Missouri State football couldn't hang with No. 10 Southern Illinois
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Playing from behind from seconds into the game on, Missouri State hung around but ultimately couldn't keep up with one of the top-ranked teams in the FCS.
Missouri State (1-3, 0-1) couldn't hang with No. 10 Southern Illinois (4-0, 1-0) in a 33-20 defeat at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois, on Saturday evening to open Missouri Valley Football Conference play.
Starting MSU quarterback Jacob Clark, the reigning MVFC Offensive Player of the Week, exited the game with a shoulder injury late in the second quarter. He finished the game 10 of 16 for 129 yards and a touchdown.
Clark's availability will be the major question heading into next week's home game against No. 2 North Dakota State — which was upset at home in a 24-19 loss to South Dakota on Saturday afternoon. The Bears may have to go with backup Jordan Pachot for its game against the Bison and perhaps beyond.
More: Missouri State football's loss at Southern Illinois raised more concerns than answers
Bears head coach Ryan Beard used the word "significant" when he described Clark's shoulder injury to the News-Leader. Clark landed on the same shoulder that had been nagging him through the early part of the season. Beard remains hopeful that the Bears are being overly cautious as Clark watched the second half with a sling on.
It may not have mattered if Clark was able to stay in the game as the Bears allowed the Salukis to score on six of their nine drives that didn't end in victory formation. Missouri State's offense would have had to play a near-perfect game to keep up with one of the best teams in the subdivision.
Southern Illinois scored the game's first 14 points, with its first seven coming on the third play of the game when Ro Elliott broke away for a 64-yard touchdown run.
The Bears then put together a field-goal drive before forcing an SIU three-and-out. A seven-play, 53-yard drive ended with Clark floating a ball across his body to Gary Clinton III for a 7-yard score to cut SIU's lead to four early in the second.
The Salukis then went back to the ground game which the Bears have struggled to defend all year. MSU's defense also couldn't get off the field, leading to the Salukis scoring on fourth and goal from the Bears' 3 with Justin Strong walking into the endzone untouched.
Clark appeared to have the Bears in business when he drove the Bears to the SIU 23 after he scrambled for 12 yards on third and 2. While being tackled on the play, Clark appeared to hit his shoulder and head hard on the turf.
Pachot entered the game and got the Bears to the SIU 1 but no further. Two negative plays turned into the Bears having to settle for a field goal. Southern Illinois used its timeouts during the goal-line stand and drove the field in 50 seconds to set up a 36-yard field goal as time expired to take a 20-10 lead into the half.
Out of the break, Southern Illinois committed a few penalties on both sides of the ball, which put the Bears in favorable field position. Pachot hit receiver Hunter Wood, who broke a tackle and ran 31 yards for a touchdown to bring the game back within three.
Southern Illinois quickly responded. On three different plays, the Salukis got chunk yardage out of receivers running open down the sideline, including on a fourth-and-9 in MSU territory. SIU star quarterback Nic Baker then found Aidan Quinn running free for an easy 19-yard touchdown toss.
On Missouri State's next drive, the Bears found themselves facing third and 14 when Pachot threw a perfect ball to Jmariyae Robinson for 25 to move to the SIU 26. On the next play, Pachot tried to create time with his legs but fumbled with SIU recovering with 13:37 remaining in the fourth. The Salukis followed by taking 5:41 off the clock en route to a field goal to go up by 13.
The Bears couldn't do anything on either of their final two drives of the game to lose their conference opener.
Pachot finished the game 10 of 16 for 129 yards, a touchdown and a fumble in his first extended time as the Bears' quarterback.
Baker completed 26 of 35 passes for 285 yards and a touchdown against the Bears' defense. The Salukis were 4 of 12 of on third downs but 3-for-3 on fourth.
Scoring Summary
1Q 14:06 — Ro Elliott 64-yard touchdown run. SIU 7-0.
1Q 8:56 — Ro Elliott five-yard touchdown run. SIU 14-0.
1Q 3:10 — Owen Rozanc 21-yard field goal. SIU 14-3.
2Q 13:31 — Jacob Clark seven-yard touchdown pass to Gary Clinton. SIU 14-10.
2Q 7:00 — Justin Strong three-yard touchdown run. Missed PAT. SIU 20-10.
2Q 0:50 — Owen Rozanc 28-yard field goal. SIU 20-13.
2Q 0:00 — Thomas Burks 36-yard field goal. SIU 23-13.
3Q 5:45 — Jordan Pachot 31-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Wood. SIU 23-20.
3Q 1:57 — Nic Baker 19-yard touchdown pass to Aidan Quinn. SIU 30-20.
4Q 7:56 — Thomas Burks 32-yard field goal. SIU 33-20.
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Southern Illinois football runs away from Missouri State in MVFC play
