Southern Illinois beat Eastern 30-11 behind the stellar play of its offense as the Salukis’ out-gained the Panthers by 241 yards. SIU walked away from McAndrew Stadium on Saturday night with the edge on both the scoreboard and in the position breakdown.

Quarterback

SIU’s Nick Hill was responsible for all three of the Salukis’ touchdowns, as he passed for two in the first quarter and ran for another score at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Hill finished the day 24-of-30 for 234 yards through the air and 32 yards rushing on 13 carries. Eastern’s Bodie Reeder completed 22-of-33 passes for 113 yards, but he threw a second-quarter interception and was sacked twice. Without his top receivers, Reeder had a tough time making plays through the air.

Edge: SIU

Running Back

Eastern’s Ademola Adeniji and SIU’s John Randle had almost the same rushing statistics as Adeniji rushed for 76 yards and Randle rushed for 72 yards. However, Randle accumulated his rushing yards on 10 fewer carries than Adeniji. Randle was also more potent as a receiver out of the backfield catching five passes for 32 yards. The Salukis out-gained the Panthers by 102 yards on the ground as a team.

Edge: SIU

Receivers

Eastern played the entire first half without wide receivers Micah Rucker and Alicus Nozinor. Although Rucker and Nozinor played sparingly in the second half, they did not have much effect on the Panthers’ offense. The Panthers’ lone high spot in its receiving corps was tight end Jordan Campanella who caught three passes for 27 yards and one touchdown. SIU’s receiving duo of Alan Turner and Justin Allen combined for 11 receptions, 141 yards and one touchdown. Tight end Ryan Kernes caught the other SIU touchdown as one of eight different SIU receivers to catch a pass.

Edge: SIU

Offensive Line

The Salukis’ offensive line did its job of providing Hill with ample time to sit back in the pocket and find an open receiver. Even when an Eastern defender broke into the backfield, the SIU offensive line kept other would-be tacklers at bay. Reeder’s main problem through the air was he didn’t have enough time to throw the ball. Although he was only sacked twice, Reeder had to rush several throws as the Salukis’ defense bore down on him.

Edge: SIU

Defensive Line

Eastern defensive end Pierre Walters was a constant presence in the SIU backfield from the opening play where he forced Hill out of bounds for a three-yard loss. Walters had only tackle on the game-a sack on Hill for a five-yard loss-but he did serve as a disrupting force. Defensive end Michael Torres had four tackles for the Panthers and also recovered a fumble. Defensive tackle Larry Luster’s four tackles and one sack led the SIU defensive line.

Edge: Eastern

Linebackers

Eastern’s Donald Thomas led all defensive players with 15 tackles including eight solo tackles. Thomas had 10 tackles in the first half alone and also broke up one pass. James Larson had eight tackles – one for a four-yard loss – forced a fumble and recorded one sack for the Panthers as well. Matt Westrick was the third Eastern linebacker in the top five tacklers for the Panthers with six tackles. SIU’s Trevor Moe was the top linebacker for the Salukis as he recorded eight tackles-including half a tackle for a loss-and he intercepted a pass from Reeder intended for wide receiver Quinten Ponius.

Edge: Eastern

Secondary

Hill was able to pick apart the Eastern secondary the entire game as evidenced by his outstanding numbers and the number of receivers he got involved in the game. Eastern safety Adrian Arrington had 10 tackles for the Panthers and recovered one fumble, but the majority of his tackles came after an SIU receiver had already caught the ball. The Salukis’ top five tacklers featured three defensive backs. Corner back Craig Turner led the way for SIU with 11 tackles, safety Marty Rodgers had nine and safety Clayton Johnson also had nine tackles. Defensive backs with many tackles usually means they are giving up receptions, but Turner and Johnson each had tackles for losses.

Edge: SIU

Special Teams

SIU kicker Kyle Dougherty made field goals of 26, 21 and 18 yards and averaged 55.8 yards on six kickoffs. Eastern kicker Tyler Wilke made a 42-yard field goal and averaged 43.5 yards on two kickoffs. Wilke also had two punts inside the 20-yard line. Ponius averaged nearly 23 yards on kick returns, 10 yards better than SIU’s Larry Warner.

Edge: Draw

Coaches

SIU’s Jerry Kill mixed offensive packages all day sometimes going with three backs, two backs or a single back formation. The Salukis also ran and passed the ball from each of these varied offensive schemes. SIU’s defense stacked the line of scrimmage determined to stop Eastern’s run game, and it was successful. Eastern simply had no answer for Hill the entire game.

Edge: SIU

For the complete box score from the game, click here.