CARBONDALE - Four days before its homecoming game, Southern Illinois University's football team was looking for a good local surgeon Tuesday.

No, the Salukis haven't changed team physicians. SIU (2-2 overall and ranked 16th by The Sports Network) hemorrhaged 35 unanswered points at No. 6/11 North Dakota State Saturday and fell 35-27 on the road. SIU led the Bison 20-0 in the Fargodome, but couldn't stop the tide as it turned in front of more than 18,900 people.

SIU, 1-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, fell into a five-way tie for third place in the league with the loss.

"We're trying not to focus on records right now. We're trying to focus on improvement," SIU coach Dale Lennon said. "We need another game to improve, to take that next step. That's really going to be our theme this week, is just overall improvement and being able to take that next step."

Saturday was not the first time SIU struggled to stop the bleeding after jumping out to a considerable lead. The Salukis led Hampton 20-0 about 20 minutes into the season Sept. 6 and jumped ahead of Northern Iowa 24-7 at the half Sept. 27. The Salukis scored the first 10 points in the fourth quarter in their 37-31 win over the Pirates, and needed a last-second field goal to beat the Panthers 27-24.

SIU led Northwestern 7-6 at the end of the first quarter before losing 33-7 on the road.

"Getting to the point where we take the next step, and we know how to handle an adverse situation, like the second half, where things started going south on us, and how to overcome that; (that's) what we need to do," Lennon said. "Even myself, I lost my composure in the third quarter. That's where that maturity factor has to come, and, sometimes, it's a matter of trying too hard."

With winless Indiana State (0-5, 0-1) coming to McAndrew Stadium Saturday to cap homecoming festivities, the Salukis hope to find a way to close out the game should they jump out to another lead.

The Sycamores have dropped a Football Championship Subdivision-high 19 straight games dating back to 2006 and have been outscored 219-33. Indiana State is 1-43 in its last 44 games and hasn't beaten SIU since 2002, when the Sycamores won 21-14 at McAndrew Stadium. Sycamores first-year coach Trent Miles is still looking for his first win at his alma mater, and would probably like nothing more than to grab it this weekend.

"We played a lot better football in the first half, and just basically have to turn it into a second half, because football is four quarters," said SIU linebacker Brandin Jordan, who had 11 tackles Saturday. "You can't just come out and play two quarters and expect to win."

Like the Salukis, SIU quarterback Chris Dieker had a mixed performance Saturday. Dieker completed 15 of 29 for 186 yards and three touchdowns against the preseason league favorites. With tailbacks Larry Warner and Lucien Walker, the Salukis established the run early at NDSU, which gave Dieker a little more time on the play-action pass. Two of Dieker's three touchdown passes came in the opening half.

His interception in the fourth quarter was returned to the SIU 7, but the Bison came up empty on the ensuing drive when kicker Shawn Bibeau missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt.

Dieker said the offense could take some of the blame for the runs that have become familiar this season.

"We gotta put together some good drives, and, you know, make sure we get some pretty good field position," he said. "If we just keep the defense off the field, put together some drives, then that will happen. Give them a rest, and they'll help us out."

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com / 351-5087