The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

SIU rolls in Normal

Boomer Grisgby and the Illinois State defense stuffed the SIU running game cold Saturday, giving the Salukis' heralded backs no room to maneuver - the only problem was that once the Redbirds had stopped the run, there was no one left to cover the receivers.

Illinois State placed as many as nine men at the line of scrimmage Saturday to stop the SIU running game, and quarterback Joel Sambursky had them rubbernecking all day as his receivers blazed past them.

He methodically picked apart the few members of the Illinois State secondary defending the pass, setting a new record for career touchdowns and paving the way for a 41-14 blowout victory.

The win guarantees a playoff spot, clinches at least a share of a second consecutive Gateway title and with No. 2 Georgia State's 29-22 loss to No. 3 Furman, puts the Salukis in the drivers seat for a No. 1 seed in the playoffs.

"They put a lot of guys in the box and we were able to make some plays in the passing game," Sambursky said.

Sambursky pretty much was the Saluki offense for most of the day, either running or passing the ball on 33 of 68 plays. He ended the game with three touchdowns, 256 yards passing and not counting sacks, 42 yards rushing.

The running game faltered early, mainly because it's difficult to run through 11 guys seemingly unconcerned about the ball being thrown over their heads.

But when the Redbird focus on the run went from courageous to bordering insanity - Illinois State brought its free safety up to the line to defend the run - Kill decided to turn Sambursky loose.

"That's when we said hey, you got to take what they give you, and that's what we did and we capitalized on it," Kill said.

Illinois State linebacker Boomer Grigsby, who set the all-time career conference record for tackles during Saturday's game, said it was the team's plan to live and die by stopping the run.

Grigsby was unhappy with his defense all day, screaming at the players around him who were not doing the right thing for most of the game.

"If we're going to blitz, we need to get there," Grigsby said. "We can't put all the pressure on the back end."

Sambursky spread the ball around to eight receivers, and received a ton of help from a resurgent Brent Little. Little caught four passes for 108 yards, including a catch where he stretched out and seemed to catch the ball with his knuckles "I just had my focus this week, and executed the opportunities I had," Little said.

The same could not be said of the Illinois State offense, which came into the game as one of the best passing attacks in the Gateway conference.

Quarterback Yance Vaughan was downright horrible, throwing wobblers and lawn darts all game. His receivers didn't help him either, dropping a half dozen passes. "We just weren't on the same page together," Vaughan said.

They may have been suffering from alligator arms because the Saluki secondary was ruthlessly physical. Safeties Alexis Moreland and Frank Johnson both recorded bone-crunching, ball-dropping hits as they led the Saluki defense to what was, aside from a late Redbird garbage-time touchdown, a dominant performance.

Early on, it looked as if the Redbirds had at least an outside chance at a shutout. The score was 0-0 at the end of the first quarter and SIU was continually pinned deep in its own territory, but Illinois State's reputation as a turnover machine came to fruition when Brandon Bruner smashed Redbird punt returner Joe Walkins. The hit gave the Salukis the ball 40 yards from the end zone.

Bruner would later leave the game with a hamstring injury that may keep him out of next week's game, but that hit opened the floodgates. It was all Salukis from there, and they drove down the field with ease.

Now, the only thing standing between SIU and an undefeated conference season - and the distinction of the best regular season team in Division I-AA - is last place Indiana State.

"We're honored to have that," Sambursky said about the accolades the team has accumulated. "But we understand that now we got to finish things next week and get in the playoffs. We want to finish up No. 1."