Menu
Sloppiness hinders Southeast Missouri State football team in loss to SIU
Southeast Missouri State quarterback passes while being pressured by SIU defenisve tackle T.J. Beelen (51) in the second half at Saluki Stadium on Saturday in Carbondale. SIU held on to win 30-22.
It's my job to write. It's Tom Matukewicz's job to coach football. But after Southeast Missouri State's 30-22 loss to Southern Illinois on Saturday night, we could agree on vocabulary.
I asked him if "sloppy" was the right adjective for his team's penalty-filled performance.
"I don't know what else you want about "sloppy" than making penalties," Matukewicz said. "There's nothing else to be said about it."
What can be said about it is that this was a game that the Redhawks could have won if they would have gotten out of their own way a few more times. Instead, they stumbled when they needed to soar.
That's not to take anything away from Southern Illinois, but too much of what ailed SEMO was self-inflicted.
Four of 18 on third down. Three chances in the red zone without getting in the end zone. Missed tackles. Fourteen penalties for 94 yards.
After last week's loss at Memphis, Matukewicz told me he wanted to cut his team's eight penalties for 90 yards in half. It felt like they about doubled.
In terms of numbers, they nearly did. But also in terms of impact and sloppiness. This wasn't about being over-aggressive on defense -- Southern Illinois only had two first downs on penalties -- it was a team making mistakes while in possession of the football.
"We've got to do more than talking about it," Matukewicz said. "[SIU] had several dumb penalties, too. It was just a really bad football game when it comes to that. It's indefensible. It's lack of discipline. It's a reflection of the head coach and I've got to get those things fixed."
The Redhawks were flagged for false starts five times. Three of those came on third down, all in manageable situations that suddenly became third-and-longs.
At 4:18 of the third quarter, when a touchdown would have made it a one-point game, a holding penalty eliminated a 59-yard run by Truman McCullough that would have put Southeast at SIU's 6-yard line. A critical explosive play come and gone like a whisper falling on deaf ears.
In the second quarter, when Southeast was knocking on the door and trying to take a 15-3 lead, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty knocked the Redhawks back from Southern Illinois' 11-yard line. More than that, it eviscerated a promising drive that had seen SEMO start at its own 9 and push 80 yards down field. Eighty yards spent for three points when Southeast settled for a field goal. Again.
That drive officially traversed 72 yards. It was the second 72-yard drive of the game for the Redhawks. Neither saw the team score a touchdown.
That is waste. And waste is sloppy.
"We moved the football, we were just hurting ourselves," Southeast quarterback Jesse Hosket said. "Getting down in the red zone and not getting in the end zone; penalties; dumb stuff, not being a smart offense. That beat us."
And when it wasn't offensive problems, a defense that has otherwise been strong made it look like maybe the Salukis slipped some vaseline onto their uniforms.
In the fourth quarter a missed tackle on Daquan Isom turned third-and-8 into a 15-yard gain and a first down in SEMO territory. SIU's drive eventually stalled out, but close enough to put up another three points.
Earlier in the game, Darrell James appeared especially slippery, as twice the Southern Illinois receiver turned what looked like a gain of a few yards into double-digit gains when he spun out of a defender's hands like a greased pig. That drive was capped by a touchdown as time expired on the first half -- the TD that gave SIU the lead for good.
Southern Illinois was good. Running back Daquan Isom ran like a small brick with wings. Quarterback Josh Straughan threw some perfect balls. The Saluki defensive line menaced Hosket to the tune of two sacks, 11 hurries and countless more personal greetings.
But in this one, Southeast has little to blame but itself.
Josh Mlot is the sports editor of the Southeast Missourian and Semoball.com.