Carbondale, Ill. -- After a strong first half, the 15th-ranked Youngstown State football team watched as No. 5 Southern Illinois turned the tables on the Penguins with a 24-point outburst in the second stanza handing YSU a 31-17 defeat at McAndrew Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

YSU (7-3 overall and 4-2 in the Gateway) played a strong opening 30 minutes, but the final 30 minutes belonged to Southern Illinois. SIU (7-2 and 5-1) methodically scored 10 points in the third quarter to tie the contest and pulled out the victory with two impressive fourth-quarter touchdowns.

With the score tied 17-17, SIU quarterback Joel Sambursky's third touchdown pass of the game from nine yards out found Kellen Allen in the back corner of the end zone with 11:17 remaining and the Salukis never trailed again.

After YSU was forced to punt following the SIU score, Craig Turner returned a 51-yard Joe Bishop punt 85 yards for a score to put the Salukis ahead 31-17 and the game away with 3:05 remaining.

The Penguins last-ditch effort ended at the SIU 22-yard line when the Salukis recovered a Tom Zetts fumble with just over a minute remaining.

Southern Illinois struck first in the second half when Sambursky threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Allen cutting the deficit to 17-14 at the 11:17 mark of the third quarter.

SIU tied the game on its next possession, but the Penguins' defense rose to the occasion to keep the Salukis out of the end zone. After Arkee Whitlock took the ball to the YSU two on first down, the defense stuffed him on second down and threw Sambursky for a loss on third down to force a field goal. Craig Coffin tied the game with 1:33 left in the quarter by converting a 19-yard field goal.

Midway through the fourth quarter, YSU tried to grab back the lead on a field-goal attempt. Brian Palmer's attempt from 49 yards with the wind at his back had plenty of distance but was wide right.

The Penguins took the initial possession of the game against the wind and came away with a seven-point lead.

After the game-opening kickoff went out of bounds giving YSU the ball at the 35, Zetts engineered an impressive seven-play drive. The drive was capped when junior tight end Max King snared a pass across the middle from Zetts for a 17-yard score with 12:19 left in the opening frame.

Southern Illinois answered late in the quarter to tie the game. On third-and-four from the YSU five, Sambursky rolled to his right and found tight end Braden Jones in the corner of the end zone with 1:46 left in the period.

After being unable to take advantage of the wind for most of the second quarter, the Penguins cashed in big late in the second period.

Zetts threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Marshall, who fought off pass interference and grabbed the ball with one hand, putting YSU ahead 14-7 at the 2:14 mark.

On the Salukis' next possession, Sambursky was sacked by Justin Scholes and lost control of the football as Brandon Brown recovered at the SIU 13.

YSU settled for a 30-yard Brian Palmer field goal as the half expired to lead 17-7 at the break.
Zetts finished the first half with 180 yards on 9-of-17 passing. For the game he completed 18-of-31 passes for a career-high 291 yards. YSU had 425 total offensive yards and Southern Illinois finished with 383.

The Penguins conclude the regular season next Saturday when they play host to Western Kentucky at Stambaugh Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.