SIU vs. INS: Notes & Links

Saturday, October 22

Carbondale, Ill.

2:00 PM

Southern Illinois University

Indiana St.

10/18/2016 | 3:01:00 | Football

Southern Illinois (2-4, 0-3 MVFC) vs. Indiana State (3-4, 1-3 MVFC)
Date & Time	Oct. 22, 2016 \| 2 p.m. CT
Location	Carbondale, Ill. \| Saluki Stadium (15,000 // FieldTurf) \| Weather
Run With Us	877-SALUKIS \| SIUSalukis.com \| Promotions \| Homecoming Central
Video Stream	ESPN3 with Darren Kinnard (play-by-play), Mike Trude (analysis) and Danny Valle (sideline)
Live Stats	Sidearm Stats
Radio	Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis (play-by-play), Gene Green (analysis) and Connor James (analysis)
Audio Stream	Saluki All-Access (Free all season)
Southern Illinois	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
Indiana State	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
MVFC	Weekly Notes \| Stats
All-Time Series	Overall: SIU leads, 27-26 \| In Carbondale: SIU leads, 15-11 \| Streak: INS W2 \| Last: INS 39, SIU 36 (2015)
Social Media	@SIU_Football \| @SIUSalukis \| Saluki Football

QUICK HITS

Southern Illinois hosts Indiana State on Homecoming weekend. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. in Saluki Stadium.
SIU's defense forced nine 3-and-outs against Illinois State. The Redbirds had only 11 first downs all game and went 2-for-14 on third downs. SIU ranks sixth nationally in third down conversion defense.
SIU won last year's Homecoming game against then-No. 17 Youngstown State 38-31 in overtime.
The Salukis have played seven true freshman this year. Last week, true freshman Jeremy Chinn made his first career start. He led the team in tackles and intercepted a pass.
Four Saluki receivers have at least 280 yards this season and rank in the top-150 nationally. Only SIU, Eastern Washington and Sam Houston State that many receivers with that many yards.
SIU's defense has held four of six opponents under 400 yards this season. Last year, SIU only held three opponents under 400 yards.
Southern is ranked sixth nationally in third down defense, holding opposing offenses to a 27 percent conversion rate.

SALUKIS HOST SYCAMORES FOR HOMECOMING

Southern Illinois hosts Indiana State on Homecoming Weekend. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 22, in Saluki Stadium.
SIU won last year's Homecoming game vs. Youngstown State, 38-31, in overtime.
SIU leads the overall series with Indiana State, 27-26. The Salukis lead the series in games played in Carbondale, 15-11.
Indiana State has won three of the last four games in the series, including two-straight wins. Before that, SIU won nine in a row from 2003 to 2011.
The Trees have also won two-straight games in Saluki Stadium (2012, 2014). SIU's last win over Indiana State at Saluki Stadium was in the building's inagural year, 2010.
Southern's last win in the series was a 31-9 win in 2013 in Terre Haute.
Southern Illinois University and Saluki Athletics welcome everyone back to Carbondale for Homecoming Weekend. The Homecoming Central website is Homecoming.SIU.edu.

A RECORD PACE

Southern Illinois quarterback Josh Straughan is on a record pace about halfway through the 2016 season.
Straughan has 1,852 yards in six games. He is the first SIU quarterback to reach at least 1,600 yards in the first five games of the season.
Straughan threw for more than 300 yards in back-to-back weeks earlier this year (@UNI, vs. SDSU), becoming the first SIU quarterback to do that since Sherard Poteete in 1999.
Straughan is averaging 308 passing yards per game. He's on pace for 3,388 yards, which would break Mark Iannotti's school record (3,195 yards) that he set last year.
Last season's quarterback, Mark Iannotti, broke SIU's single-season passing record with 3,195 yards. The previous record holder was current head coach Nick Hill, who had 3,175 yards in 2007.
Iannotti and Hill are the only two 3,000-yard single-season passers in school history. Straughan only needs to average 230 yards per game for the rest of the season to reach 3,000 yards.
Straughan has thrown for more than 250 yards in five games. SIU's single-season record for 250-yard games is eight, set by Mark Iannotti last season.
Straughan ranks sixth nationally in passing yards per game and fifth nationally in total offense per game.

SPREAD THE LOVE

SIU's 25 touchdowns have been spread around to 12 different players in 2016.
Receivers Connor Iwema and Darrell James already have 100-yard receiving games this year.
Billy Reed has more than 1,000 receiving yards and had four 100-yard games last year.
Running back Daquan Isom has never had a 100-yard receiving day, but he had a 99-yard game (at Indiana) and 98-yard game (vs. Youngstown State) last year.
Isom leads the running backs with three 100-yard games on the ground, including one earlier this season vs. Murray State.
Chris Perkins and Cameron Walter have also had 100-yard games on the ground.
RB Jonathan Mixon leads the team with four touchdowns and has never lost yardage on any of his 40 career carries.
WR Jimmy Jones has never had a 100-yard rushing or receiving day, but he's tied with Daquan Isom for the most career touchdowns on the team with 10. Both Isom and Jones are sophomores.
True freshman D.J. Davis returned the opening kick of the Murray State game 98 yards for a touchdown. Davis ranks eighth nationally in kick return average.
Six active players on SIU's roster have at least 500 career receiving yards. Daquan Isom and Cameron Walter have surpassed 500 career rushing yards.
Four Salukis are averaging at least 40 yards per game receiving. Nine players are averaging at least 10 receiving yards per game.

SIU OFFENSE AMONG NATION'S BEST

Last year, SIU's offense led the MVFC in total offense, scoring offense, and passing offense. This year, the Salukis rank second in the league in total offense (462.0), scoring (33.0 ppg) and passing (319.0 ypg) offense.
SIU ranks seventh nationally in passing offense, averaging 319.0 yards per game through the air.
Southern ranks 12th nationally with 462 yards per game of total offense.
Josh Straughan ranks in the top-10 nationally in passing offense and total offense. Last year's starting quarterback, Mark Iannotti, led the nation in total offense in 2015.
Since the start of the 2015 season, SIU has scored at least 28 points in 14 of 17 games and at least 21 points in all 17 games.
Southern's lowest point total since Nick Hill took the offensive reigns in 2015 was 21 points.
Since the start of the 2015 season, SIU has put up at least 200 yards of total offense in 28 of 34 halves of play. SIU has at least 200 yards in nine of 12 halves in 2016.

SALUKI DEFENSIVE NOTES

SIU averages 7.3 tackles for loss per game, which ranks second in the MVFC.
Opponents are converting only 27 percent of their third downs against the Salukis. SIU's defense ranks sixth nationally in that category.
Last week, Illinois State had only 11 total first downs and was 2-for-14 converting on third down.
Deondre Barnett ranks fourth nationally in forced fumbles per game. He had three strip sacks in the first month of the season.
Khari Waithe-Alexander has three sacks and an interception.