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One and done for Salukis

SIU falls to Delaware 48-7 in first playoff game in 20 years

Derek Anderson ~ Daily Egyptian Senior Tom Koutsos and junior Alexis Moreland embrace during the final minutes of SIU's first round Division I-AA playoff loss to the University of Delaware at Delaware Stadium. The Salukis were pummeled 48-7 in their first playoff game in 20 years.

NEWARK, Del. - It was supposed to be the best first round match-up in the entire Division I-AA playoff field.

It was a game that pitted No. 4 SIU against No. 3 Delaware and appeared to be a battle that could end up becoming an instant classic.

Instead, it was a bigger dud than a Mariah Carey movie.

SIU was never in the game, falling 48-7 to the No. 2-seeded Blue Hens Saturday at a packed Delaware Stadium in the Salukis' first playoff game since winning the national championship in 1983.

The Salukis (10-2) entered the game looking to prove they were worthy of more respect than the NCAA selection committee had granted them by forcing them to go on the road in the first round.

But once the game started, it was over so quick that most on the SIU sideline was left stunned as the Salukis looked more like the 1-10 team from two seasons ago than the 10-1 team that entered the game.

SIU sophomore quarterback Joel Sambursky coughed up the ball just five plays into the game, setting up a 14-yard touchdown pass from Andy Hall to Justin Long.

SIU's Brent Little fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up another Delaware touchdown to put the Salukis down 13-0 just eight minutes into the game.

By the time the first quarter was over, the Blue Hens (12-1) would score two more touchdowns, one of which came when Sean Bleiler recovered a blocked Zach Kettelkamp punt in the end zone to cap the first-quarter scoring.

In comparison, the Salukis almost had fewer total yards (33) than the Blue Hens had points (27).

"We had some adversity and it seems like the harder we tried to overcome it, the worse it got," senior wide receiver Courtney Abbott said. "It was just one of those games everybody always has, and we just had ours at the worst time of the year."

The Salukis would turn the ball over a season-high six times, four of which turned into touchdowns for the Blue Hens, who advanced to the second round of the playoffs to face Northern Iowa. Four of SIU's turnovers were fumbles, which is surprising considering the Salukis had lost just six fumbles all season.

SIU head coach Jerry Kill thought Delaware was one of the best teams in the country, and after the throttling his team received, he is convinced of it.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they run the table and win it all," Kill said.

Tom Koutsos, SIU's and the Gateway Conference's all-time leading rusher and scorer, was relatively quiet in the game. He carried the ball just eight times for 27 yards and scored the Salukis' lone touchdown. Muhammad Abdulqaadir also had a quiet game, running the ball 22 times for 87 yards.

Part of the reason SIU's two highly touted running backs had rather uneventful games is because Delaware dominated the battle up front.

"They hit us in the mouth," Kill said. "I don't know if we've had anybody hit us in the mouth like that."

Another factor keeping the Salukis out of their game plan was the absence of arguably their most versatile player.

Senior Brandon Robinson, a key player for the Salukis, did not play after Kill suspended the all-Gateway fullback for violating an unspecified team policy.

His presence was missed as the Salukis were not able to utilize the fullback in the passing game and little-used Quorey Payne was forced into punt return duty. Payne would muff two punts, one of which was recovered by the Blue Hens.

Following the game, as his teammates were being interviewed by the media, Robinson leaned against the wall with his eyes bloodshot and obvious disappointment on his face.

Kill would not put any blame for the loss on Robinson, saying it was a matter of what they did not do on the field, not who was missing from it.

"We lost the kicking game and the turnover war today, and that's why we got beat," Kill said.

Once the Salukis were down 27-0 after the first quarter and 34-0 at the half, they were forced to abandon the running game and try to beat the Blue Hens through the air.

That became even harder when in the closing seconds of the third quarter, Sambursky was blindsided by a Delaware defender and lay motionless on the field for close to 20 minutes. Sambursky lost consciousness for about a minute but did not lose feeling in his extremities. He was carted off the field and taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.

Curtis Holley came into the game in place of Sambursky and quickly connected with Little for a 33-yard gain. That would be the only pass Holley would complete as he finished 1-of-7 with an interception.

The final stat sheet was rather deceiving as the two teams appeared to be relatively even. Both picked up 20 first downs, Delaware had 340 total offensive yards to 303 yards gained by the Salukis and both teams possessed the ball for about 30 minutes.

The glaring difference was the six turnovers by SIU compared to just two turnovers by Delaware.

"We got our butts kicked, but we didn't help ourselves," Koutsos said. "All year we haven't been having any turnovers or the blocked punts. None of that's been going on."

But in the end, nothing the Salukis did mattered as the Blue Hens were simply too powerful on this day.

It was apparent just by looking at the dejection on the face of sophomore defensive tackle Mark Philipp as he slouched over in front of his locker.

"They just beat us," Philipp said.