Southern Illinois: Saluki Football versus SEMO -- thoughts on the game

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Last night's 35-14 win over SEMO was precisely the confidence builder Southern Illinois needed as it heads into conference play this week. The Salukis were sharp in every phase of the game.1. The three-touchdown margin of victory understates how thoroughly SIU dominated the football game. The Salukis out-gained SEMO 565 to 186 and had a 29-11 advantage in first downs. Southern had 272 yards of offense and three TDs before the Redhawks picked up a single first down. Most of the SEMO's offensive production came late in the second half, when the game was out of hand.2. QB Kory Faulkner put up monster statistics (26-of-40 for 384 yards) on a rainy night that wasn't conducive to throwing the football. Yes, his yardage was aided by explosive runs-after-the-catch by TE MyCole Pruitt and WR LaSteven McKinney, but even so, his anticipation and ball placement were superb. To put Faulkner's numbers in perspective, in the last 12 years, only one other quarterback at SIU has passed for more than 300 yards in a game (Nick Hill did it once).Kory Faulkner's 384 passing yards were the third-most in school history.3. Offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer has been touting his playmakers this fall, and last night, they made lots of plays. This is the kind of game I expected to see from Southern after watching Faulkner execute the offense during camp. The Salukis have a quarterback who has a solid grasp of the offense and can get the ball to his playmakers in space.4. Tight end MyCole Pruitt is a beast who loves to initiate contact after he catches the ball. He had nine receptions for 121 yards, and his longest play of the night was also the most spectacular as he turned a short crossing route into a 35-yard gain. When he caught the ball, it appeared his best option was to run toward the sideline. Instead, he turned straight upfield looking for someone to hit. Redhawks' LB Blake Peiffer found himself in Pruitt's path and was promptly run over. Pruitt broke two more tackles for good measure. It's no wonder the sophomore is on NFL scouts' radar.MyCole Pruitt leaves behind a pile of SEMO defenders.5. Wide receiver LaSteven McKinney is an explosive little player, and DeBoer and Co. are finding clever ways to get the speedy 5-9 wideout the ball. Last week, they handed it to him five times on the reverse for 27 yards. This week he turned a couple of swing passes into big gains. He also returns kicks. McKinney averages 90 all-purpose yards per game and is a tremendous boost for the offense.6. More observations on Faulkner -- he did a nice job of speeding up the tempo when he felt SIU had an advantage. On the second series, he recognized that SEMO didn't have enough backs to cover the field, and he delivered a quick strike to WR David Lewis that went for an easy 39-yard touchdown...On a 3rd and 1 play, SEMO didn't bite on a Faulkner bootleg, but he pump-faked to an invisible receiver and managed to get a 1st down...One tendency Faulkner needs to avoid is wanting to force the ball to Pruitt when he's well covered. SEMO double-covered Pruitt on a number of occasions, and Faulkner should have checked down to another option on his only interception of the night.7. Faulkner wasn't sacked, nor was he under heavy pressure, and that means the offensive line is improving. There were some missed opportunities in the run game, but the unit has gotten better each week since its poor outing in the opener against Eastern Illinois.8. I liked the aggressive play calling when Southern was backed up near its goal line. A 99-yard scoring drive began on a beautifully delivered play-action pass from Faulkner to TE Dalton Morgan for 26 yards. In the third quarter, the Salukis were facing 3rd-and-12 at their own 1, and Faulkner made a pretty 22-yard toss to John Lantz on a wheel route.9. Running back Mika'il McCall made his first start as a Saluki last night, scored two touchdowns and now has seven TDs on the season. He made some great runs, inclu

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