2006 Week 9

The Southern Illinois Salukis sprinted out to a 28-0 halftime lead and never looked back, as the notched their most impressive performance of the season in a 42-14 victory over Florida International.

Running back Isaiah Mack led the opportunistic Saluki offense, gaining 112 yards on just 10 carries, good for 2 touchdowns. Quarterback Eric Sullivan led a very efficient aerial assault, completing 15 of 24 passes for 258 yards and 3 touchdowns.

The Panthers could not get on track in the first half, going for less than 100 yards of offense. FIU found it's rhthym a little too late, and for the first time this season, the Salukis held an opponent to less than 300 yards of offense. The Panthers ended the game with 281 yards.

"There were some things I'd like to see us do better, definitely," said SIU head coach Turk Battle. "It was a good win for us, but we still need to do better on third down on both sides of the ball, but overall, sure, I'm happy with the way we were able to make plays and stop them, particularly in the first half."

The win improves SIU to 3-5 on the season. The Salukis will host Army next week.