2006 Week 10

After defeating Florida International last weekend to notch their forth win of the season, the Southern Illinois Salukis knew that at least one of the two wins they needed out of their three remain games would have to include a major upset.

So they got it out of the way early.

In a see-saw game that saw 4 ties and 8 lead changes, the Salukis held off the Army Black Knights with some impressive 4th quarter play.

With both teams having scored no fewer than 10 points through the first three quarters, SIU head coach Turk Battle knew his team would need a tough 4th quarter to overcome the 41-38 deficit heading in.

"You just knew going into the last quarter, there was going to be at least 5 more touchdowns, 3 field goals, and maybe a safety or two," said Battle. "I'm really proud to the way our guys stepped up, on both sides of the ball, in the second half and especially the last quarter."

SIU lead Army 28-24 at halftime, and looked to add to it at the start of the 2nd half, but cornerback Louis Everett fumbled the opening kicked over to the Black Knights. Army quarterback Marcus Mackey found Kevin Young for a 6 yard touchdown pass on the very first play, to give Army a 31-28 lead.

"That really hurt, coming out of the locker room like and just giving them the lead," said Battle. "But the guys responded. That's all you can ask when things like that happen. They forgot about that one bad play, and focused on the half of football they still had left."

Running back Isaiah Mack led a potent Saluki offense, gaining 232 yards on 26 carries. Mack carried the offense as the passing game stalled early, a 46-yard run in the first quarter setting up a 1-yard plunge from fullback Rodney Wagner. Quarterback Eric Sullivan missed his first 6 passes of the game. His 7th, however, lifted the Saluki passing game, as he his wide receiver Sean Howard for a 28 yard touchdown pass that gave the Salukis their first lead of the game, 14-7.

SIU took the lead for good early in the 4th quarter when Sullivan and Howard connected for an 18 yard score. Leading by 4 with over 4:00 remaining, however, the Salukis knew they might not have time to give up a touchdown and answer themselves. Army drove the ball inside the 10, but Mackey had to leave the game with an elbow injury. Backup quarterback Timothy Russell completed his only pass on 3rd down, but was sacked on 4th down to turn the ball back over to the Salukis with just under 1:30 left to play. Mack and backup quarterback Ryan Ellis teams up for 56 yards rushing to put the game away.

Sullivan finished the game 16-for-31 for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns, all 3 to Howard, who finished with 9 catches and 211 yards.

The win is the Salukis' third in a row, and evens their record at 5-5, one win shy of bowl eligibility, with 2 games remaining.

They will take their first crack next week at 5-4 Penn State.