Wyatt D. Wheeler|Springfield News-Leader
CARBONDALE, Ill. —Missouri State is one step closer to returning to the FCS Playoffs for the second-straight season after a quality win at Southern Illinois.
The 17th-ranked Bears (6-3, 4-2) made a statement in the second half en route to a 38-28 win over No. 7 Southern Illinois (6-3, 4-2) on Saturday afternoon.
Missouri State went into halftime down three but scored 21-unanswered to start the second half to create enough separation for the biggest win on its resume.
More: Missouri State football fans can start dreaming bigger after win at No. 7 Southern Illinois
More: Missouri State should be playoff-bound: 4 takeaways from win at No. 7 Southern Illinois
The Bears will return home next week as they host Top 25-ranked Northern Iowa — which lost at Illinois State on Saturday afternoon.
Missouri State scores TD on opening drive but gives Southern Illinois free points
A methodical drive on Missouri State's first drive went 10 plays for 89 yards and a touchdown.
Starting quarterback Jason Shelley had a lot of time to throw as he completed 4-of-5 passes for 41 yards on the drive while picking up a pair of third downs along the way.
With rushers surrounding him when the Bears got the ball to SIU 20, he stepped up, made a defender miss and easily walked in for a 20-yard score.
After the Bears forced a three-and-out, Southern Illinois punted the ball back to Missouri State but the Bears added on to a few mistakes they've made on special teams this season.
Kyriq McDonald, back to return the punt, tried catching the ball over his shoulder and couldn't catch it. Southern Illinois recovered at the MSU 17.
On the next play, Nic Baker read the Bears' defense while delivering a 17-yard strike across the middle to Justin Strong for a touchdown.
It looked like Missouri State was going to gift SIU with another scoring opportunity until its defense took it away.
Shelley fumbled on the second play of the Bears' next drive and gave the ball to SIU at the Missouri State 37. The Salukis couldn't get anything from it as it went for it on fourth-and-1 a few plays later and was stopped in the backfield by Titus Wall.
The Bears drove to the SIU 30 but couldn't get any closer and settled for a career-long 51-yard field goal from Jose Pizano to retake the lead late in the first quarter.
Protection problems plague Bears throughout first half
SIU responded on its next drive by moving inside the Bears' 30, but couldn't go much further. The Salukis settled for a 50-yard field goal to tie it early in the second quarter.
Interior pressure and a lack of protection led to Missouri State struggles for the remainder of the half.
The Bears allowed seven total sacks in the first half. After the Pizano field goal, two of MSU's four drives to end the half ended in three-and-outs while one other ended in an interception.
Following the interception, Baker scrambled for a 14-yard rush to put the Salukis at the Bears' 37 with three seconds left in the half. SIU's Nico Gualdoni a school's record with a 55-yard field goal as time expired to take a three-point lead into halftime.
Missouri State offense finds a rhythm
Late in the third quarter, Missouri State put together its best drive since the opening quarter as Shelley was protected and the Bears moved the ball down the field for a touchdown.
The Bears picked up a pair of third-down conversions before facing third-and-8 from the Southern Illinois 14. On a read-option, Shelley kept the ball, swerved through the SIU defense and powered his way into the endzone the go-ahead touchdown.
After forcing a three-and-out on the Salukis' second drive to start the half, the Bears continued to move the ball with success.
Missouri State moved into Southern Illinois territory when a 65-yard wheel-route to Kevon Latulas went for a touchdown — but was called back due to a holding. The play still gave the Bears a first-and-10 at the SIU 45.
Two plays later, a scrambling Shelley found a wide-open Xavier Lane down the middle of the field. The two connected for 34 yards to put the Bears at the SIU 11.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Tobias Little punched in a one-yard touchdown to put the Bears up 24-13.
Kevon Latulas breaks away, but SIU responds
Southern Illinois finally got a first down in the second half but didn't go much further before punting it back to the Bears as they took over at their own four.
After getting a bit of breathing room, an outside handoff to Latulas saw him get the edge with a lot of turf in front of him. A block from Tyrone Scott led the way as Latulas outran the Saluki defense 87 yards for a touchdown and an 18-point lead.
Southern Illinois didn't take long to respond as it put up its first points of the half. A quick drive that lasted a minute and 37 seconds ended with Baker completing a 19-yard touchdown pass to Izaiah Hartrup for a touchdown to bring it back within 11.
The Bears' offense went three-and-out and quickly had to punt the ball back to the Salukis.
The Salukis had to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 42 and was stuffed in the backfield by Missouri State defensive tackle Eric Johnson.
While facing a three-and-out, a well-executed screen from Shelley to Scott on third-and-17 went 31 yards to the house as the Bears reclaimed their 18-point lead.
Southern Illinois strikes back but MSU puts it away
The Salukis didn't back down as they went 76 yards in 2:24 to get back in the endzone. An 11-yard pass from Baker to Tyce Daniel made it 38-26 with 4:06 left. The Salukis got the two-point conversion to bring the game within 10.
Southern Illinois attempted an onside kick and Missouri State recovered. The Salukis had a chance to get the ball back when the Bears were backed up at third-and-13, but Shelley escaped for a run of 13 to get the first down as the Bears killed clock and SIU used its timeouts.
Scoring summary
- 1Q 9:48 —Jason Shelley 20-yard rush. MSU 7-0.
- 1Q 8:37 —Nic Baker 17-yard pass to Justin Strong. TIED 7-7.
- 1Q 0:45 —Jose Pizano 51-yard field goal. MSU 10-7.
- 2Q 12:24 —Nico Gualdoni 50-yard field goal. TIED 10-10.
- 2Q 0:00 —Nico Gualdoni 55-yard field goal. SIU 13-10.
- 3Q 3:14 —Jason Shelley 14-yard run. MSU 17-13.
- 4Q 14:27 —Tobias Little one-yard run. MSU 24-13.
- 4Q 12:03 —Kevon Latulas 87-yard run. MSU 31-13.
- 4Q 10:26 —Nic Baker 19-yard pass to Izaiah Hartrup. MSU 31-20.
- 4Q 6:37 —Jason Shelley 31-yard pass to Tyrone Scott. MSU 38-20.
- 4Q 4:06 —Nic Baker 11-yard pass to Tyce Daniel. 2pt conversion good. MSU 38-28.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email atwwheeler@news-leader.comor Twitter at@WyattWheeler_NL. He's alsothe co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
