CARBONDALE - Chris Dieker added a new title to his resume Saturday against South Dakota State: running back.

The Southern Illinois University quarterback had a career-high eight carries for 18 yards in the No. 9/10 Salukis' 38-35 victory. Two of those carries came on the game-winning drive that ended in Kyle Dougherty's 28-yard field goal.

"It adds a little bit of diversity to the table, where I can get a few carries in so they don't always think when I get the ball I'm going to be passing it," Dieker said. "It helps out, and it helps soften the defense a little bit for us."

On a third-and-8 from the SDSU 40-yard line, Dieker ran a quarterback keeper left for eight yards for the first down. The 6-foot-5, 227-pound Dieker later got the Salukis to the Jackrabbit 11 on a three-yard run to set up the field goal. Despite getting sacked twice, Dieker managed the most yards on the ground since rushing for 20 yards against Missouri State.

"That was a huge drive. Chris did a very good job of managing the offense," SIU coach Dale Lennon said. "We had a couple of big third-down conversions that we needed to come through. The play-calling was diverse, where on that third-and-eight, to do a quick-option play to the right side. We wanted to give our players a chance, and I thought that happened on that drive."

Dieker had enough carries to make SDSU think twice when he hiked the ball from the 2-yard line late in the first half. Out of the I-formation with two running backs and two wide receivers, Dieker took the snap, faked the handoff to fullback John Goode to his right, then flipped an option pitch to Larry Warner to his left.

Warner went the rest of the way for the touchdown.

Through the air, Dieker completed a career and season-best 25 of 35 for 245 yards. The redshirt sophomore right-hander was picked off in the fourth quarter, but more than efficient enough to help the Salukis win their sixth straight game.

SIU (8-2 overall and 6-1 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference) now heads to Illinois State (3-7, 2-5) Saturday to close the regular season. A Saluki win will give SIU its first outright league title since 2004 and the team's sixth straight playoff berth.

The Redbirds lost in overtime to No. 25 Western Illinois, 48-45, Saturday for their second straight loss. SIU leads the series with Illinois State 35-32-3 but has split the last six meetings.

todd.hefferman@thesouthern.com / 351-5087