Saluki Football versus Western Illinois notes & links

Southern Illinois (2-6, 1-4 MVFC) vs. Western Illinois (4-4, 3-2 MVFC)
Tickets	Buy Tickets
Date & Time	Nov. 3, 2018 \| 1 p.m. CT
Location	Carbondale, Illinois • Saluki Stadium (15,000)
TV/Video Stream	ESPN3 Lane Grindle, Adam Seidel, Kelly Burke
Live Stats	Provided by SIU
Radio	Saluki Radio Network Mike Reis, Gene Green, Connor James
Radio Stream	TuneIn (free)
Southern Illinois	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
Western Illinois	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
MVFC	Weekly Notes \| Stats
All-Time Series	Salukis trail, 23-35-4 (H: 13-17-1, A: 10-18-3)
Social Media	@SIU_Football \| @SIUSalukis \| Saluki Football

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SIU Faculty & Staff Appreciation Game | Faculty and Staff receive free admission!
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Series versus Western Illinois
Southern Illinois has won eight-straight home games versus Western Illinois, dating back to 2002, when the Salukis pulled off a 54-52 upset of the No. 8-ranked Leathernecks. That win snapped an 18-game losing streak against Western. Including that game, the Salukis have won 13 of the last 16 meetings between the schools.
The last time the teams met at Saluki Stadium was on Nov. 19, 2016, when SIU rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat No. 24-ranked WIU, 44-34. In that game, QB Sam Straub passed for a school-record 450 yards.

QB Matt DeSomer named MVFC Offensive Player of the Week
QB Matt DeSomer (6-0, 215, Sr.) has moved into the starting spot for the Salukis. Making his fourth career start, DeSomer rallied SIU with four-unanswered touchdowns in a 49-35 win over Missouri State. He completed 19-of-24 passes for a career-high 206 yards, plus three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran the ball 14 times for 92 yards. DeSomer has played quarterback, wide receiver, safety and special teams during his 38-game career at SIU. He is 1-3 as a starting quarterback. His career stats include 877 rushing yards, 796 passing yards, 110 receiving yards, eight rushing touchdowns, seven passing touchdowns and seven tackles.

Salukis on record pace for first downs
SIU's offense averages 25.6 first downs per game, which is on pace to break the school record of 24.8 first downs set by the 2015 team. Southern recorded 70 first downs in Weeks 3-4. The 37 versus SEMO was a school record and the 33 versus South Dakota ranked fourth all-time.

WR Raphael Leonard — MVFC Receptions leader
WR Raphael Leonard (6-2, 193, Sr.) leads the MVFC with 46 receptions and has already surpassed last year's season total of 34 catches. He has caught at least one pass in all 19 games he has played at Southern. Prior to SIU, Leonard played at East Mississippi Community College in 2016, where he was part of Season 2 of the popular Netflix documentary Last Chance U.

S Jeremy Chinn steps in at cornerback
Last Saturday, S Jeremy Chinn (6-2, 211, Jr.) made his first-career start at cornerback, as the Salukis played the game without their top four corners. In the last 20 games, Chinn has six interceptions and six forced fumbles. A preseason All-MVFC pick, he is tied for second all-time at Southern in forced fumbles (6), trailing only Tyler Williamson (8, 2012-14).

RB D.J. Davis — MVFC All-Purpose Yardage leader
RB D.J. Davis (5-8, 168, Jr.) is a prolific rusher, receiver and return man, who leads the league in All-Purpose yardage per game (149.6). He is fifth all-time at SIU with 3,798 career all-purpose yards (1,401 rushing, 697 receiving, 1,683 return). He opened the season with four-straight 100-yard rushing games and has five on the season. The last Saluki with five 100-yard games in a season was Malcolm Agnew in 2014.

Dawg Bites

QB Matt DeSomer needs 123 yards to become just the second quarterback in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in his career. Joel Sambursky (2001-05) rushed for 1,100 yards.
QB Matt DeSomer has rushed for 100 yards twice this year and three times in his career, tying the school record for career 100-yard rushing games by a quarterback, set by Fred Gibson in 1987-88.
SIU's quarterbacks are the team's No. 2 and No. 3 leading rushers — Matt DeSomer (346) and Sam Straub (148). They have accounted for 28 percent of the team's rushing yardage.
LB Bryce Notree (6-2, 235, So.) leads the team with 65 tackles, including 56 stops in the last six games. He had 11 as a freshman last year. Notree also has 5.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, and two interceptions, including a key pick last week at MSU.

DE Anthony Knighton — team sacks leader
DE Anthony Knighton (6-4, 253, So.) leads the team in sacks (6.5) and is the active team leader in career sacks (13.0) and tackles for loss (19.0). He has started all 19 games in his career and also has two forced fumbles, five pass breakups and one blocked kick. In 2017, he was runner-up for MVFC Freshman of the Year after recording 6.5 sacks.

TE Nigel Kilby second in the MVFC in Receiving TDs
TE Nigel Kilby (6-8, 250, Jr.) is second in the MVFC in receiving touchdowns with six, trailing only South Dakota State's Cade Johnson (9). Kilby also missed two games with a hamstring injury. For the season, he has 14 catches for 208 yards (14.9 average). Kilby transferred from Garden City Community College and was ranked the No. 3 juco tight end prospect in the nation. He originally played for Eastern Michigan.

WR Landon Lenoir with breakout season
Entering the year with nine catches, slot receiver Landon Lenoir (5-11, 190, So.) has already caught 36 passes this season, is second on the team in catches and has caught at least two balls in every game. Lenoir has two relatives currently in the NFL. Brother Lance Lenoir (age 23), who holds the Western Illinois school record for career touchdown catches (28), is currently a member the Dallas Cowboys. Cousin Laquon Treadwell (age 23) is a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings.

Dawg Bites II

SIU's defense ranks 13th in the nation in sacks per game (3.00). The team's 24 sacks has already topped last year's mark of 23 sacks.
WR Je'Quan Burton (5-9, 168, Fr.) has impacted all three phases of the game. He has 71 yards rushing, seven catches for 107 yards, and 221 return yards. He is also an emergency cornerback.
K Griffin Cerra (6-0, 157, Fr.) made his debut last Saturday at Missouri State and was 7-for-7 on PATs. He did not attempt a field goal.
The Salukis committed 12 turnovers in their first four games, but only three in their last four. They are now -2 in the turnover battle for the season. ç With 848 rushing yards this year, D.J. Davis has more yards on the ground than any SIU running back since Jewel Hampton had 1,121 yards in 2011.
D.J. Davis is the school record holder in career kickoff return yards with 1,683. He has the second-longest kickoff return in school history — 98 yards versus Murray State as a freshman in 2016.
With a rushing TD against Missouri State, RB Jonathan Mixon (5-11, 230, Sr.) moved into 10th place all-time at SIU in that category. He is the team's active scoring leader with 18 career touchdowns (108 points).
The Salukis blocked two field goal attempts versus Indiana State — one by S Jeremy Chinn and one by CB Terrance Henley. The last time SIU blocked two field goals in a game was in 2007 at Arkansas Pine Bluff. CB Craig Turner blocked them both.

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Players Mentioned

Je'Quan Burton

Griffin Cerra

Jeremy Chinn

D.J. Davis

Matt DeSomer

Terrance Henley

Nigel Kilby

Anthony Knighton

Landon Lenoir

Raphael Leonard

Jonathan Mixon

Bryce Notree

Sam Straub

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