tiller who has plenty of leg and all ovc kicker started a 33-yard field as the second longest field goal in program history last year at montana state this one from 32 and true semo ties the game with 4 16 left so we think there is a flag down right at the line of scrimmage oh defense number seven that penalty that's declined so [Applause] kendrick tiller has tied the game now the salukis have a chance to get a ranked win beat their rival for the first time in a couple of years coming up after this [Music] kendrick tiller field goal ties this game at 17. and it's been a second half full of lead changes after defense reigned in the first half and now siu's offense will have a chance to come back onto the field four minutes 16 seconds take the ball down score and beat their rival for the first time in three years if you're this saluki offensive line if you're coach austin olson this is this is this is what you live for as a big man four minutes to go in the game the game is on your shoulders if you can win the line of school on this drive you're gonna win the game you're gonna control the football and you're gonna win the game that's why we come out on first down we'll see what running back comes out but the one who's got everything started for them here tonight has been number 15 javon williams an offense last year that ran for the most yards in the conference outside of anybody that didn't win a national championship only north dakota state ran for more yards in the ground and siu will start with javon williams as the man behind center he's already over 100 yards tonight he had a 40-yard touchdown and he's got a big chunk down the sideline for a first down and a good start fourth potential go ahead drive for comes siu here with an excellent block you see on the replay also justin from justin strong out front look at him here javon williams more traditional look with lyles taking the snaps he fakes it to williams and that fate is out of bounds [Music] first down run there's avion fur crown also pulling around one of the premier leaders on this team has has gone through so much over the past two years second and ten boston sister we've talked to coach hill what's been the hardest part of kovid and he talked about the anxiety and the the unknown but he also just talked about that moment having to tell one of your players that they've lost their sister was a very hard moment wearing a patch with his sister's initials on the helmet tonight and javon williams another first down he's a yard short we're talking by andrew butch we talked about him being beyond the x and o's on the last red hawk possession this run right here by javon williams it really should have been done from the start but he breaks some tackles and turns it into a big gain and puts him in third short you'd think two plays to get one yard as they approach midfield but never know and williams looked like he wanted to throw and that's not going anywhere redhawks all over them this red hawk defense just in attack mode on this third short watch the line of scrimmage here penetration white jerseys flying [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and that answers that question you don't have two plays in your own territory to go get the first down after the loss and jack cahoon comes out he just overwhelmed that saluki offense there cahoon who appeared to be injured earlier gets off a punt with a friendly bounce and it rolls all the way inside the tent so semo and their fans were wondering what they had in their new quarterback andrew bunch two minutes 21 seconds in his debut in a tie game one time out in his pocket with a chance to go win it drove his field down joe drove his team down the field last possession with his big run to to tie the game and again he said it connor here he is with an opportunity to drive the length of the field 92 yards it would have to be just need a field goal to win it we'll see what this red hawk offense does drive starts with a run and siu smothers it at the line of scrimmage so andrew bunch the last time he was in this situation trying to lead his team down to win a game it was september of 2018. he was at nebraska they're playing troy in front of 85 000 people at memorial stadium in lincoln nebraska a little bit different feel a little bit but stakes very high for both programs looking for a ranked win in their only fall game siu's defense with a good start run by custis went for nothing now here's bunch and he completes it to the flat for smith and he gets out of bounds halfway to the sticks saluki defense gets him to third down just playing solid solid fundamental football there just x's and o's bryson strong closes out space there and remember we've seen snaps close shotgun snaps here tonight [Music] start feeling maybe a little bit of pressure back up center into the game here see what jason petrino the defensive coordinator dials up and right into the teeth of blake parzic who's had a huge knife and the salukis get their third down stop and now they can get it back with a little over a minute and a half left in a tie game blake parzic all over the place tonight fifth tackle for a loss tonight by number 93 in the backfield all night long his team needed him right there made a big play the redhawks are going to have to punt it back to the salukis with a minute 32. let's take a look at blake carson's tonight tonight right there bull rush with the sack right there just getting off another 93 senior found himself a night not an unfamiliar story for a lot of college football players but during the pandemic had to set up a little weight set in his garage those early morning garage weights have paid off tonight getting off offensive lineman all night long yeah and again we said defensive coordinator said he leaned down got quicker we'll see what field position here the salukis get javon williams with the big return last time out big punt for krause the salukis played it safe and playing for a return they didn't come after krause and williams slips back in his own territory and a flag comes out late williams on the punk return what the flag is there javon williams tried to make a play but lost his footing this could be against the salukis which would back them up siu by the way did take a timeout before that punt so they have two timeouts remaining and they'll need at least 20 yards to think about a potential game-winning field goal for nico galdoni the first the flag during her return illegal block in the back return team number 33 10-yard foul first down southern illinois moves on jeffrey wells and right there former oklahoma player was on the field that was his defensive line we had him showing there with the red hat he was speaking to the defensive line blake carter's in that group a little more difficult after the penalty we'll need about 30 yards now think about a game-winning field goal try with those two time-outs in the hands of lyles he's given time on the roll nobody open and now he finds lenore on the sidelines [Music] [Applause] keeping his eyes down the field he had patient out of the pocket coach hill and the offense moved the pocket for him let's see if the red hawk defense here doesn't bring some pressure they may be anticipating a pass [Music] it is a pass it's the cox and he breaks free hits the sideline stumbling to the 40 and forced down at the 39. just what the salukis needed now in the fringe of field goal territory and a fresh set of downs we've seen number 11 be pretty dynamic out in space watch him here get the ball out to him makes one man miss [Applause] he turns a five-yard gain into a big big game good play call by nick hill that that box was heavy showing some pressure and they got it out quick chain set clock rolls inside a minute to go another quick throw again it's cox this one for a shorter game and he sees those corners respecting cox's speed we've seen him do that several times tonight on the ball quickly here but a half a minute to go elliott with a big hole right side down the sideline to the 20 and he's out near the 15. now definitely in field goal range with 30 seconds left romer elliott with maybe the biggest run of his young saluki career and you just look at romero at five six right five six he gets lost behind that offensive line there you can see him just come out the other side [Music] on the sideline hoping to get his chance salukis keep it on the ground it's elliott they're ready for it he's down to the 15. got one and somebody's taking a timeout it looks like the salukis will take their second to last timeout so from here it would be about a 32-yard field goal the long and the career of galdonia is 45 so well within his range how are you feeling if you're the redshirt senior out of johnston city right now [Applause] as a as a kicker these are the opportunities you want right these are the opportunities you grow up dreaming about if you're a kicker to win a game at the end [Music] so for nico and the salukis he's excited to have the opportunity because if you really think about that months ago didn't know if they would have this opportunity well let me ask you this you got one timeout you got 21 seconds three downs to play with i guess two downs from scrimmage to play with before you think about a kick you take a couple shots to the end zone here you absolutely want to be safe [Music] you want to run this clock down to where to where there's not an opportunity or any time left on the clock towards wow tries to break that tackle almost so that was best case scenario for siu no first down the clock doesn't stop and they've got one timeout and with two seconds left they burn that final timeout and it'll come down to a kick for a potential resume boosting win and a rivalry winning kick potentially for nico galdoni and then the redhawks have been victorious two times out and salukis with the chance here to take home the wheel you look at it really it's been a game of running the football there's been there's been tough tough plays there's been explosive plays in the run game you really saw devon williams come off in the second half but those are the two guys on this saluki team that have given this them this opportunity to win this game art racing for galdoni and semo will take their final timeout interesting there you know save the timeout right save the timeout didn't want to leave nine ten seconds on it save the timeout to make him think about it well the salukis have had almost a year 342 days since their last game they walked off the field that day thinking that they had done enough against nationally ranked north dakota state to show the committee that a seven and five team and fcs's best conference to get into the playoffs they were rejected now they have a chance for a step toward a playoff appearance in 2021 with a ranked win tonight on the leg of nico galdoni galdoni the redshirt senior local product five-year player in this program with the game on the line coming right into your living room and the salukis have won the wheel [Music] [Applause] they waited almost a year and a mob scene around nico galdoni delivering a rivalry win for s.i.u you look at these salukis celebrating it would have been just the same if it was the other side the the the work that's gone into it everything that's gone on gone into this game and to come out of victory you play the fun is in the winning dabo swinney says and you can see right now the salukis got the wheel they're having fun not always an oil painting tonight wasn't always pretty but it's a win for siu and they beat semo and get a ranked win and beat the red hawks for the first time in three years we'll wrap it up after this from carbondale your final 20-17 in favor of 24th ranked siu stadium and that team had their hearts broken last november and they've got one ranked win on their resume with plenty of opportunities coming up in the spring we hope and they take down number 25 semo tonight nico galdoni with the game-winner with two seconds left and siu goes to 1-0 in their only game of the fall big thanks to kfbs channel 12 and uh our producer dennis galloway for making this all work through these tough conditions thanks to everybody in our truck our production crew adam king down in the sidelines connor james up here in the booth my name is connor onion thanks so much for watching once again your final the salukis win it over 25th ranked southeast missouri state by the final of 20-17 good night [Music] you

Channel: Wally the Bronco Too

Views: 8,396

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Southeast Missouri State, Southern Illinois

Id: Roux6SjC_qQ

Length: 156min 17sec (9377 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 31 2020