Football notes & links at North Dakota State

Southern Illinois (2-8, 1-6 MVFC) at #1/#1 North Dakota State (10-0, 7-0 MVFC)
Date & Time	Nov. 17, 2018 \| 2:30 p.m. CT
Location	Fargo, North Dakota • Fargodome (19,000)
TV/Video Stream	ESPN+
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
NDSU	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
MVFC	Weekly Notes \| Stats
All-Time Series	Salukis trail, 3-7 (H: 3-3, A: 0-4)
Social Media	@SIU_Football \| @SIUSalukis \| Saluki Football

Series versus North Dakota State
The teams have met 10 times since the series began in 1963. North Dakota State holds a 7-3 lead and has won the last six meetings. The Bison are 4-0 against the Salukis in the Fargodome. The last time Southern beat NDSU was in Carbondale on Sept. 26, 2009. SIU was ranked No. 8 in the nation at the time and won 24-14 behind a 127-yard rushing effort by Deji Karim and three sacks by Kyle Walker.

DE Anthony Knighton — 2nd in MVFC in Sacks with 8.5
DE Anthony Knighton (6-4, 253, So.) ranks second in the MVFC in sacks (8.5) and is the active team leader in career sacks (15.0) and tackles for loss (24.0). His 8.5 sacks this season ranks 7th all-time at SIU and are the most by a Saluki since James Cloud had 8.5 in 2007. Knighton has started all 21 games in his career.

RB D.J. Davis tops 1,000 yards rushing
With 1,067 yards, RB D.J. Davis (5-8, 168, Jr.) is SIU's first 1,000-yard rusher since Jewel Hampton had 1,121 yards in 2011. He has six 100+ games and is coming off a career-high 201 yards versus South Dakota State. A prolific rusher, receiver and return man, he leads the league in All-Purpose yardage per game (144.0). He is fifth all-time at SIU with 4,041 career all-purpose yards (1,620 rushing, 721 receiving, 1,683 return). .

Salukis on record pace for first downs
SIU's offense averages 25.0 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 — Second in the MVFC in Receptions
WR Raphael Leonard (6-2, 193, Sr.) is second in the MVFC with 55 receptions, which ranks eighth all-time in school history and is the most by a Saluki wide receiver since Billy Reed caught 56 passes in 2015. He has caught at least one pass in all 21 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.

Matt DeSomer takes over at QB
QB Matt DeSomer (6-0, 215, Sr.) has started the last four games and six games overall in his Saluki career. He is 1-5 as a starting quarterback, with a 49-35 win at Missouri State on Oct. 27. In that game he rallied SIU with four-unanswered touchdowns and also ran the ball 14 times for 92 yards. DeSomer has played quarterback, wide receiver, safety and special teams during his 40-game career at SIU. His career stats include 958 rushing yards, 1,188 passing yards, 110 receiving yards, 12 rushing touchdowns, 10 passing touchdowns and seven tackles.

Depleted secondary loses S Jeremy Chinn
The Salukis have lost their top five defensive backs to season-ending injuries. The latest injury is to star S Jeremy Chinn (6-2, 211, Jr.) who will miss the final two games of the season. He had moved to cornerback after the team lost its top four corners. In his last 21 games, Chinn has seven 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).

Dawg Bites

The Salukis are 1-3 all-time against No.-1 ranked FCS teams. The win was at Western Kentucky on Oct. 27, 2005.
QB Matt DeSomer needs 42 yards to become the second quarterback in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in his career. Joel Sambursky (2001-05) rushed for 1,100 yards.
LB Bryce Notree (6-2, 235, So.) leads the team with 72 tackles. He had 11 as a freshman last year. Notree also has 5.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks, and two interceptions.
K Griffin Cerra (6-0, 157, Fr.) is perfect so far in his kicking career. He is 16-for-16 on PATs and 2-for-2 on field goals, including a 50 yarder against South Dakota State — the 7th-longest field goal in school history.
With a rushing TD against Western Illinois, RB Jonathan Mixon (5-11, 230, Sr.) moved into ninth place all-time at SIU in that category, tying Brandon Jacobs. He is the team's active scoring leader with 19 career touchdowns (114 points).
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.
SIU's defense ranks 30th in the nation in sacks per game (2.60). The team's 26 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 100 yards rushing, nine catches for 125 yards, and 239 return yards. He is also an emergency cornerback.
The Salukis are -5 in the turnover battle for the season (Even in interceptions, minus-5 in fumbles).
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.

Five Saluki losses by an average of four points
The Salukis have lost five games by an average margin of four points. They held second-half leads of a touchdown or more in four of those losses. Against Western Illinois, SIU led by 17 points heading into the fourth quarter before losing by three points on a field goal with 12 seconds remaining.

WR Landon Lenoir sixth in MVFC in catches
Entering the year with nine catches, WR Landon Lenoir (5-11, 190, So.) has already caught 46 passes this season, is sixth in the MVFC 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.

TE Nigel Kilby leads the MVFC in receiving TDs by a tight end
TE Nigel Kilby (6-8, 250, Jr.) leads the MVFC in receiving touchdowns by a tight end with six. Kilby also missed two games with a hamstring injury. For the season, he has 16 catches for 230 yards (14.4 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.

Only one senior on defensive two-deep
Of the 22 players on the current defensive two-deep, only one player is a senior (backup LB Withney Simon). There are eight juniors, seven sophomores and six freshmen.

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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

Withney Simon

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