Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football Set To Host Murray State
09/10/2003 | 12:00:00 | Football
Sept. 10, 2003
By Seth Whitehead
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE - Everyone's expecting Saturday's matchup between Murray State and the 21st-ranked Southern Illinois University football team to be an all-out war.
And fittingly, both team's coaches feel the 6 p.m. matchup at McAndrew Stadium will be won in the trenches.
"They're similar to us in that they'd like to just run the football up and down the field,'' Racers' coach Joe Pannunzio said in a press release on the school's website. "Defensively, they're playing with a lot of intensity and confidence up front.
"For us to win, we've got to be able to handle them up front and win the battles in the trenches so we can control the ball."
SIU head coach Jerry Kill echoed Pannunzio's sentiments.
"If we don't play well up front on the offense and defensive line it will be a long night,'' Kill said. "It's going to be a real test for us. We're going to play a hard-nosed, physical football team and we're going to have to see if we can hang in there them.
And, Kill emphasizes: "The only thing that matters on defense -- we've got to stop the run.''
In other words, a repeat of last Saturday's performance against Southeast Missouri State will go a long way towards moving SIU's record to 3-0 for the first time since 1999, breaking a three-game losing streak to the Racers to boot.
SIU held SEMO to just 59 yards on 34 carries last weekend.
"The reason they beat Southeast Missouri was their defensive line out-played SEMO's offensive line,'' Pannunzio said.
"We hung in well with SEMO and we'll see if we can come back and do it again,'' Kill said.
But a repeat of last year's performance in a 42-24 loss to the Racers -- in which the Salukis gave up 344 yards rushing -- will go a long way to extending SIU's losing streak against the regional-rival.
Fortunately, the Racers lost Billy Blanchard, a man who accounted for 165 yards of that rushing total, to graduation. They do still have Ron Lane, however. Lane ran for 85 yards against SIU last year and is leading the Racers with 109 yards rushing through two games this year. Three other backs have had 10 or more carries for MSU so far this year.
Murray also has a capable passing game, led by senior quarterback and four-year starter Stewart Childress and all-conference wide receiver Deandre Green, who transfered from Auburn last year.
"They're going to spread it out pretty evenly until they know they need to throw the ball,'' Kill said. "And they are going to throw it to Green. That quarterback's going to eyeball him and that's where they are going to go when they need a big play. That's what they did last year and that's what they'll do this year.''
Murray's 1-1 record so far this year is somewhat deceiving. The Racer' victory was a 34-0 romp over non-scholarship Division I-AA Valparaiso, while their loss was a 37-6 pasting from I-A Kentucky. Despite that lopsided setback, Kill was impressed by the Racers up front.
"When they played Kentucky, except for about four or five football plays where Kentucky's 280-pound quarterback ran around and threw it up, they dominated the football game,'' Kill said. "I think they played much more physical than what Kentucky did, there is no question about it -- certainly up front. Their defensive line got after Kentucky's offensive line, and it's got me very nervous.
Pannunzio agrees with Kill, but admits that his team's defensive line has yet to be tested by a backfield the caliber of SIU's.
" It seems like, up front, we have a chance to have a pretty good defense,'' Pannunzio said. "When you look at our schedule, Valpo was a team we should've been able to handle and we felt like we did. Kentucky was the other end of it, but they still weren't a hard-nosed running team. They were more of a finesse team. But we're going to see a hard-nosed running team this week and I'm anxious to see if we can hold up against the run."
"They get after you every play, and they've got two great running backs in Muhammad Abdulqaadir and Tom Koutsos. They're probably as good as anybody you'll see in I-AA football."
With a national-ranking and a convincing road win over Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite SEMO in the books, SIU has every reason to feel confident going up against a team picked to finish just behind the Indians in the OVC.
But Kill knows his team is in for a battle.
"They probably have more athletes than SEMO does right now,'' Kill said of the Racers. "They are loaded with athletic ability.
"Those rankings and all that stuff, they don't mean anything. I think Auburn was ranked first in the country and now they're 0-2. I never pay attention to those rankings.
"I know when there are good football teams and not-so-good ones. Murray State's a good one.'
Other Murray State players to watch for
FS Demetrick Westbrook (First team OVC).
DB Bobby Sanders (HM OVC)
CB Michael Hanely (transfer from Indiana)
Notable
Tom Koutsos' next touchdown will put him in a first-place tie with Scott Everhart on SIU's all-time points scored list.
