SIU at UNI: Notes & Links

Southern Illinois (2-1, 0-0 MVFC) at No. 12 Northern Iowa (1-2, 0-0 MVFC)
Date & Time	Oct. 1, 2016 \| 4 p.m. CT
Location	Cedar Falls, Iowa \| UNI-Dome (16,324 // MondoTurf)
Run With Us	Watch at Tres Hombres, the Home Away from Home for Saluki Athletics
Video Stream	ESPN3 with Brad Wells (play-by-play) and Justin Surrency (analysis)
Live Stats	Provided by Northern Iowa
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
Northern Iowa	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
MVFC	Weekly Notes \| Stats
All-Time Series	Overall: UNI leads, 18-16 \| In Cedar Falls: UNI leads, 13-4 \| Streak: UNI W2 \| Last: UNI 49, SIU 28 (2015)
Social Media	@SIU_Football \| @SIUSalukis \| Saluki Football

QUICK HITS

Southern Illinois opens Missouri Valley Football Conference play with a trip to Northern Iowa on Saturday, October 1. The Salukis and Panthers will play at 4 p.m. CT in the UNI-Dome.
SIU and UNI played in Cedar Falls in the final regular season game of 2015, making this back-to-back MVFC games at Northern Iowa for the Salukis.
Between 1997 and 2008, the home team in the SIU-UNI series went 12-0. Since 2009, the home team is only 4-3. SIU won at the UNI-Dome in both 2009 and 2013, and UNI won at Saluki Stadium in 2014.
SIU running back Daquan Isom had 182 all-purpose yards in the third quarter alone of last year's game at Northern Iowa. At one point, he had back-to-back carries of 61 and 72 yards, both for touchdowns.
The game marks the first for SIU against a ranked opponent this year. SIU's opponents for each of the next four weeks were ranked in this week's media top-25 poll.

SALUKIS OPEN MVFC PLAY AT UNI

SIU travels to Northern Iowa for a 4 p.m. CT game against the Panthers in the UNI-Dome. The game will be broadcast nationally through ESPN3.
Both Southern Illinois and UNI are opening Missouri Valley Football Conference play, and both schools are coming off a bye week.
Southern Illinois has won 11 of its last 14 conference openers, despite last year's 37-36 loss at Western Illinois.
UNI leads the all-time series between SIU and UNI, 18-16. The Panthers lead the series in games played in Cedar Falls, 13-4.
SIU is 2-2 in its last four trips to Cedar Falls, with both wins coming in overtime.
Southern won 45-38 in OT in 2010, and it won 27-24 in overtime in 2013.
The home team in the SIU-UNI rivalry went 12-0 between 1997-2008. Since 2009, the home team is only 4-3, with Southern winning two games on the road.
UNI (1-2) has played one of toughest schedules in the nation up to this point. The Panthers beat Big 12 foe Iowa State before falling to No. 13 Montana and No. 6 Eastern Washington.
SIU and UNI have met in the conference opener three times since 2000. The Salukis are 3-0 in those games, which were all played in Carbondale.
The last time SIU and UNI opened conference play against each other in Cedar Falls, No. 3 Northern Iowa won 34-14 in 1999.

WE WILL PROTECT THIS ROCK

SIU has lost only two turnovers through three games, which is tied for fifth in the FCS.
Among teams who have played at least three games, it's tied for fourth.
Only 10 teams nationally have played at least three games and lost two or fewer turnovers.
SIU is one of 11 teams in the nation to have zero interceptions.
Last year, Southern Illinois had 25 turnovers, which ranked 105th of 123 FCS teams.
Last year, heading into MVFC play, the Salukis had a negative-8 turnover margin through three games. This year, it's plus-2.
Quarterback Josh Straughan has started his SIU career with 119 consecutive pass attempts without an interception.
Straughan has zero turnovers of any kind through three starts this season. He has six touchdown passes against zero interceptions.

SPECIAL TEAMS, SPECIAL PLAYS

SIU leads the nation in kick return average at better than 34 yards per return.
True freshman D.J. Davis returned the opening kickoff vs. Murray State 98 yards for a touchdown, the second-longest kickoff return touchdown in program history.
Davis is one of two freshmen in the nation to have a kickoff return touchdown this season, joining Eastern Washington's Antoine Custer, Jr., who returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown vs. Northern Iowa.
Even without Davis's 98-yard return, the Salukis are still averaging 27.0 yards on its nine other kick returns this year, which would rank ninth nationally by itself.
Chase Allen blocked a punt vs. SEMO, his fourth career blocked kick.

STRAUGHAN TWO-TIME MVFC NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK

First-year starting quarterback Josh Straughan has earned MVFC Newcomer of the Week after two of his three career games.
Straughan is a fifth-year graduate transfer quarterback who came to SIU from Stillman College (DII) in Tuscaloosa.
Straughan threw for 367 yards in his Saluki debut at Florida Atlantic, earning him the MVFC's first Newcomer of the Week of the 2016 season.
His 367 yards are the most ever for an SIU quarterback in his debut and also rank eighth overall in SIU single-game history.
Straughan was nearly perfect against Murray State, going 27-for-34 (79 percent) for 289 yards passing, four touchdowns and zero turnovers. He earned MVFC Newcomer of the Week for the second time after that performance.
In Straughan's only game after which he did not earn MVFC Newcomer of the Week, he threw for 265 yards with a touchdown and no interceptions.
Straughan has an active streak of 119 pass attempts without an interception.

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 lead the MVFC in passing and total offense, while ranking third in scoring offense.
SIU ranks ninth nationally in passing offense, averaging 313.7 yards per game through the air.
SIU is among 19 teams nationally who have scored points in 100 percent of their red zone appearances.
Southern is averaging just shy of 500 yards per game. SIU's 497.0 yards=per-game average ranks seventh nationally.
Josh Straughan is averaging 307.0 yards per game passing, which ranks fifth nationally. His 306.7 yards per game of total offense ranks ninth nationally after last year's starter, Mark Iannotti, led the nation in total offense per game for the season.
Since the start of the 2015 season, SIU has scored at least 28 points in 12 of 14 games, including all three games this season.
Since the start of the 2015 season, SIU has put up at least 200 yards of total offense in 24 of 28 halves of play, including both halves against Northern Iowa last year. SIU has at least 200 yards in five of six halves in 2016.

SALUKI DEFENSE STIFF

SIU leads the MVFC and ranks seventh nationally in tackles for loss per game with 9.0.
The SIU defense is allowing 388.7 yards per game, which is about 80 yards per game fewer than it allowed last year.
The Salukis are on pace to allow 1,000 fewer yards than last season.
The Salukis are also allowing about 10 points per game fewer than last season, while the offense has maintained last year's prolific scoring average.
Southern's defense has shown improvement each week. After allowing 452 yards in week 1, Southern Illinois allowed 395 in week 2 and 319 in week 3.
SIU also allowed 4.8 yards per play in weeks 2 and 3, after allowing 6 yards per play in the season opener.
After forcing zero turnovers in week 1, the Saluki defense had a defensive touchdown in week 2 (scoop-and-score) and forced three turnovers (all interceptions) in week 3.

APPROACHING MILESTONES

Chase Allen recorded his 20th career tackle for loss in SIU's win over Murray State.
Allen has 276 career tackles, becoming the 18th player in program history to amass at least 275 career tackles.
Daquan Isom is 228 yards away from 2,000 all-purpose yards in his career. He has 1,772 all-purpose yards in 12 career games.
Isom had 275 all-purpose yards against UNI last year.
Isom is 192 rushing yards away from 1,000 career rushing yards. Isom has 802 yards on just 116 attempts (6.9 yards per carry) in his 12-game SIU career.
Josh Straughan is 79 yards passing away from 1,000 yards passing this season. Including his statistics from Stillman College, Straughan surpassed 6,000 career passing yards in SIU's win vs. SEMO.
Billy Reed is 13 catches away from 100. He is on pace to become the 13th player in program history to eclipse 100 career catches.
Reed cracked the top-20 in SIU career receiving yards in the game vs. Murray State. He surpassed 1,000 career receiving yards in the season opener at Florida Atlantic.
Jimmy Jones and Daquan Isom have surpassed 500 career receiving yards during the year. Darrell James (450) and Israel Lamprakes (493) are approaching 500 career receiving yards.
Cameron Walter is 41 rushing yards away from 500 in his career after breaking off a 51-yard touchdown run vs. Murray State.

Calendar

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Players Mentioned

Chase Allen

D.J. Davis

Mark Iannotti

Daquan Isom

Darrell James

Jimmy Jones

Israel Lamprakes

Billy Reed

Josh Straughan

Cameron Walter

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Southern Illinoise University Athletics