Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football prepares to open season at SEMO on Saturday
08/29/2011 | 12:00:00 | Football
Aug. 29, 2011
By Logan Lee
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki football coach Dale Lennon discussed this week's season-opener at Southeast Missouri State during his Monday press conference.
On Southeast Missouri State
It's the first game of the season for us so naturally we've been anticipating this for a long time, and now that we're finally here in game week, we have a lot of work to do and a lot of preparation to take care of. I think everything starts with evaluating last year's performance with Southeast Missouri and the bottom line there, and this will be my message to the team, is they flat out beat us last year. It wasn't a fluke and it wasn't something that we should have won, because if you look at the statistics, they beat us in yardage, they beat us in the turnover battle, they beat us in the third down category, they beat us in explosives and they also beat us in the fourth quarter. That's the one thing that is probably the most disturbing is that we just got out-executed in the fourth quarter and they also came in here in beat us in our stadium.
That's what we're facing, that's what we're preparing for, and that's the reality of the challenge. I'll present this to the team at our team meeting later on today, but if you look at those statistics, there's nothing in there that would indicate that we should have won that game last year. They beat us when it mattered most, which was in the fourth quarter, and if you go into those fourth quarter statistics, that's where you really see the major difference in performance. We need to focus this week on making sure that we can maintain a consistent game plan and focus on the details that go into the game plan and make sure that we stay sharp in our execution throughout the game plan.
When you look at Southeast Missouri this year it's always a challenge to play anybody the first game of the year because you don't have any film and what film you do have is from the previous year. You're trying to make some educated guesses as to what they'll do and who will play, what positions, but the things that we know for sure are that they do return several key players in their offense and their defense that played a significant role in their success last year. They are a 9-3 football team coming off of last season and we're a 5-6 football team coming off of last season so the challenge is there.
They had a good year recruiting. They brought in some players, they did lose a few players on the offensive and defensive side, but from what we can tell from the people they brought into the program they do have good personnel that are ready to fill in the voids of the graduates that they lost.
They're well coached. Anytime you play an offensive option football team it's a challenge in itself, plus they've been running this offense for many years. If you look at all their coaches just about every one of them has a Nebraska background and not only did they play in this type of offensive system, they've also coached in this offensive system for many years. It's the same thing defensively -- they run a very similar defensive package to what Nebraska does with their 4-3 concept and they know what they're doing. They're a very well-coached football team.
Plus, they have momentum. We know we're going into a full house and we know that it's going to be a hostile environment, their fans are going to be out in force and they feel like they have momentum on their side. They won a lot of close games last year, and I think that is always a key indicator for a program turning the corner when you can win those close games. They won four games by a total of seven or less points, three of them they won by two or three points, so they found a way to win those close games last year. That's another indicator that the program has taken a big step forward.
So that's our challenge. Like I said, it's exciting to be here looking at our first game. I'm glad we have Southeast Missouri as our first game. I'm looking forward to the challenge of going to their place to play them but at the same time I'm very realistic, it's going to be a challenge. We're going to have to have our top game ready to go right off the get-go to have success at their stadium.
Q: They (SEMO) lost their tailback that had a tremendous year and three offensive lineman, they have their quarterback back and their top receiver. Do you think they will be relying more on their passing game this year or are you sticking with the run first?
A: They're an option football team. Their last scrimmage they had they threw a total of nine passes in the entire scrimmage. They're going to run the ball. They have some good running backs in. They have a transfer from Nebraska-Omaha that's very talented and he's listed as number three on the depth chart. They're going to have some very talented weapons that they can utilize out of the backfield. Plus they do have the throwing threat, the big receiver gave us problems last year and made some great catches against us. Their quarterback makes good decisions and has a strong arm and can throw with accuracy. He's the key to their offense, when he's playing well they're a very good offense to defend.
Q: This is a rivalry you guys have dominated in the past. Would you feel like in the past year it's been reinvigorated so to say?
A: Well I would question the word "dominated". I don't even know where that would come from. We won in '09 and even that was a battle. Prior to that there was a series that they had the upper hand with three wins in a row with '99, 2000, 2001 and then they took a hiatus from playing. So "dominated" I don't know if it's the right word for recent history. Again what they did last year in our place was pretty impressive. I don't know who has the upper hand here, but as I said, we're coming off a 5-6 season and they're coming off a 9-3 season.
Q: Their quarterback only threw three picks all year last year. How much better do you feel about your team's ability to put pressure on the quarterback this time?
A: This isn't a normal passing team. Everything they do is based off of play-action, so it's not one of those where you can go in necessarily with the idea we're going to get three interceptions on the course of the game. Now you do want to bring pressure and you do want to force them into making decisions that can hurt them, but because this style of offense is different than a spread-offense or even a pro-style offense where you just turn it loose. You have to be very assignment sharp with everything you do and that's why it's a challenge for our defense to defend.
Q: Do you feel like your safeties and your cornerbacks are going to have to be up playing the run a lot more than defending the pass?
A: Well our safeties are pretty active in the run but you have to sharpen your reads. With the play-action and an option football team, a lot of the times they'll get big plays off of the pass because you're a little too aggressive, and that's where the checks and balances have to be at a level where you just don't make too many mistakes in a game.
Q: Can you talk about numbers on your defensive depth chart? Is it a matter of keeping fresh or is a matter of your depth on your defensive side?
A: Well it's the way we play defense. We like keeping fresh horses in there, bringing people in and out at all times and especially because you want to be fresh in the fourth quarter. That's something that we're going to emphasize this week is we need to win the fourth quarter. It's going to be hot later in the week. I saw one forecast that had Thursday at 98 degrees, so you need numbers to be able play in those types of temperatures.
Q: Do you like the idea of starting the season on the road?
A: I do. You can twist it anyway you want to, but I like the challenge of it. We need to come together as a football team and you don't have the luxury of playing a team that you should beat. This is a team that is going to challenge everything about us.
Q: How much of the message to your team is going to involve last year's game?
A: Well, they lived through it. It's fresh in their memory. I'm not going to dwell on it. I'm going to set the tone here today and then hopefully we build off of that through the week, so by the end of the week we're only focusing on us and what we need to do to be successful, but at the same time we know what's at stake.
Q: Do you feel like a lot of the SIU fans will travel?
A: I would think so. It's an exciting game. It's what you want in a rivalry setting. We're 45 miles away. Last year they took advantage of it and had a police escort all the way back to Cape Girardeau because they won the football game. They then set their fan attendance at their home games last year with an over 8,000 average per game so if it's not a rivalry game then it should be.
Q: Is there a particular defensive area about them that is vulnerable?
A: They have a lot of players returning. We look at who played last year and even though they have some starters that are gone in the secondary and at linebacker, most of those guys played in a rotation, so there's experience with their linebackers and secondary. The tough thing to evaluate is just how good they are up front. They do have a couple players that played in last year's game, but there's some new transfers in that you aren't sure of what they're capable of doing. That's kind of the give and take of what happens in that first quarter when you're trying to figure out what you can and cannot do, so that's why you go with several options that you may go to during the course of the game.
Q: If you could point to a couple of areas that could decide the game on Saturday, what would the be?
A: Consistency is going to be a major factor for us. Last year's game, there were times where we looked good, real good, and there were times that we just didn't show up, so we just need to play a consistent football game from start to finish. Third down conversation is something that will play big for us. We need to make sure we keep our offense out there on the field as long as we can and make sure our defense does a good job of getting the ball back to the offense, so I would say third down conversations are going to be big. Explosive plays have been another emphasis for us both offensively and defensively. To limit the number of explosive plays against us and we need to have a big play threat on our offensive side. Those are things we've been preaching all fall and this is something that will determine how good of a football team you are.
Q: Do you feel like you have a true grasp of the team identity already or do you feel like you need to see them play?
A: You never know who you are until you're in a battle. I like the attitude, and the feel, and everything. We've put ourselves in place and now we need to be tested. We need to see who we are in a game and how we react and how we respond and there's only one way to find that out and that's play the game.
Q: Do you feel like this is the toughest game of the year?
A: It's the toughest game of the year because it's the one in front of us. That's the mentality you have. They get more challenging with this game, but with this one you just don't know as much. You're walking through a dark room. You think you know where things are but every once and a while, you're going to stub your toe and that's the challenge of a first game.
