Saturday, November 6
Carbondale, IL
12:00 PM
Southern Illinois University
vs
Missouri St.
No. 7 Salukis host No. 17 Missouri State on Saturday at noon
11/02/2021 | 2:20:00 | Football
Salukis celebrate Military Appreciation Day and SIH Blackout Cancer
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois hosts Missouri State in a crucial showdown of Top 25-ranked teams at Saluki Stadium on Saturday at 12 p.m.
Saluki Athletics is running a special ticket promotion for $10 tickets. Fans can receive the discount through 5 p.m. on Friday by purchasing online and entering the promo code "DAWGS".
With three games remaining in the regular season and playoff bids on the line, the No. 7-ranked Salukis (6-2, 4-1) are one game out of first place behind North Dakota State in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The No. 17-ranked Bears (5-3, 3-2) are close behind.
The game is Military Appreciation Day, and all veterans and active duty service members are eligible to claim a free ticket by showing their military ID at the box office. On display outside the stadium will be Standin' Proud, a Ford F-350 with hand-written names of 4,682 military personnel who died during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The pregame festivities on the field will feature a special performance by recording artist David Allen Stone, who is releasing a new single on Veteran's Day entitled, "Bury These Burdens." Seargant First Class Stone, a native of Southern Illinois, will also be the honorary coin toss captain.
The game is SIU's annual "Blackout Cancer" event, sponsored by Southern Illinois Healthcare. The Salukis will wear special black jerseys with names on the back that were selected by winning jersey bidders. Bids raised $28,191 this year for the Coach Kill Cancer Fund and SIH Cancer Institute Expansion, bringing the 10-year total of the charitable event to $392,214.
Head Coach Nick Hill's Weekly Press Conference – 11/1/21
Opening Statement:
"Looking back at the game against Northern Iowa, we knew it was going to be a tough challenge for us to go up against them on the road and get a win against a good football team. You have to give Northern Iowa some credit. I feel like we had a lot of missed opportunities. Offensively, we put together some drives but didn't give way for enough scoring opportunities, so we have to learn from that. Our team has done a great job with situational football – we've had a lot of games that have come down to the end – which you try to prepare your team for in practice, but games are a real-live opportunity to learn together, coaches included.
Looking back at the last four minutes of the first quarter, then the half, we had a bit of momentum but after halftime they really got control of the game, gained momentum and scored 10-straight points with us not seeing the ball. Then we get a field goal, they score a touchdown and within a matter of five minutes on the clock, it's 17-3. We weren't able to keep coming down and scoring, we had our opportunities, we'll learn from it and excited to be back at home against another great opponent.
They [Missouri State] beat us last year in the very end of the game. It was a good football game – they are certainly a top-15 team. They have done a great job and had some wins themselves. We have to have a great week of practice, like I always preach. I like the leadership on this team, how they came in yesterday [Sunday] ready to work, ready to watch the film, and get better. It's about having the humble confidence that we always talk about and preparing for a big game on Saturday."
On Branson Combs moving to Defense:
"This conference season, he's made plays in every conference game we've had. Big plays, tackles, interceptions now. He's so young on his time in defense, too, he's only going to continue to get better. It says a lot about him as a person: the unselfishness to switch positions – he loved playing wide receiver, he's made big plays for us there. Heck, I'm watching the film right now and there's a clip of him making a 40-yard touchdown reception against Missouri State last year, now he's on defense. He's ultimately a football player and has done an outstanding job for us."
On fan support and the Dawg Pound:
"It's so important and has been so exciting this year. It's a great step you want to take when you talk about your football program. You don't just want to talk about a winning season here and there, but the overall culture. It's the support from the University, support from the students, the tailgates – that's what a championship culture is. There is that expectation as a player, these people are coming here to watch you and a winning football team consistently, and winning consistently keeps them coming back. So, we're excited to be at home."
On Nic Baker's reaction to Saturday:
"There's no flinch in Nic Baker. It hasn't crossed my mind in how Nic Baker is doing, he's on our leadership council, he walks in the building the same way every day. We play in a really tough conference and we want to win them all. We've had a lot of fun locker rooms after close wins, but when you take that field and after 60 minutes there is another side of that locker room, too, and there's a lot of growing moments in those locker rooms as well. Nic has now had two of those, grew from them – we talked about that the last time we were at Kansas State, we didn't come up in a two-minute opportunity. We talked about how we'll be better for that this season because those situations will come back again. You continue to bank those moments, that's why experience is so important for a position like quarterback."
Saluki Athletics is running a special ticket promotion for $10 tickets. Fans can receive the discount through 5 p.m. on Friday by purchasing online and entering the promo code "DAWGS".
With three games remaining in the regular season and playoff bids on the line, the No. 7-ranked Salukis (6-2, 4-1) are one game out of first place behind North Dakota State in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The No. 17-ranked Bears (5-3, 3-2) are close behind.
The game is Military Appreciation Day, and all veterans and active duty service members are eligible to claim a free ticket by showing their military ID at the box office. On display outside the stadium will be Standin' Proud, a Ford F-350 with hand-written names of 4,682 military personnel who died during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The pregame festivities on the field will feature a special performance by recording artist David Allen Stone, who is releasing a new single on Veteran's Day entitled, "Bury These Burdens." Seargant First Class Stone, a native of Southern Illinois, will also be the honorary coin toss captain.
The game is SIU's annual "Blackout Cancer" event, sponsored by Southern Illinois Healthcare. The Salukis will wear special black jerseys with names on the back that were selected by winning jersey bidders. Bids raised $28,191 this year for the Coach Kill Cancer Fund and SIH Cancer Institute Expansion, bringing the 10-year total of the charitable event to $392,214.
Head Coach Nick Hill's Weekly Press Conference – 11/1/21
Opening Statement:
"Looking back at the game against Northern Iowa, we knew it was going to be a tough challenge for us to go up against them on the road and get a win against a good football team. You have to give Northern Iowa some credit. I feel like we had a lot of missed opportunities. Offensively, we put together some drives but didn't give way for enough scoring opportunities, so we have to learn from that. Our team has done a great job with situational football – we've had a lot of games that have come down to the end – which you try to prepare your team for in practice, but games are a real-live opportunity to learn together, coaches included.
Looking back at the last four minutes of the first quarter, then the half, we had a bit of momentum but after halftime they really got control of the game, gained momentum and scored 10-straight points with us not seeing the ball. Then we get a field goal, they score a touchdown and within a matter of five minutes on the clock, it's 17-3. We weren't able to keep coming down and scoring, we had our opportunities, we'll learn from it and excited to be back at home against another great opponent.
They [Missouri State] beat us last year in the very end of the game. It was a good football game – they are certainly a top-15 team. They have done a great job and had some wins themselves. We have to have a great week of practice, like I always preach. I like the leadership on this team, how they came in yesterday [Sunday] ready to work, ready to watch the film, and get better. It's about having the humble confidence that we always talk about and preparing for a big game on Saturday."
On Branson Combs moving to Defense:
"This conference season, he's made plays in every conference game we've had. Big plays, tackles, interceptions now. He's so young on his time in defense, too, he's only going to continue to get better. It says a lot about him as a person: the unselfishness to switch positions – he loved playing wide receiver, he's made big plays for us there. Heck, I'm watching the film right now and there's a clip of him making a 40-yard touchdown reception against Missouri State last year, now he's on defense. He's ultimately a football player and has done an outstanding job for us."
On fan support and the Dawg Pound:
"It's so important and has been so exciting this year. It's a great step you want to take when you talk about your football program. You don't just want to talk about a winning season here and there, but the overall culture. It's the support from the University, support from the students, the tailgates – that's what a championship culture is. There is that expectation as a player, these people are coming here to watch you and a winning football team consistently, and winning consistently keeps them coming back. So, we're excited to be at home."
On Nic Baker's reaction to Saturday:
"There's no flinch in Nic Baker. It hasn't crossed my mind in how Nic Baker is doing, he's on our leadership council, he walks in the building the same way every day. We play in a really tough conference and we want to win them all. We've had a lot of fun locker rooms after close wins, but when you take that field and after 60 minutes there is another side of that locker room, too, and there's a lot of growing moments in those locker rooms as well. Nic has now had two of those, grew from them – we talked about that the last time we were at Kansas State, we didn't come up in a two-minute opportunity. We talked about how we'll be better for that this season because those situations will come back again. You continue to bank those moments, that's why experience is so important for a position like quarterback."
Players Mentioned
LB
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