NORMAL - Unfortunately for all concerned, Illinois State students displayed just as accurate of a throwing arm as Redbird quarterback Luke Drone Saturday at Hancock Stadium.

Thanks to a pregame giveaway, fans in the ISU student section (or "Zoo") were among those given miniature plastic footballs before the Redbirds' 37-10 victory over Southern Illinois.

When the Salukis huddled in the south end zone about 26 minutes before kickoff, they were pelted with a barrage of mini footballs.

"I'm mad at the guy who gave them the footballs. I'm upset with the kids for throwing them, but kids are kids," ISU coach Denver Johnson said. "That's unbecoming and we certainly don't want to mistreat people. I appreciate them being there, and I appreciate them being fired up and active. But man, we gave them projectiles. That probably wasn't real smart on our part."

The behavior caused no injuries as the footballs either hit the ground or bounced off Southern helmets. Briefly, Saluki players tossed footballs back at the crowd.

And, after Southern returned to their locker room during the ISU marching band performance, more footballs greeted the Salukis as they took the field again just before kickoff.

As the first half clock expired, Johnson ran toward the student section with his hands raised, imploring the students not to throw any more footballs as the Salukis left the field for halftime.

About four footballs did land in the vicinity of the Southern team, and game officials penalized ISU 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct. The infraction was assessed on the opening kickoff of the second half.

"I appreciate the fact they were engaged, but 15-yard penalties are hard to overcome," said Johnson. "We got them down there and they're fired up. Let's not give them anything to throw. Let's give that to them when they're leaving the stadium."

Southern coach Jerry Kill said commenting on the incidents would "take away from the game. I'll let the higher ups handle that."

Other than that, the biggest ISU home crowd since 1971 was well behaved. The gathering of 17,237 was the sixth highest in school history.

Hundreds of fans stood behind and at each end of the Southern bench behind ropes. And temporary bleachers housed more spectators behind the north end zone.

"They need to calm down throwing those balls on the field. But when they get loud and an offense can't audible, it's huge," linebacker Cameron Siskowic said. "It was a crazy environment. I saw a 'Siskowic for President' sign out there. You can't ask for a better stage, a better environment than that."

"It was like a 12th man on the field," said offensive tackle Isaiah Wiggins. "It made it so much better. It really helped us."

Horton, Jackson hit 100

Preseason All-America receiver Laurent Robinson did set a school record with a reception in his 30th straight game. But the 23-yard catch was Robinson's only one. Bothered by a nagging ankle injury, Robinson did not play in the second half.

In Robinson's stead, Pierre Jackson hauled in five passes for 113 yards and Jason Horton had four receptions for a career-high 120 yards. It was the first time ISU had two receivers hit the 100-yard mark in the same game in nearly eight years.

"I feel blessed as a quarterback. To have these guys to throw to is awesome," Drone said. "They are both really athletic, they can make cuts when they have the ball and most of all they can catch the ball. Even with Laurent out, we hardly lose a step. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when we get him back."

Moving up?

Ranked fifth nationally in Division I-AA entering the game, ISU could move up when the new rankings are released Monday.

No. 1 New Hampshire dropped a 42-23 decision to No. 13 James Madison Saturday. No. 2 Appalachian State held off unranked Wofford, 14-7, and No. 3 Montana edged unranked Northern Arizona, 24-21. No. 4 Cal Poly is idle this week.