Combine a scoreless first half on offense, an injured quarterback and a defense that gives up 233 yards in the first two quarters.

What do you get?

The second win this season against a top-five team in the nation for Southern Illinois, of course.

The Salukis rallied with 17 second-half points and survived when Northern Iowa’s Matt Cook missed a 29-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining to give No. 10 SIU a 17-16 triumph against the fourth-ranked Panthers in a Missouri Valley Football Conference game in Carbondale.

The victory provided Southern Illinois with two wins against top-five teams in the same season, a first in school history. The Salukis upset then-No. 1 North Dakota State two weeks ago.

“We just took down two big fish,” said SIU quarterback Stone Labanowitz said, who came into the game as an injury replacement. “They’re going to be right on our wall, hanging.”

The Salukis pulled off the victory after starting quarterback Nic Baker injured his left foot on a first-quarter run. He left the game in the second quarter and was replaced by Labanowitz, who was SIU’s starter at the beginning of the 2019 season.

After halftime, Baker was on crutches on the sidelines.

Labanowitz led the Salukis (4-1 overall, 3-1 MVFC) to 10 third-quarter points, then hit senior wide receiver Jerron Rollins in the back of the end zone with 9:43 left in the game to put SIU ahead for good.

Here are three things Prairie State Pigskin learned about the Salukis in the victory:

1. SIU has playmakers

Seven different players caught a pass in the victory for SIU, while six different players had rushing attempts. Running back Javon Williams Jr. threw a 42-yard TD pass, while rushing for 41 yards and catching three passes for 17 yards as SIU put up 279 of its 416 yards in the second half.

“We were able to pick up first downs, get some explosive plays,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said.

Leading rusher Romier Elliott had 80 of the Salukis’ 192 rushing yards. Justin Strong and Avante Cox added 33 and 30 yards, respectively. Cox was the leading receiver with four catches for 67 yards and a TD, while Landon Lenoir had five receptions for 59 yards. The Salukis also got key contributions from tight end Levi Mitchell (40 yards on two catches) and Elliott (two catches, 25 yards).

2. Defense proves resilient … again

Down by two scores for the second week in a row, SIU’s defense responded again in the victory.

The unit allowed three second-half points and only five UNI first downs in the final two periods. SIU forced UNI to punt twice in the second half and recovered a fumble forced by safety Qua Brown.

Linebacker Bryson Strong had a team-best eight tackles and SIU’s only sack of the day. Cornerback James Ceasar collected two of the team’s four pass breakups.

“The defense kept us in it and made them keep kicking field goals,” Hill said. Of UNI’s 10 drives in the contest, the Panthers were forced to attempt five field goals.

3. What’s next at QB?

Labanowitz is a former starter and likely will retain the job if Baker and Kare’ Lyles, who began the season as SIU’s top quarterback, aren’t healthy next weekend.

He proved more than capable of handling the role Saturday by completing 11 of 15 passes for 91 yards and a touchdown.

Lyles is nursing broken ribs that were sustained in the team’s season-opening loss at North Dakota.

What’s up next?

Southern Illinois hosts South Dakota State at noon on Saturday, March 20 in Carbondale.

The last time Illinois State met up with North Dakota State in the FargoDome each team was led by a future NFL standout. While that wasn’t the case Saturday, the result was similar—the game went down to the wire.

In that 2019 FCS quarterfinal, NDSU and this spring’s projected first-round draft pick Trey Lance nipped ISU and Jacksonville Jaguars rookie sensation James Robinson 9-3 as the Bison worked its way another national championship.

While Saturday’s game didn’t feature the name recognition and star power of that matchup, it contained many of the same ingredients—strong defense, power running games and a late big-time play from a freshman quarterback.

Fifth-ranked and once-beaten North Dakota State outlasted No. 22 Illinois State 21-13 in Missouri Valley Football Conference action.

“It was kind of deju vu from the last time we played up here. We had a chance with the last possession to go down and tie the game,” ISU head coach Brock Spack said in the postgame.

True freshman NDSU quarterback Cam Miller weaved his way on a six-yard touchdown scramble to complete a 13-play, 84-yard drive to ice the game with 3:39 left. The scoring drive chewed up eight minutes and 13 seconds on the clock.

“He’s a good athlete,” Spack said of Miller. “He brings the quarterback run game. He’s more of an option for them when he’s playing.”

Miller—who took over for Zeb Noland—ran 11 times for 57 yards while completing 5-of-7 passes for 61 yards. Noland had no rushes and was 6-for-13 passing for 72 yards. Noland was intercepted twice.

The win boosted NDSU to 4-1 overall and 3-1 in conference a week ahead of its showdown with rival and third-ranked North Dakota, which beat Western Illinois 38-21 Saturday in Macomb.

The loss dropped Illinois State to 0-3.

Here are three things we learned:

1. Defense is still an Illinois State staple.

Spack, a former Purdue linebacker and defensive coordinator, has long relied on his defense to spearhead his team. The 12th-year head coach certainly had to be pleased with the unit Saturday.

ISU’s defense sparked the Redbirds’ comeback.

The Redbird defense has been injury-riddled this spring. Already down two key defensive linemen, ISU linebacker Zeke Vandenburg was also hampered by ailments Saturday yet continued to play.

ISU defensive back Charles Woods had two interceptions and eight tackles. Fellow defensive back Clayton Isbell also proved to be disruptive. The St. Charles East High School graduate had two tackles-for-loss and a forced fumble.

“When I saw the opportunity, I just ripped. The ball came out and I jumped on it,” Isbell said. “When I stripped it, it (the ball) hit my chest and then the ground and then back to my chest.”

ISU’s defense forced NDSU to punt with 1:45 remaining in the game, giving the Redbirds one last chance on offense. However, ISU could only advance to its own 47 before quarterback Bryce Jefferson’s last-second desperation heave was batted down.

2. Special teams doomed the Redbirds.

A punt return for a touchdown and a blocked extra point proved to be major factors that kept ISU from pulling off the upset.

NDSU’s Jake Reinholz broke off an 85-yard punt return at the 11:20 mark of the first quarter.

After ISU rallied to within a point in the fourth quarter, NDSU’s Spencer Waege broke through and blocked Aidan Bresnahan’s extra point attempt.

“We spend a lot of time of special teams, probably more than most teams do. It’s a critical piece to what we do,” NDSU head coach Matt Entz said postgame.

The Redbirds also failed to field NDSU’s final punt and thus started their final drive at their own 17-yard line with no timeouts.

3. ISU got its running game going.

“We found a couple tailbacks,” Spack said of redshirt freshman Nigel White and sophomore Pha’leak Brown.

“The speed you saw with Nigel, that’s the speed we saw in training camp. He’s going to be a good player,” Spack added. “Pha’leak is going to be a good player . . . the running game is much better than the last time we came. It just felt better.”

That’s high praise considering ISU featured Robinson, who set a record for most yards gained by an undrafted rookie this past NFL season. In that 2019 playoff game, Robinson rushed for 94 yards on 24 attempts.

White ran for 87 yards on 15 carries Saturday, including a 32-yard run. Brown added 35 yards on eight attempts.

Yet, it was sophomore Tyler Pennington that scored the quick-hitting touchdown on a third down call to pull ISU to within a point at 14-13 at the 11:59 mark of the fourth quarter.

The failed extra point followed.

“That was a low snap on the extra point and so the holder wasn’t able to tee the ball up and the ball was laying flat,” Spack explained.

What’s next?

Illinois State hosts rival Western Illinois Saturday, March 20 at Hancock Stadium in Normal.

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When Matt Judd returns a kickoff for the Eastern Illinois football team, his head coach notices a number of good traits.

“Matt’s best qualities as a returner are his best qualities overall – his toughness and his desire,” EIU head coach Adam Cushing said. “You see the same thing at receiver, making tough catches.”

When the team reviewed video of last week’s 28-15 loss at Tennessee Martin, in which Judd racked up 98 return yards on three kickoffs, Cushing noticed another key attribute.

“He trusts his teammates,” Cushing said of Judd, who is averaging 26.2 yards per return. “You’ll pause the video and the seam isn’t there, then all of a sudden, the seam is enormous. He just trusts that he can run straight ahead to where the seam is intended to be and his guys are going to do the job.”

Judd and the Panthers (0-2) take their conference-leading kick return game to Nashville Sunday for an Ohio Valley Conference game against Tennessee State (0-2) at 1 p.m. (ESPN+)

Judd currently owns the highest kick return average at EIU since 2009, when Lorence Ricks returned 10 kicks for a 30.6-yard average. Through the team’s first two games, Judd’s return average would rank eighth in school history for a full season.

Against UT Martin, the redshirt freshman from Lincoln-Way East High School broke off a 53-yard return. The season opener against Southeast Missouri included a 39-yarder.

Cushing noted that Judd is a good fit at returner despite a lack of blazing speed.

“I’m not poking fun at him, but I don’t know if he’s going to beat a lot of people in a 40-yard dash,” Cushing said. “Be he just runs hard and he trusts his teammates.”

Stepping up at WR

Judd and sophomore DeWayne Cooks have contributed greatly at wide receiver for the Panthers in the absence of the injured Isaiah Hill, who led the team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches in 2019.

Judd, a redshirt freshman, had five catches for 73 yards and his first career touchdown against UT Martin. Cooks had five receptions for 67 yards and a TD.

Both efforts were career bests for Judd and Cooks.

Cushing said Hill is not likely to return soon from his undisclosed injury.

“Isaiah Hill is not coming along,” he said. “I don’t anticipate him playing at this point. It’s unfortunate, but obviously we’ve seen DeWayne Cooks and Matt Judd make some enormous plays in his stead. We miss a guy like Isaiah.”

Despite not being in uniform, Hill is still making an impact.

“My favorite part about Isaiah are the texts that I get from him right before the game that say, ‘Hey Coach, let’s get this thing,’” Cushing said.

Cushing said the Panthers as a whole are getting several other players healthy during this spring season.

“We’re getting more and more guys back,” he said. “We’re going to have more guys available for this game than we had last week. So, that’s exciting.”

Memories of TSU

Eastern beat Tennessee State, 49-38, on Nov. 9, 2019 for Cushing’s first win as a collegiate head coach.

The game included an icy Gatorade shower for EIU’s coach on a 50-degree day.

“I’ll take a Gatorade shower in any weather if it means a win on a Saturday or Sunday this season,” Cushing said. “The best memory is we weren’t dominating by any stretch, but we just kept fighting. It was back and forth, and those are probably the most fun to win because the guys just kept on battling. That’s everything that we want this program to stand for.”

News and notes

The Panthers have yet to score a point in the first or third quarters this season, which Cushing said likely will lead to “simplifying the plan a little bit” on offense. “As much as you want to script all the plays and have the guys have all the answers, sometimes it’s just going back to our base stuff.” EIU has the lowest time of possession in the OVC at 27 minutes, 33 seconds a game. … The Panthers are the least penalized team in the conference through two games at 25 yards per game. … Eastern’s offensive line has allowed an OVC-low one sack in its first two games. … Tennessee State has the second-best kickoff return average in the OVC (21.9 yards), trailing EIU. … Junior Cam Wyche, a transfer from NAIA Lindsey Wilson College, leads TSU and the conference in receiving with 74 yards a game.

Where to find the game

The Panthers will kick off at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 14 in Nashville in a game that will air on ESPN+ online. The radio broadcast is available at WEIU.net.