Southern Illinoise University Athletics
#1 Football Set To Host #15 Northern Iowa
09/30/2004 | 12:00:00 | Football
By Scott Mees
www.SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Call it what you want (revenge, payback etc.), but Saturday's Gateway Conference showdown between Division I-AA's No. 1 team, Southern Illinois, and No. 15 Northern Iowa should be one to remember.
The top-ranked Salukis (3-1) welcome the Panthers (1-2) to McAndrew Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. homecoming game.
Northern Iowa ended SIU's bid for a perfect conference and regular season record at the end of last year at the UNI-Dome. SIU blew a 28-7 halftime lead in that game and wound up with a 43-40 overtime loss.
"I'm definitely excited," said SIU cornerback Yemi Akisanya. "I can't wait to get out there and play those guys. I won't call it revenge, but we're going to go out here and play hard.
"I've been waiting 365 days for this, so please believe I'll be going out here working hard like my teammates."
The three-touchdown halftime advantage that evaporated at UNI is still lingering, but players are ready to move on and take care of business this weekend.
"I think our defense got a little complacent at the end of the game," said SIU safety Alexis Moreland. "We didn't play hard, and we didn't finish the game. So, that's what happened."
Saluki head coach Jerry Kill added, "The difference was that their crowd really got them back in the game. It was a great atmosphere for college football."
The Saluki defense has given up only three touchdowns in four games, but it faces much stiffer competition this week than it has against its last two opponents, William Penn and Delaware State.
"It's a conference game against Northern Iowa," Moreland said. "We'll play this game just as hard as we play the other ones."
Quarterback Joel Sambursky and company will be looking forward to this season's initial Gateway affair.
"There's a lot of extra motivation it being the first conference game," Sambursky said. "There's always a bad taste, but that was last year. It shouldn't affect what happens this year."
SIU is coming off a 49-0 rout at Delaware State, while the Panthers had a bye last week.
Terry Jackson rushed for a team-high 93 yards against Delaware State, including his first Saluki touchdown. Brandon Jacobs leads SIU with seven TDs, and Arkee Whitlock tops the team with 358 total rushing yards. Whitlock has added six touchdowns as well.
Sambursky ranks 10th in Division I-AA in passing efficiency (162.73), and has completed 64.3 percent of his passes -- with just one interception.
For Northern Iowa, senior quarterback Tom Petrie, junior wide receiver Justin Surrency and junior tailback Terrance Freeney lead the Panther attack.
Petrie is one of the Gateway Conference's top quarterbacks -- he threw for 290 yards two weeks ago in a loss to then No. 13 Stephen F. Austin.
"We've got to hope he misses a few because he's a great player," Kill said. "We've got to hope that maybe the wind is blowing, or that he's off a little bit."
Petrie (132.97 rating) has thrown 46-for-82 in the air for 554 yards. The senior has five TD passes and no interceptions in UNI's three games. He finished the final eight games of the 2003 season with no interceptions.
In addition, Petrie runs the ball well, and defenders rarely sack him.
"You can't get pressure on him because he drops about 10 yards back," Kill said. "He's got a cannon, and they protect him well. That's why they've got an excellent team."
The Saluki defense has only given up three touchdowns and ranks second nationally in points allowed. No opponent has scored a TD -- inside the red zone -- against Southern in seven chances.
"It's hard to prepare for just one person because everyone in the Gateway has that one somebody," Moreland said.
Surrency has caught 15 passes for 217 yards and two TDs. Freeney has rushed for 141 yards on 40 carries, but has not reached the end zone this season.
Tight end Andy Thorn should not be overlooked; the senior (6-5, 250) has six receptions for 124 yards and a pair of scores.
The Panthers' record does not indicate how good they are at this point. They lost at Iowa State (I-A) in their season opener, and to the previously mentioned SFA. UNI had the 15th toughest I-AA schedule last season, and it has faced stiff non-conference competition again during this campaign.
The Gateway Conference picked SIU first in its preseason poll, and selected Northern Iowa second.
This should be the Salukis first real I-AA test of the season.
Kill (18-21), in his fourth season at SIU, inches closer to a .500 record -- which is remarkable considering where the team was after his first two seasons. UNI's Mark Farley (27-11) is also coaching in his fourth year at the school.
UNI also squashed the SIU basketball team's perfect conference season in Cedar Falls, Iowa., at the end of last season. Therefore, Saluki pride should be out in full force for this homecoming game.
"We're motivated by the fact that we have an opportunity to play a great Northern Iowa team, at our place, in front of a great homecoming crowd," Sambursky said.
Kill knows that Gateway games count for a little bit more than non-conference contests, but he says his team is ready for UNI.
"We're excited about playing the first conference game," Kill said. "I think your preparation is always a little bit different when you get into the Gateway because it's such a difficult conference.
"You never want to lose your first conference game."
The 1:30 p.m. contest will be televised nationally on CS-TV as its "I-AA Game of the Week."
