Saturday, November 11
Carbondale, Ill.
1 p.m.
Southern Illinois University
vs
Youngstown State
Photo by: Tom Weber
SIU vs. YSU Notes & Links
11/08/2017 | 11:53:00 | Football
| Southern Illinois (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) vs. Youngstown State (4-5, 2-4 MVFC) | |
| Date & Time | Nov. 11, 2017Â | 1 p.m. CT |
| Location | Carbondale, Ill. | Saluki Stadium (15,000 // FieldTurf) | Weather | Game Day Fan Guide |
| Run With Us | 877-SALUKIS | SIUSalukis.com | Promotions |
| Video Stream | ESPN3 with Darren Kinnard (play-by-play), Mike Trude (analysis) and Connor Onion (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) |
| SIU | Game Notes | Stats | Media Guide |
| Youngstown St. | Game Notes | Stats | Media Guide |
| MVFC | Weekly Notes | Stats |
| All-Time Series | YSU leads, 15-12-1 | Carbondale: SIU leads, 7-6-1 | Streak: YSU W1 | Last: YSU 21, SIU 14 (2016) |
| Social Media | @SIU_Football    |  @SIUSalukis    |  Saluki Football  |
QUICK HITS
- The Salukis host Youngstown State on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Saluki Stadium. Southern Illinois will honor its 14 seniors prior to the game.Â
- A few senior notes: RB Cameron Walter is only 30 yards away from 1,000 career rushing yards; OL Austin Olsen will make his 32nd consecutive start; LB Markese Jackson has a team-high 14.5 career TFL; DB Ryan Neal has 211 career tackles (t-36th in SIU history); WR Connor Iwema has 1,278 career receiving yards and 10 touchdowns; FB Hans Carmien is a four-year starter with 5 career TD catches.Â
- The Salukis are 2-2 at home this season and are trying to secure a fourth-straight winning record at Saluki Stadium.Â
- Southern Illinois is +7 in turnover margin in its four wins and -10 in turnover margin in its five losses.Â
SALUKIS VS. YOUNGSTOWN STATE
- Southern Illinois hosts Youngstown State in the final home game of the season. The Salukis will honor 14 seniors before the game.Â
- Southern's 14 seniors: Hans Carmien, John Gardner, Charlie Harris, Connor Iwema, Markese Jackson, Craig James, Vince Martin, Ryan Neal, Austin Olsen, DeVondre Seymour, Roman Tatum, Cameron Walter, Kyron Watson, and Javon Webster,Â
- Â Youngstown State leads the all-time series, 15-12-1. SIU leads the series in Carbondale, 9-8-1, and the Salukis won 38-31 in overtime in 2015, the last time the teams played in Carbondale.Â
- Last year, Youngstown beat SIU 21-14, and the Penguins went on to play in the national championship game. YSU held a 14-0 halftime lead, but the Salukis dominanted the second half, outgaining the 'Guins 302-128. Southern's last-second heave to tie the game was caught, but short of the end zone.Â
- Southern's 42-7 win over No. 15 Illinois State marked the 16th consecutive season SIU has beaten at least one ranked opponent.Â
- Since Bo Pelini became the head coach at YSU before the 2015 season, the Salukis are the only team to record 400+ yards total offense twice against the Penguins.Â
- Over the last three seasons, SIU is 13-8 at home (.619) and 4-18 on the road (.182).Â
ANTHONY KNIGHTON AMONG TOP DEFENSIVE FRESHMEN
- Freshman defensive end Anthony Knighton has proved to be one of the top defensive freshmen in the nation.Â
- Knighton ranks third nationally among freshman in sacks. Campbell's Emmanuel Olenga has 8.5 and Kennesaw State's Bryson Armstrong has 7.0. Knighton is third with 5.5.Â
- Knighton ranks second nationally among freshmen in tackles for loss. Olenga has 13.5, and Knighton is second with 9.5. Knighton began his career with 3.0 tackles for loss, two sacks and blocked punt return against Mississippi Valley State.
- Knighton is 1.5 sacks away from 7.0 this season, which would tie for 13th in the SIU record books. SIU has never had a freshman record 7.0 sacks in a season.
TURNOVERS ARE KEY
- The Salukis have forced 19 turnovers, which ranks third in the MVFC.
- Southern's 19 forced turnovers are already the most for the program since forcing 24 turnovers in 2012.Â
- In Southern's four wins, the Salukis are +7 in turnover margin. In the five losses, SIU is -10 in turnover margin.
- In four wins, the Salukis have forced 16 turnovers.Â
- In five losses, the Salukis have forced just three turnovers.
- The Salukis have not forced a turnover in each of the last two weeks (both losses). Before that, SIU forced five turnovers in a 42-7 win over Illinois State and four turnovers in a 45-24 win at Indiana State.Â
SALUKIS TURN TO TANNER HEARN AT QB
- Sam Straub, who started the first eight games of the season at quarterback, was injured in the first quarter of the Oct. 28 loss at South Dakota. Straub will miss the remainder of the season with the injury.
- SIU turns to Tanner Hearn, a redshirt sophomore from Orlando, Fla.
- Before Straub's injury, Hearn had attempted 12 passes in his SIU career. In relief of Straub at South Dakota, Hearn went 14-for-33 with 231 yards.
- In his first career start, Hearn went 13-for-22 for 180 yards and three touchdowns with one interception last week against Missouri State.
- Hearn threw his first career touchdown pass earlier this season in the win over Mississippi Valley State.
- Hearn has a chance to help break the school record for touchdowns passes. As a program, SIU passed for 29 touchdowns in 2015. This year, the Salukis are at 24 passing touchdowns with two games to play.Â
MATT DESOMER'S JOURNEY
- Junior Matt DeSomer split reps with Tanner Hearn last week. 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.Â
- DeSomer started his career as a quarterback before moving to receiver, then moved back to quarterback. This year, he spent the entire season as a safety and special teams player before Straub's injury.Â
- Head coach Nick Hill on Matt DeSomer: "Matt did a good job. He had 16 rushes, was our leading rusher. He was 9-for-12 throwing the football. He did a lot of great things. I said it last week; Matt is a good quarterback. He had five days of preparation going into a conference game to dive back in. He hasn't been in the meeting room all season. He's been over playing safety and having a few run plays that he's been running since he's been here, so he doesn't have to practice them. That's the first week he's been in the quarterback room. His package will continue to grow in what he feels comfortable with. We did a good job of meeting with him and talking about what he wasn't comfortable running in the game, as far as the reads and checks, different things like that. We had a good package that he felt comfortable with, and that will continue to grow."
- DeSomer's remarkably diverse career stat line:Â
- 78, rushes, 318 rushing yards (3 TDs)
- 15-of-21, 124 career passing yards
- 10 catches, 76 career receiving yards
- 6 career tackles
- 8 career punt returns (25 yards)
- 1 career kick return (9 yards)
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Players Mentioned
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