Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Football travels to Mississippi on Saturday
09/05/2011 | 12:00:00 | Football
Sept. 5, 2011
By John Lock
SIUSalukis.com
Game Day Quick Facts
Television: Pay-Per-View with Richard Cross (play-by-play) and Harry Harrison.
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 PDF file at top of the page.
Internet Audio & Live Stats: SIUSalukis.com
Video Streaming: ESPN3.com
The No. 15/17 Southern Illinois football team travels to Oxford, Miss., to play Ole Miss on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m....Fans can listen to the game on the Saluki Sports Network with the call of Hall of Fame broadcaster Mike Reis, who will be joined once again by Gene Green and Joel Samburski. Tune into WVZA 105.1 in Carbondale to hear Reis' call...After the season-opening win against SEMO, SIU has now won nine of its last ten season openers...After winning back-to-back games against Football Bowl Subdivision teams in 2006 and 2007, the Salukis have lost three straight against FBS opponents...The program is ranked for the 101st time in 106 weeks...The 2011 season marks the 99th year of football at Southern Illinois and the 96 season fielding a team (SIU did not have teams in 1918, 1920 and 1943 because of the World Wars)...Last year's 5-6 record was head coach Dale Lennon's third losing season in 14 years as a head coach. The year following the each of his first two losing seasons, Lennon guided teams at North Dakota to conference titles...SIU enters the year with 76 wins since 2003, the third most in FCS...Last week, SIU didn't have a fumble lost or interception for the first time since 2009.
Saluki Headlines
• Junior Paul McIntosh ran for 65 yards against SEMO, moving into second place in Saluki history in rushing yards by a quaterback, just 225 yards out of first place.
• The Salukis are in the top 20 in the FCS in 10 different statistical categories, including total offense (12th), rushing offense (11th) and scoring defense (t-16th). More rankings in the PDF file at the top of the page.
The Mississippi Rebels
The Ole Miss Rebels enter the 2011 season looking to rebound from a 4-8 2010 season after posting back-to-back nine-win seasons in 2008 and 2009. Head coach Houston Nutt took over the program in 2008 and immediately turned around a program that had endured four consecutive losing seasons, taking the program to consecutive Cotton Bowls and winning both of them. The 2010 season didn't go as well. The Rebels opened the season with a 49-48, 2-OT loss to FCS team Jackson State. Despite rebounding by winning three of their next four games, the Rebels lost six of their last seven games and didn't qualify for a bowl. This year's team returns 16 starters, including nine on offense. All-SEC running back Brandon Bolden returns for his senior season after tying Ole Miss records for touchdowns (17). Four offensive linemen return to a team that finished third in the SEC in rushing last year. In week one, Ole Miss dropped a 14-13 contest against BYU. Ole Miss used a 96-yard interception return for a touchdown and two field goals to jump out to a 13-0 lead, but BYU scored two touchdowns in less than six minutes in the fourth quarter to steal the win.
SIU vs. Ole Miss - The Series
Southern Illinois and Mississippi have only faced each other one time. In 1994, SIU traveled to Oxford and lost to the Rebels, 59-3. Mississippi head coach Houston Nutt has coached against SIU twice. In 1995 and 1996, Nutt was the coach of Murray State, and he guided the Racers to two wins against the Salukis. Murray State won 35-3 in Carbondale in 1995 and 48-38 in Murray, Ky., in 1996.
Salukis vs. the FBS
The game marks the eighth consecutive season the Salukis will play an FBS program. In that stretch, SIU is 2-5 against FBS opponents, winning in 2006 and 2007 against Indiana and Northern Illinois, respectively. SIU was highly competitive in three more FBS contests, losing to Northern Illinois (2004, 23-22), Western Michigan (2005, 34-28) and Marshall (2009, 31-28) by a combined 10 points. Mike McElroy is the only current Saluki to be a part of an FBS win, participating but not recording any stats in SIU's 34-31 win over Northern Illinois in 2007.
McIntosh Named Starting QB
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 in 2009. 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 is a Saluki season record for a quarterback. He also played sparingly as Dieker's backup in 2010, starting one game.
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 is good for second 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. Sambursky also holds the record for career rushing yards, but McIntosh needs just 290 yards to break the record.
FBS Recaps (2004-2010)
2004 // Northern Illinois 23, Southern Illinois 22 // DeKalb, Ill. // Sept. 11
Trailing 23-9 with less than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Salukis rallied for two touchdowns. Joel Sambursky, who would go on to become the all-time career passing leader in school history, connected with Brent Little with 54 seconds left to pull the Salukis within 23-22, but head coach Jerry Kill, now the Minnesota head coach, elected to go for a two-point conversion. The try failed, and NIU held on to win by one point.
2005 // Western Michigan 34, Southern Illinois 28 // Kalamazoo, Mich. // Sept. 17
Joel Sambursky again nearly led a Saluki comeback, only to fall just short. Facing a 10-point deficit entering the fourth quarter, Sambursky led a touchdown drive. After Western Michigan pushed the lead to six after a field goal, Sambursky took control with under two minutes on the clock. He moved the ball into Bronco territory but was intercepted to seal the game.
2006 // Southern Illinois 35, Indiana 28 // Bloomington, Ind. // Sept. 16
Again, the Salukis trailed by double figures in the second half, but they scored four touchdowns in the second half to upset Indiana. SIU became the first Gateway Conference (now the Missouri Valley Football Conference) school to beat a Big Ten opponent, snapping an 0-18 streak by Gateway schools. Southern outgained the Hoosiers 244-76 on the ground en route to its first win against an FBS opponent since 1983 when it beat New Mexico State. Nick Hill threw four touchdown passes in just his second start at quarterback for the Salukis.
2007 // Southern Illinois 34, Northern Illinois 31 // DeKalb, Ill. // Sept. 8
SIU avenged the 2004 heartbreaker to the Huskies with another comeback. This time, the Salukis trailed by 17 points in the fourth quarter, but an interception return for a touchdown sparked the team. Still down 10 points when taking over possession with 4:06 to play, Nick Hill led a touchdown drive, capped off by a 26-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Kernes with more than three minutes to play. SIU then recovered an onside kick and drove 57 yards to score the game-winning touchdown with 22 seconds to play. SIU took advantage of five Husky turnovers to win its second straight game over an FBS opponent.
2008 // Northwestern 33, Southern Illinois 7 // Evanston, Ill. // Sept. 13
After taking a 7-6 lead against the Wildcats, the Salukis were overcome by 27 unanswered Wildcat points as Northwestern took the win. The Wildcats put up 333 yards and held the Salukis to 263, and 10 penalties helped keep them off the board after the early lead. Tyrell Sutton had 101 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Northwestern attack.
2009 // Marshall 31, Southern Illinois 28 // Huntington, W.V. // Sept. 5
The Salukis took a 14-7 lead into halftime, but the Thundering Heard came out strong in the second half to take control of the game, 28-14. Again, the Salukis stormed back, scoring a touchdown with under two minutes remaining to pull within three points, 31-28, but the onside kick attempt was unsuccessful and Marshall hung on for the victory. Chris Dieker threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn't enough to pull the upset.
2010 // Illinois 35, Southern Illinois 3 // Champaign, Ill. // Sept. 11
Illinois took a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter and never looked back. SIU got a field goal to cut the lead to 14-3, but the Illini didn't allow the Salukis to come back this time. Southern forced three turnovers but weren't able to capitalize. Illinois outgained SIU 407-230 and held the Salukis to 46 yards rushing on 29 attempts. Current Saluki QB Paul McIntosh played in the game, going 2-2 for 16 yards and rushing 3 times for 18 yards.
