Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football Set To Host SMS On Saturday
10/22/2003 | 12:00:00 | Football
Oct. 22, 2003
By Seth Whitehead
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE - Southwest Missouri State head football coach Randy Ball knows all about the unprecedented strength of the Gateway Conference.
The Gateway currently has four of the top-nine teams in the country for the first time in league history.
And his Bears will be playing their third-straight game against one of those top-nine teams Saturday at 6 p.m. when they take fourth-ranked Southern Illinois University at McAndrew Stadium.
"It's phenomenal," Ball said of the Gateway's success. "When you have four teams in the top-10 - and I think the key is this late in the season - it speaks highly of your league."
But the Gateway schedule has been harsh to SMS to say the least. The Bears have gotten off to an 0-3 start in conference play after a strong non-conference start, falling to 3-4 overall.
But there is some hope.
After getting waxed 34-7 in its conference-opener at Youngstown State, SMS nearly knocked off defending champion Western Kentucky on the road, falling 9-6, and stayed within a touchdown of Northern Iowa last week, falling 26-20.
WKU and NIU are No. 8 and 9, respectively, in the latest I-AA national poll.
So despite their record, the Bears are a prime example of the parity the league features from top to bottom. With a couple breaks, Ball's team could be 5-2 overall and 2-1 in conference.
"The competition in the league is just so evenly balanced," Ball said. "It boils down every week to mistakes, turnovers and key plays made."
And turnovers have been a big problem for the Bears so far in conference play. They played huge roles in their losses to YSU and NIU.
Ball knows his team can't afford any mistakes against a hot Saluki team. In case you've been living in a cave: SIU is 7-0 after last week's 37-32 upset of Western Illinois.
"Jerry has done a fantastic job," Ball said. "I really commend him and his staff for getting that program turned around. What a great accomplishment. It really shows the commitment he has made and the coaches have made and of course, the players. They've got some outstanding players.
"For us to be successful we're going to have to hold on to the ball and not turn it over like we have in the loss against Youngstown and last week's loss to Northern Iowa and just play good, solid football."
Despite being heavy underdogs, the Bears will have a little history on their side going into Saturday's game - SIU has lost 14-of-16 to SMS, including the last three in a row.
"We haven't beat them," SIU head coach Jerry Kill said. "I'm 0-2 against them. They've beat our butts the last two years very solidly. We know we'll be in for a war on Saturday."
"They beat us last year, so that's what we've got to remember," said senior linebacker Eric Egan. "We can't overlook them at all."
At 7-0, speculation of the Salukis' playoff possibilities is already starting to surface. But, as has been the case all year, Kill has kept his team focused on the task at hand - beating SMS.
"It's just another day in the Gateway," Kill said. "You have to be ready to play. They are playing very, very well right now down to the wire."
"We're not overlooking Southwest," Egan said. "They're an excellent team. There's no overlooking anybody in this conference. We got here with hard work and we've got to keep working hard and improving."
SMS may have SIU's number of late, but this is clearly not your older brother's Saluki team.
SIU has already broken three head-to-head losing streaks this year and will look to continue that trend.
"We've done some great things this season and have gotten some of that stuff taken care of, but this certainly is another week of what I call 'making history," Kill said. "We need to get this thing turned around a little bit."
And on paper, SIU matches up very well with the Bears.
SMS is ranked next-to-last in rushing defense in the Gateway. SIU is fourth in the nation in rushing offense (295.5) and Muhammad Abdulqaadir and Tom Koutsos are both healthy for the first time this season. Advantage Salukis.
The Bears prefer running the ball and have a solid tailback in Cody Pratt (107.4 ypg).
"They're a hard-nosed running football team," Kill said. "They line up there and they've got tackles that are bigger than what they list. They're strong and physicall - a typical Randy Ball football team. The tailback is going to hammer the ball up in there and they are going to try to control the football and keep our offense on the sideline."
But they will be without Tommicus Walker (69.6 ypg), who quit the team this week after a dispute with the coaching staff. Walker was leading the conference in yards-per-carry (7.4). SMS is 25th in the nation in rushing offense (201.3), but the loss of Walker makes that stat deceiving.
SIU is third in the nation in rushing defense (82.9 ypg) and has given up just two rushing touchdowns this season. Advantage Dawgs.
More good news: SMS is 101st in the country in passing offense and has started three different quarterbacks this season.
Sophomore Mike Radon will make just his second career start Saturday after a rough debut last week against UNI. He threw for a 180 yards on 13-of-26 passing, but he also tossed three interceptions -- one of which was returned for a TD -- and lost a fumble.
SIU is currently tied with SMS for first in the conference with 11 picks and leads the conference in turnover margin. SIU has given up 192 yards through the air per game, but those numbers were inflated by Russ Michna's 300-plus yard performance last week.
Advantage..you get the picture.
Ball is well aware of all these challenges.
"We realize Muhammad and Tom are going to get their yards, we just got to make it a long field and play good on special teams," Ball said. "We've just got to step it up on both sides of the ball."
And like most coaches in the league, Ball is also aware of SIU's emerging passing attack.
"A guy who I think is a key to their total offense their quarterback (Joel) Sambursky, a guy who's done a great job as a young player and just keeps getting better every week," Ball said. "He's a guy who can run the option and throw the ball as well.
"And of course they've got a good, strong offensive line and some great receivers that really add to the offense and can make big plays when needed.
And it doesn't help SMS's cause that safety Kailen Williams, a legit NFL prospect, will miss Saturday's game with an injury.
One of Kill's biggest fears is that a competitive but below .500 Bears team will turn the corner come Saturday.
"I think Randy has got a pretty good team," Kill said. "And usually his teams start to gel around this time. He's made it perfectly clear in the paper that he's been in this situation before and ran off four or five straight wins. I'm just hoping they don't get all there chemistry and get everything put together against us."
"It's a big game, a huge game. This game worries me more than last week's game, no question about that."
Notables
SIU leads the Gateway in 13 categories: Scoring Offense (45.4), Scoring Defense (13.0), Rushing Offense (295.5), Rushing Defense (82.9), Total Offense (447.9), Total Defense (275.7), Turnover Margin (+11), Pass Efficiency (161.8), First Downs (160), 3rd down conversions (56 percent), fourth down conversions (75 percent), opponent fourth down conversions (8.3 percent) and kickoff coverage (17.3 yards). SIU's Kellen Allen(WR) and Matt Miller (OL)are both from Springfield, Mo., home of SMS.
