SIU at WIU Notes & Links

Southern Illinois (4-6, 2-5 MVFC) at No. 9 / 10 Western Illinois (7-3, 4-3 MVFC)
Date & Time	Nov. 18, 2017 \| 1 p.m. CT
Location	Macomb, Ill. \| Hanson Field (16,368 // Turf) \| Weather
Video Stream	ESPN3 with Zach Martin, Michael Packard and Nick Gehricke
Live Stats	Provided by WIU
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)
SIU	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
WIU	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
MVFC	Weekly Notes \| Stats
All-Time Series	WIU leads, 35-23-4 \| In Macomb: WIU leads, 18-10-3 \| Streak: SIU W1 \| Last: SIU 44, WIU 34 (2016)
Social Media	@SIU_Football \| @SIUSalukis \| Saluki Football

QUICK HITS

The Salukis visit Western Illinois to close the 2017 season. The game will kick at 1 p.m. CT at Hanson Field.
The Salukis have won 13 of the last 15 games against Western Illinois, including a come-from-behind 44-34 win last year in Saluki Stadium.
SIU has won 11 of its last 13 regular season finales.
Senior running back Cameron Walter is three yards away from 1,000 career rushing yards.
Anthony Knighton was added to the FCS STATS Jerry Rice Award Watch List last Thursday. The Jerry Rice Award is given annually to the top freshman in FCS football. Knighton has an SIU freshman record 6.5 sacks this season, which also ranks third in the nation among freshmen. Knighton's 11.0 tackles for loss rank second nationally among freshmen.
The Salukis project to return 19 of 25 starters in 2018 -- eight on both sides of the ball and all three specialists. Defensively, all eight returning starters are freshmen or sophomores.

SALUKIS AT WESTERN ILLINOIS

Southern Illinois closes its season at Western Illinois on Nov. 18 at 1 p.m.
WIU leads the all-time series, 35-23-4. The Leathernecks also lead the series in Macomb, 18-10-3.
The series is marked by two notable streaks. WIU won 18-straight games over SIU from 1984-2001. SIU was won 13 of 15 games since, including nine-straight wins from 2002-10.
SIU has won 11 of its last 13 regular season finales. Last year, SIU overcame a 17-point deficit to beat WIU, 44-34, in the regular season finale.
Southern's 42-7 win over No. 15 Illinois State marked the 16th consecutive season SIU has beaten at least one ranked opponent.

ANTHONY KNIGHTON NAMED TO JERRY RICE AWARD WATCH LIST

Freshman defensive end Anthony Knighton was named to the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award Watch List last Thursday. The Rice Award is given to the top freshman in FCS football.
Knighton ranks third nationally among freshman in sacks. Kennesaw State's Bryson Armstrong has 9.0. Campbell's Emmanuel Olenga has 8.5, and Knighton is third with 6.5.
Knighton ranks second nationally among freshmen in tackles for loss. Olenga has 15.0, and Knighton is second with 11.0.
Knighton's 6.5 sacks mark an SIU freshman record.
Knighton began his career with 3.0 tackles for loss, two sacks and blocked punt return against Mississippi Valley State.

TURNOVERS ARE KEY

The Salukis have forced 23 turnovers, which ranks second in the MVFC. Only Western Illinois (24) has forced more turnovers.
Southern's 23 forced turnovers are already the most for the program since forcing 24 turnovers in 2012. If SIU forces two turnovers against WIU, it will mark the most turnovers for an SIU defense since 2009.
In Southern's four wins, the Salukis are +7 in turnover margin. In the five losses, SIU is -8 in turnover margin.
In four wins, the Salukis have forced 16 turnovers.
In six losses, the Salukis have forced just seven turnovers.

MATT DESOMER'S JOURNEY

On Monday, head coach Nick Hill announced that Matt DeSomer will start at quarterback at Western Illinois.
DeSomer is starting in place of Sam Straub, who broke his hand at South Dakota. Tanner Hearn has started the last two weeks and split reps with DeSomer.
DeSomer started his career as a quarterback before moving to receiver. This year, he spent the entire season as a safety and special teams player before Straub's injury.
Against Missouri State, DeSomer was the team's leading rusher with 74 yards, and he went 9-for-12 with 77 yards through the air.
Last week against Youngstown, DeSomer was the team's leading passer, rusher, AND receiver.
Against YSU, DeSomer ran for 140 yards, which was the fourth-most by a quarterback in SIU history, and the most for any SIU player since 2015.
Head coach Nick Hill on Matt DeSomer: "Matt will start at quarterback. He's proven that. He's a good football player. He deserves that. Tanner did everything we asked him to do. It hasn't been an easy spot for either one of them. I'm not saying that. It's a tough spot to be thrown in, and then split time. But going forward, evaluating it, Matt gives us the best chance. He's not just a runner. He can throw the ball down the field. He has a strong arm. Given the chance, he can make throws, and we have to continue to expand that package. Both of them have to be ready to go this week. It's just like (against Youngstown State) in the second half. That wasn't designed, but Matt had to leave the game because of two injuries. He's a beat up guy. On the long run, he tweaked his knee again that's been hurt since spring ball. He's a tough kid. Tanner has to be ready to go. That could happen in the first quarter, and (Hearn) has to be ready to go. Both of them have to be ready, but Matt will start."
DeSomer's remarkably diverse career stat line:
- 97, rushes, 458 rushing yards (5 TDs)
- 21-of-40, 205 career passing yards
- 11 catches, 110 career receiving yards
- 6 career tackles
- 8 career punt returns (25 yards)
- 1 career kick return (9 yards)

For a complete set of game notes in PDF format, click here.

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Matt DeSomer

Tanner Hearn

Anthony Knighton

Sam Straub

Cameron Walter

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