Southern Illinois head football coach Turk Battle has been waiting awhile to give his star running back a chance to carry his team in the 4th quarter.

Up until this Saturday, Saluki running back Isaiah Mack had not gotten that chance, his team more often than not on the wrong end of blowouts and shootouts.

Mack got that opportunity against Vanderbilt, and he did not disappoint. With his team leading 28-17 going into the final quarter and needing to melt away clock, Mack responded with 81 4th-quarter rushing yards and a scored, as the Salukis topped Vandy 41-20.

"I've been waiting for Isaiah to have this opportunity," said Battle. "We've all known what he can do to carry this team, and I challenged the entire team at halftime to get us in a spot where he could carry us through in the last quarter. I couldn't be more impressed with the way they responded to that challenge."

Vandy led the game 17-14 at halftime, but the Salukis responded in the second half, outscoring the Commodores 27-3 for their most dominating performance of the season.

Senior wide receiver Sean Howard was instrumental in getting SIU into the lead. Howard finished the game with 6 catches, good for 317 yards and 4 touchdowns, including a clutch 40-yard touchdown catch to salt the game with less than 2 minutes remaining. Quarterback Eric Sullivan finished the day 11-for-20 for 392 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Southern returns home next weekend to face Kent State.

Game Notes: Sean Howard has already surpassed the 1000-yard mark in receiving yards. Howards 1303 yards and 11 touchdowns are both good for #1 in the NCAA.

Southern is currently #3 in the NCAA in total yards per game, #5 in total offense, and #2 in passing yards per game. SIUs rushing yards per game, however, is currently #85