SIU at INS: Game Notes & Links

Oct. 13, 2015

RV Southern Illinois (2-3, 1-1 MVFC) at No. 21 Indiana State (3-2, 1-1 MVFC)
Date & Time	Oct. 17, 2015 \| 2 p.m. CT
Location	Terre Haute, Ind. \| Memorial Stadium (12,764, FieldTurf) \| Weather
Video Stream	ESPN3 Jason Pensky (PBP), Alex Kirby (color) and Grant Pugh (sideline)
Live Stats	StatBroadcast via Indiana State
Radio	Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis (play-by-play), Gene Green (analysis) and Connor James (analysis)
Audio Stream	Saluki All-Access
Southern Illinois	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide (PDF) \| Fall Camp Central
Indiana State	Stats \| Tickets
MVFC	Weekly Notes \| Stats
All-Time Series	SIU leads, 27-25 \| In Terre Haute: INS leads, 14-12 \| Streak: INS W1 \| Last Meeting: INS 41, SIU 26 (10/25/14)
Social Media	@SIU_Football \| @SIUSalukis \| Saluki Football

QUICK HITS

SIU travels to Indiana State for a 2 p.m. CT kickoff against the Sycamores in Terre Haute.
Of the six remaining games on SIU's schedule, five are against top-25 teams and four of those are against top-12 teams. Indiana State is ranked No. 21 in the STATS media poll this week.
The Salukis are coming off one of the most prolific offensive games in school history. SIU's 73 points vs. Missouri State are the most-ever for a Missouri Valley Football Conference team vs. another MVFC foe.
Brandon Williams has blocked a kick in three-straight games. After blocking a field goal vs. Liberty on Sept. 26, Williams has blocked punts in back-to-back weeks. He is one of two players nationally with three blocked kicks in 2015. He has five career blocked kicks.
SIU's offensive line hasn't allowed a sack in three consecutive games.
SIU leads the MVFC in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense. In all three catagories, SIU ranks in the top-10 nationally.
Dale Lennon won his 50th game as SIU's head coach last Saturday. Lennon is the fourth coach in program history with 50 career wins.

SALUKIS HEAD TO INDIANA STATE

Southern Illinois hits the road for a 2 p.m. CT game at No. 21 Indiana State on Oct. 17. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.
The Salukis have won six-straight road games in the series, dating back to 2003.
SIU has won 10 of the last 12, but Indiana State won in Saluki Stadium in both 2012 and 2014.
After Indiana State won nine-straight games in the series from 1994-02, SIU won nine-straight games from 2003-11.
SIU holds a 27-25 lead in the all-time series. The Sycamores have won 14 of 26 in games played in Terre Haute, despite SIU winning the last six straight.
Indiana State is the second ranked opponent SIU has faced this season. SIU beat No. 10 Liberty 34-13 in Saluki Stadium earlier this year.
Twice in the last four meetings, Indiana State has been ranked when facing SIU. The Salukis are 1-1 in those games, beating No. 23 Indiana State 35-28 in 2011 and dropping a 41-26 game to No. 24 Indiana State last year.

RECORD-SETTING GAME VS. BEARS

Southern Illinois throttled Missouri State 73-26 last weekend. SIU's 73 points were the most in MVFC history for a conference game.
SIU's 73 points vs. Missouri State are the most points by any team in the nation in 2015.
SIU had 673 yards of total offense, 385 yards rushing and 73 points, all of which are Saluki Stadium records.
Southern's 673 yards are third-most in program history and most against a Division I opponent since 1970.
The 2015 Salukis own two of the top four yardage games in school history. SIU had 659 yards of total offense at Indiana (4th) and 673 yards of total offense vs. Missouri State (3rd).
SIU has two of the top 12 total offense marks this season in the FCS. The only other school with two of the top 12 is James Madison.
Both Mark Iannotti (106 yards) and Chris Perkins (116 yards) rushed for more than 100 yards, the first time SIU has had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since 2009 vs. Eastern Illinois.
SIU scored on defense for the second game in a row. After Kenny James returned an interception for a TD at WIU, Chase Allenreturned a fumble for a TD vs. Missouri State.
Brandon Williams blocked a punt for the second game in a row, becoming the first Saluki since Luke Thuston in 2009 to block punts in back-to-back games.
Williams blocked a field goal against Liberty. He is one of only two players in the FCS with three blocked kicks this season, and he's done it in three-straight weeks.
The Saluki defense forced seven 3-and-outs against Missouri State, nearly doubling the total of the first four games of the season combined (9).
SIU's offensive line did not allow a sack for the third consecutive game. The unit has allowed only 3 sacks in five games this season.
The Saluki offensive line fewer than a sack per game, ranking ninth nationally. SIU's O-Line has not given up a sack in three-straight games:
- 183 minutes, 27 seconds of game time
- 227 plays
- 88 pass attempts
SIU has allowed the fewest sacks in the MVFC since assistant head coach Bill O'Boyle took over as the offensive line coach.
Since O'Boyle has been SIU's line coach (before 2013 season), the Salukis have given up 34 sacks. In that same time, Indiana State has given up 110. Those are the best (SIU) and worst (INS) marks in the MVFC over that span.
Left tackle Austin Olsen was named MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week after the Missouri State game. Olsen is the second Saluki to earn O-Lineman of the Week from the conference this year, joining Ethan Wirth (Indiana game).

SALUKI OFFENSE AMONG NATION'S BEST

The Southern Illinois offense leads the conference in scoring offense, rushing offense and total offense. SIU ranks in the top-10 nationally in all three categories.

Saluki Offense in MVFC and National Rankings
STAT	MVFC RANK	NATIONAL RANK
Completion Percentage (.711)	1st	2nd
Third-Down Conversions (.551)	1st	4th
Total Offense (541.6 ypg)	1st	5th
Passing Efficiency (165.51)	1st	6th
Scoring Offense (42.8 ppg)	1st	8th
Fewest Sacks Allowed (3)	2nd	9th
Rushing Offense (257.6 ypg)	1st	9th
First Downs (131)	1st	14th

The 2015 Salukis own two of the top four yardage games in school history. SIU had 659 yards of total offense at Indiana (4th) and 673 yards of total offense vs. Missouri State (3rd).
SIU has two of the top 12 total offense marks this season in the FCS. The only other school with two of the top 12 is James Madison.
SIU has recorded at least 200 yards of total offense in nine of 10 halves this year, including 394 yards of total offense in the first half at Indiana and 408 in the first half vs. Missouri State.
SIU leads the next-closest MVFC team in scoring offense by nine points per game, in total offense by 91.4 yards per game, in rushing offense by 50.8 yards per game and in first downs by 13.

TOUGH SCHEDULE AWAITS

Southern Illinois and Indiana State are tied for the third-toughest schedule nationally going forward. Both teams' remaining opponents are 18-7 against other MVFC teams, a .720 winning percentage.
Five Missouri Valley Football Conference teams are ranked in the top-12 nationally. SIU faces four of those teams in the next six games (NDSU, YSU, UNI and ILS).
Five of SIU's MVFC games come against teams currently ranked in the top-25.
Four of SIU's five home games are against top-10 opponents. Liberty was ranked 10th in both polls when SIU beat them 34-13. North Dakota State, Illinois State and Youngstown State are all currently ranked in the top-12.
SIU has won at least one game against a ranked team in all eight of head coach Dale Lennon's seasons in Carbondale.
SIU has 15 wins over top-25 teams under Lennon, including a 2011 win over a ranked Indiana State team.

IANNOTTI'S HOT START

Southern Illinois quarterback Mark Iannotti ranks seventh nationally in total offense per game (344.0 ypg).
He also ranks second nationally in completion percentage (.728). Iannotti's completion percentage is on pace to break Nick Hill's school record (71 percent) that he set in 2007.
While ranking second nationally in completion percentage, Iannotti also ranks eighth nationally in yards per pass attempt (9.41).
Iannotti ranks sixth nationally in passing efficiency (167.2), 14th in yards per game (269.2) and 11th in points responsible for per game (18.0).
Iannotti ranks 10th nationally among quarterbacks in rushing yards per game (74.8).
Iannotti put up 517 yards of total offense at Indiana, a school record and second in MVFC history, earning him National and MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Iannotti broke the previous school record of 443 set by co-offensive coordinator Nick Hill in 2007.
He put up 411 yards passing and 106 yards rushing against Indiana, becoming the first player in school history with more than 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in the same game.

ALLEN, JAMES TOP 5 IN MVFC IN TACKLES/G

Junior linebacker Chase Allen leads in the MVFC in tackles per game (12.4). Sophomore safety Kenny James ranks fourth at 10.2 tackles per game.
Markese Jackson (8.8 tpg) also ranks in the top-10 in the MVFC in tackles, at eighth.
Allen (12.4 tpg) ranks sixth nationally.
Allen already has 62 tackles through five games in 2015. For perspective, Kayon Swanson led the 2011 team in tackles with 52 total tackles in 11 games.
Allen is on pace for 140 tackles, a mark no Saluki has reached in the last 21 seasons.
Against Southeast Missouri, Chase Allen had 19 tackles and Kenny James and 15 tackles. Allen's 19 tackles are the most in the MVFC this season and the most by a Saluki since All-American Alexis Moreland in 2002.
James followed that game up with 16 tackles against No. 10 Liberty. James' back-to-back 15+ tackle games were also a first since Moreland in 2002.

SPECIAL TEAMS, SPECIAL PLAYS

SIU's special teams have been exceptional in 2015.
Punter Derek Mathewson and the punt coverage unit lead the MVFC in net punting (38.31).
Mathewson would rank in the top-20 nationally in punting average (42.8), but SIU hasn't punted enough to make him eligible.
Of Mathewson's 16 punts this season, five have been covered inside the 20-yard line and three have been 50 yards or longer.
SIU has blocked three punts in 2015 and returned two blocked punts for touchdowns.
Against Indiana, Chase Allen blocked a punt and Kenny James fell on it in the end zone for a TD. At Western Illinois, Brandon Williams blocked a punt, recovered it and ran in 27 yards for a touchdown.
Williams blocked another punt last week vs. Missouri State, and he blocked a field goal vs. Liberty, meaning he has blocked a kick in three-straight games entering this week.
Williams is one of two players nationally with three blocked kicks.
Williams has five career blocked kicks. The rest of the roster combined has one (Allen's block @IU).
Daquan Isom has had an explosive play in every game so far this season. The true freshman had a 52-yard kickoff returns at Western Illinois and vs. Missouri State, and he had a 34-yarder at SEMO.
Austin Johnson hit a 51-yard field goal at Western Illinois, tied for the fifth-longest field goal in SIU history.
Johnson became the seventh kicker in school history to hit a field goal from 50+ yards.

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