The Illinois Fighting Illini came out shooting and didn't look back, spoiling Southern Illinois University's 1A inaugural game, 59-35.

The Salukis came out strong, holding the Illini to a punt on the opening drive of the game. But a muffed punt return by P.J. Alfred was recoved by the Illini at the SIU five yard line, opening the door to a 21-0 Illinois surge.

SIU could not find any offense whatsoever through the first quarter and a half, until backup quarterback Ellis found WR Sean Howard from three yards out.

The Salukis fought through the rest of the half, with an opportunity to cut the Illinois lead to 28-14 at halftime, but another turnover led to another Illini touchdown and a 35-7 deficit at the break.

"That was such a turning point in the game," said SIU coach Turk Battle. "We had a golden opportunity to go into the locker room in striking distance, and the way our offense had found it's rhythym, may cut this thing to a touchdown game at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. But we just put the ball on the ground too much. You can't win at this level with 5 turnovers, and especially not against a Big Ten team as talented as Illinois."

Along with the turnover problems, the Salukis were held to a meagar 29 rushing yards on 28 attempts. Junior HB Isaiah Mack finished with 40 yards on 14 attempts.

All 3 Saluki quarterbacks saw action, with starter Eric Sullivan force to leave the game on two occassions. Sullivan finished with 17 completions on 36 pass attempts, good for 359 yards and 2 touchdowns. Backup Ryan Ellis, whose appearance was planned for the game, completed 2 of 4 pass attempts for 25 yards and another 2 touchdowns. Ellis also rushed for 19 yards on 10 attempts. Third-string QB Carlos Dixon filled in for Sullivan when he went down in the 4th quarter. He completed only 1 of his 3 pass attempts, a 43 yard touchdown pass to Howard. Howard led the SIU receiving corps with 15 catches for 400 yards and 4 touchdowns.

SIU will face a tall order in trying to regroup against #10 Louisville in their home opener next week.

Game Notes:
Senior wide reciever P.J. Alfred, #3 in the Salukis rotation, was lost for the season with a torn tricep.