2007 Week 5

If you got up for a sandwich or beverage or bathroom break after Southern Illinois running back Isaiah Mack's 1-yard touchdown run with 30 second left in the first half to tie the Missouri Tigers at 14, you might have been shocked to come back and see the halftime scores still tied, but at 21.

The Salukis and Tigers traded 21 points in the final 30 seconds of the second quarter. After Mack's touchdown, Tiger wide receiver Mike Braziel returned the kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown. The Salukis answered quickly, as quarterback Courtney Smart found receiver Courtney Burns for an 83 yard touchdown pass on the first play of the ensuing drive.

"It's usually my game plan not to sit on the ball when you got some time and a timeout or two at the end of the first half," said SIU head coach Turk Battle. "In a tight game like that, plus being on the road against a very good Big XII school, you can't leave plays on the field."

The Tigers jumped out to a 14-0 lead on Southern Illinois early in the 2nd quarter. However, the sluggish SIU offense came to life in the second quarter, putting up 21 points to tie the game 21-21 at halftime.

The defenses came out better adjusted for the second half. Missouri reclaimed the lead on a 21 yard run by Harvey Patterson, going up 28-21.

The fourth quarter, however, belonged to the Salukis. Mack reknotted the game on SIU's ensuring possession on another one yard dive. Mack finished the game with 147 yards on 22 carries for 2 touchdowns.

The Tigers and Salukis traded punts, and SIU got the ball back with just over 2 minutes to play. The offense drove the field, and placekicker Marque Morroco kicked the game-winner with 24 seconds to play.

"We knew we had to be patient and not rush things," said Battle. "We had time, we just needed to move the ball and get first downs, and give our guys a chance to make plays. Fortunately, it paid off."

The game-winning field goal was Morroco's second in as many road games against the Big XII. Morroco kicked against Iowa State 2 weeks ago to give the Salukis a 16-15 win.

The Salukis will travel to Tuscaloosa next week to take on the Crimson Tide of Alabama.