Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University’s football team lost to Purdue, 34-17, on Saturday in West Lafayette. The Salukis started strong, scoring touchdowns on their first two drives. DJ Williams opened the game with a rushing touchdown, followed by a four-yard pass from Williams to tight end Ryan Schwendeman. After the first quarter, Southern Illinois led 14-7 before Purdue tied the game on its next possession.

The Salukis finished with 283 yards of total offense—202 passing and 81 rushing. Quarterback DJ Williams completed 20 of 33 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for another score and totaled 19 rushing yards. Fabian McCray had a team-high 72 receiving yards, while Schwendeman’s touchdown came on his first reception of the season.

On defense, Andrew Behm recorded a team-leading 16 tackles. Colin Bohanek added 10 tackles, and Vinny Pierre Jr. intercepted a pass for his second career pick at Southern Illinois.

Senior kicker Paul Geelen made a career-long field goal from 53 yards in the fourth quarter.

Williams’ early touchdown run capped off a 75-yard drive to give Southern Illinois an early lead. After Purdue answered with its own touchdown, Williams connected with McCray for a long gain before finding Schwendeman in the end zone.

Purdue tied the game later in the first quarter and outscored Southern Illinois by ten points in the second quarter to take a halftime lead of 24-14.

Defenses controlled much of the third quarter, highlighted by Pierre Jr.’s interception for Southern Illinois. However, both Saluki possessions ended in punts during that period.

In the fourth quarter, Purdue extended its lead with another rushing touchdown before Geelen’s field goal provided Southern Illinois’ final points of the day.

With this result, Southern Illinois moves to a record of one win and one loss through two games this season. The team will continue its three-game road trip next Saturday against UT Martin in Martin, Tennessee.

For more updates on Saluki football throughout the season, fans can follow @SIU_Football on Twitter or visit Facebook.com/SalukiFootball as well as Instagram at @SIU_Football. The "Salukis" Mobile App is available for download on both the App Store and Google Play Store.