Southern Illinois Recap

College football is back, and the season will kick off on Aug. 31, 2024, at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. Let’s talk about it.

Opponent

Southern Illinois Salukis (SIU) is part of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision. They are members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Interestingly, BYU paid the Salukis $435,000 to come and play in Provo, Utah. Meanwhile, the Kansas Jayhawks canceled the game, and they had to pay the Salukis $135,000. So, they made some good money.

The Game

The game kicked off at 6 PM MST, and it was a good 90 degrees outside.

1st Quarter

BYU Kicked off the game.

BYU scored with a 1-yard run by Hinckley Ropati at 6:16 left in the 1st

BYU scored again with a 57-yard pass from Jake Retziaff to Jojo Phillips. That was one sweet pass. That was at the 1:56 mark left.

SIU 0

BYU 14

2nd Quarter

SIU scored a touchdown with 0:46 left in the quarter. It was a 4-yard run by DJ Williams; They missed the kick

SIU 6

BYU 14

BYU kicked a 50-yard field goal at the end of the second quarter. Will Ferrin made that long kick.

SIU 6

BYU 17

3rd Quarter

BYU scored at the 11:19 mark in the game with a 7-yard TD pass from Jake Retzlaff to LJ Martin, and Will Ferrin put up the extra point

SIU 6

BYU 24

BYU gamed down and scored at the 8:12 mark of the game. It was a 19-yard pass from Jake Retzlaff to Mata’ava Ta’ase and Will Ferrin with the kick.

SIU 6

BYU 31

SIU’s quarterback had some good running, but it seemed that BYU couldn’t wrap up. They had been doing well all game, but at the 4:19 mark in the quarter, DJ Williams ran 38 yards to score the touchdown. The kick from Paul Geeien was good.

SIU 13

BYU 31

4th Quarter

This quarter was all BYU on the scoring side of things

LJ Martin 1 yard run at the 12:35 mark with Will Ferrin’s kick

SIU 13

BYU 38

With 7:09 left in the game, Will Ferrin kicked a 41-yard field goal

SIU 13

BYU 41

That is how the game will end.

Stats

SIU	Stat	BYU
231	Total Yards	527
108	Passing Yards	348
123	Rushing Yards	179
4.5	Yards per play	6.8
12	First downs	27
4/12	3rd down efficiency	7/15
0/1	4th down efficiency	3/4
51	Total Plays	77
7	Punts	2
6 (68)	Penalties (yards)	3 (15)
0	Fumbles lost	0
1	Interceptions	0
20:46	Time of Possession	39:14

Thoughts

This was a pretty good game for the first game of the 2024 season. Yes, there are some things that BYU will have to work on, but I thought they played very well. With Jake Retzlaff’s performance last year, I figured he would start the game. He is a good quarterback and has an arm.

They made some excellent down-the-field throws.

LaVell Edwards Stadium was loud and alive. Over the summer, they made some changes, including new LED lights that will enhance game day. They can turn on and off and go blue as well.