CARBONDALE, Ill.— A top-10 defensive slugfest ended with a defensive stand.
Southern Illinois was turned away four times from inside the 5-yard line in the closing seconds and South Dakota came away with a 14-7 win Saturday at Saluki Stadium.
South Dakota linebacker Brendan Webb had a program-record four sacks and deflected a pass on 4th-and-goal in the final seconds that was intercepted by interior lineman Blake Holden for the winning play.
Webb had five tackles in all. Linebacker Brock Mogensen equaled his career high of 15 tackles and had one of seven South Dakota sacks. The Coyotes held Southern Illinois scoreless until late in the fourth quarter one week after the Salukis scored 63 points in a win against Western Illinois.
South Dakota scored on 1-yard runs by Travis Theis in the first quarter and Aidan Bouman with 6:44 left in the fourth quarter. The Coyotes mustered 196 yards on against one of the top defenses in all of FCS and it proved just enough for South Dakota’s third win against a top-25 team this season.