Indiana University
Southern Illinois
Hoosiers Drop Heartbreaker to SIU
9/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 16, 2006
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Southern Illinois scored 28 second-half points to come from behind in a 35-28 victory over the Indiana football team on Saturday, Sept. 16, at Memorial Stadium. The Salukis improved to 2-0 on the season, while the Hoosiers fell to 2-1 on the year.
Arkee Whitlock's 19-yard run with 5:50 to play gave SIU the lead for good, and the Saluki defense stopped a pair of Hoosier offensive efforts in the closing minutes.
Nick Hill threw for 142 yards and four touchdowns, while Arkee Whitlock picked up 103 yards and one score on the ground for Southern Illinois. Kellen Lewis threw for 238 yards and one TD for the Hoosiers and Marcus Thigpen scored a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Indiana got on the board with 8:36 to play in the opening quarter on a 3-yard touchdown run by Thigpen. The Hoosiers went 67 yards on their opening drive, gaining 49 yards on the ground. After the Salukis stopped IU on a third-and-short at the 47-yard line, Demetrius McCray converted a fourth-and-1 for the Hoosiers to keep the drive alive. McCray added a 10-yard run to put IU inside the five, and two plays later Thigpen found paydirt to put Indiana up 7-0.
After Indiana's defense forced its second three-and-out in as many opportunities, Lewis and the Hoosier offense kicked it into gear once again. On the first play of the drive, Lewis scampered out of trouble and lofted a pass to Jahkeen Gilmore up the left side for a gain of 23. An SIU personal foul put the Hoosiers inside the 10, and Lewis found Nick Polk on second-and-goal for a 9-yard touchdown to put IU up 14-0. Lewis went 3-for-5 for 43 yards on the drive.
SIU got on the board with 27 seconds to play in the half, with Braden Jones catching a 5-yard pass from Hill. Southern Illinois drove 33 yards after forcing the Hoosiers to punt from their own end zone with 1:54 to play in the half. The Hoosier defense allowed SIU just 23 passing yards in the first half.
The Hoosiers re-upped their lead to 14 with 8:00 to play in the third quarter, when Thigpen picked up his second TD run of the game from 2 yards out. Indiana picked up 40 yards on the drive that spanned 2:39, with the key play coming on third-and-13 from the SIU 32. Lewis found James Bailey on a crossing pattern, and Bailey scampered to the 2-yard line before being knocked out of bounds. Thigpen made the score 21-7 on the next play.
SIU responded with its longest drive of the game, running off 78 yards on 10 plays, culminating in a 7-yard pass from Hill to Ryan Kernes to trim the deficit to 21-14. Hill found Ryan Beeler for 27 yards down the middle on the drive's biggest play.
The Salukis knotted the game at 21 with 11 seconds to play in the third quarter, after a Lewis fumble gave SIU the ball at the 21-yard line. Five plays later, Hill found Alan Turner in the corner of the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown.
Southern Illinois made it three scores in a row on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Hill to Phil Goforth with 10:17 to play in regulation. The pass capped off a four-play, 48-yard drive for the Salukis that spanned 1:56, giving SIU its first lead of the game.
With 8:00 to play in the fourth quarter, the Hoosiers tied the game at 28 on a 12-yard run by Demetrius McCray, the first career touchdown for the redshirt freshman. McCray's run finished off a seven-play, 72-yard drive that took 2:17 of clock time. The highlight of the drive came the previous, on a second-and-10 pass to Ray Fisher on the left side. Fisher, who looked stopped behind the line of scrimmage, reversed direction, going all the way to the opposite sideline, turning a sure loss into a 19-yard gain.
Southern Illinois regained the lead with 5:50 to play on a 19-yard touchdown run by Whitlock to go ahead 35-28. The Salukis went 80 yards on seven plays on the drive, including a pair of big completions by Hill. The junior completed passes of 15 and 33 yards on the drive to give SIU the lead for good.
The Hoosiers return to action on Saturday, Sept. 23, when they play host to Connecticut. The game is slated for a 3:30 p.m. EDT kickoff at Memorial Stadium.
