Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football hosts Missouri State in home opener on Saturday
09/19/2011 | 12:00:00 | Football
Sept. 19, 2011
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
QUICK FACTS
Television: None
Radio: Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis (play-by-play), Gene Green and Joel Sambursky on WVZA 105.1-FM in Carbondale. Other radio affiliates in the PDF at the top of the page.
Internet Audio and Live Stats: SIUSalukis.com
Video Streaming: Valley Live (Valley-Football.org) with Scott Warmann (play-by-play), Rick Venturi (analyst) and Sara Dayley (sideline).
The Missouri State Bears
Missouri State enters the game 0-3 but battle tested. The Bears are one of two Missouri Valley Football Conference schools to take on two FBS schools this season. Both of the Bears' FBS opponents, Oregon and Arkansas, are nationally ranked in the top 15. No other team at any level, including the FBS, has played two non-conference opponents ranked in the top 15 through Week Three. The Bears only return nine starters from last year's squad, but converted wide receiver Trevor Wooden set a school record for yards in a debut with 262 yards passing. He added another 69 yards on the ground to end with 333 yards of total offense.
Last year, Missouri State went 5-6, including a 4-4 mark in the MVFC to tie SIU and four other schools for third place in the conference. The Bears went 5-0 at home and 0-6 on the road. The Bears haven't won a road game since Oct. 24, 2009.
SIU vs. Missouri State - The Series
SIU looks to tie the series with a win on Saturday, trailing the all-time series 16-17. Missouri State dominated the series between 1984 and 2002, winning 16 of 19 games, but SIU won seven straight from 2003-2009 to even the series at 16.
Last year, the Salukis put up 41 points in Springfield, Mo., but they surrendered 51 points, the most points allowed by the Salukis since 2005. Combined, the teams had 970 yards of offense and 92 points. SIU couldn't overcome three turnovers and a 348-yard passing day from Missouri State's quarterback, Cody Kirby.
Swanson earns two National Player of the Week honors
Junior nose tackle Kayon Swanson earned national recognition for his effort in SIU's loss to Ole Miss. Swanson recorded career highs in sacks (2.0), tackles (8) and tackles for loss (3.0) against Ole Miss. He helped SIU hold the Rebels to 315 yards of total offense.
The College Football Performance Awards, which are formulated based on scientific ratings to determine to what extent an individual helped his team, acknowledged Swanson as both a defensive lineman performer of the week and national defensive performer of the week, sharing both honors with Illinois State's Eric Brunner. Swanson was also one of six National Defensive Players of the Week by the Beyond Sports Network. He was one of two defensive linemen chosen, along with Maine's Michael Cole.
Homefield Advantage
Over the last eight seasons, Southern Illinois has posted a 41-4 (.911) record at home in regular season games. Included in that period is a 26-3 record in Missouri Valley Football Conference games. If you add in home playoff games, the Salukis are 45-8 (.849) overall in Carbondale since 2003. SIU had a couple of home winning streaks snapped last season. It's loss to Southeast Missouri State on Sept. 18, 2010 was Southern's first home non-conference defeat since 2002 (16 games). That loss also ended a 19-game home winning streak in regular season games. Then on Oct. 16 when South Dakota State defeated SIU 31-10 in Saluki Stadium, that loss snapped a 13-game home winning streak in Missouri Valley Football Conference games. The longest home winning streak of all games (including the playoffs) is 12 games, which spanned from 2003-04.
Strother leads potent rushing attack
Steve Strother has been the Saluki's leading rusher in each of the first two games, even though he has only 19 carries on the season. With 197 yards, Strother is averaging 10.4 yards per carry, which is second the nation. Strother broke off a career-high 74-yard run against Mississippi, which was longer than any rush the Salukis had last year. Strother's big-play ability has opened up the Saluki playbook, helping the offense lead the Valley in total offense.
Salukis boast balanced offensive attack
SIU's offense is much improved in the second year under offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer. The Salukis lead the conference in total offense and are ranked in the top 15 nationally in total offense. The attack is almost perfectly balanced with 463 yards rushing (50.7%) and 451 yards passing. The team has found big plays in both the rushing game (74 and 62-yard TD rushes for Strother) and the passing game (70 and 31-yard TD passes from Paul McIntosh to Cam Fuller). DeBoer has spread out his weapons. SIU has three players with at least 19 rushes and seven players with at least two receptions. Because of the diverse offensive attack, defenses can never count the Salukis out. The Salukis have averaged 25 yards per play on third downs of 11 yards or more, and they are converting on 60% of their attempts on third and long.
The balanced attack proved trouble for Ole Miss. SIU outgained the Rebels by more than 100 yards and won almost every offensive category. The team won battles for time of possession, first downs, rushing yardage and passing yardage. Ole Miss only gave up more than 420 yards of total offense twice last season, including once against eventual national champion Auburn.
Salukis perform well after bye weeks
The Salukis are playing Missouri State after a bye week for the second year in a row. The Salukis have won five of their last six games coming off a bye week, but the lone loss in the past seven seasons came to Missouri State last year when the Bears won in a shootout, 51-41. Before last year, bye weeks had treated SIU very well. SIU's first win over an FBS opponent since 1983, the 2006 win at Indiana, came after a bye week, as did a 27-24 victory over No. 5 Northern Iowa in 2008, head coach Dale Lennon's first season in Carbondale. In 2007, the Salukis traveled to Western Illinois after an off week and needed a great defensive effort to win, 10-9. In head coach Dale Lennon's second season, SIU rebounded from a 31-28 loss to Marshall two weeks later with a blowout 59-7 win over Southwest Baptist.
McIntosh Carrying On Strong Saluki QB Tradition
Junior Paul McIntosh started his junior campaign with a bang. McIntosh was named the starting Saluki quarterback after battling for the position with Kory Faulkner and A.J. Hill throughout spring drills and fall camp. McIntosh played in relief of Chris Dieker in each of the past two seasons. When Dieker was injured in the 2009 season, McIntosh led the Salukis to a No. 1 national ranking and a second-straight conference championship, going 5-1 as a starter. McIntosh earned MVFC Offensive Player of the Week in his first career start, leading the Salukis to a 33-0 shutout of Indiana State. His 588 rushing yards in 2009 is a Saluki season record for a quarterback.
In his first game as the Saluki full-time starter, McIntosh threw for a career-high 246 yards, completing 14-18 passes. The 210.91 passing efficiency rating was the second highest in the country, behind only NC A&T's Lewis Kindle. McIntosh also ran for 65 yards, moving him into second place in Saluki history in rushing yards for a quarterback.
McIntosh takes over a strong quarterback tradition at SIU. The past three starters (Joel Sambursky, 2002-05; Nick Hill, 2005-07; Chris Dieker, 2007-10) are among the top four career passers in Saluki history.
McIntosh has proved dangerous with his feet, too. He has only been sacked one time, a loss of one yard in the last minute of the Ole Miss game. Before the bye week, McIntosh was eighth in the conference in rushing yards, including all players. He's rushed for 145 yards in two games and is just another 145 from breaking Joel Sambursky's school record for rushing yards by a quarterback.
Offense Scores in Variety of Ways
The Salukis displayed an ability to both score quickly and sustain long drives. Of the 10 scoring drives this season, five have been in five plays or fewer and five have been in 10 plays or more. The Salukis showed an ability to sustain drive against the toughest defenses, posting three 10+-play drives at Ole Miss, including a 16-yard drive that was capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Jewel Hampton. SIU also had two long drives in the season opener against SEMO.
The Salukis also have five drives that were quick strikes. Against SEMO, eight players contributed a big play. Paul McIntosh threw a 70-yard touchdown bomb to Cam Fuller and Steve Strother sprinted 62 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. Mississippi proved no different. After a Rebel turnover, SIU scored on the first play, a 31-yard touchdown strike from McIntosh to Fuller.
Defense Starts Season Strong
The defense has opened the season well, ranking second in the conference in total defense. By allowing only 288.0 yards per game, the Salukis are more than 50 yards per game better than the third-best total defense team. They recorded nine tackles for loss at Ole Miss, the most for a Saluki team since it played Missouri State last year. Twelve players have contributed to a tackle for loss.
