Football hosts Dayton in home opener on Saturday

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois hosts Dayton on Saturday at 6 p.m. in its home opener at Saluki Stadium. Ticket prices start at just $10. Groups of 10 or more can purchase discounted tickets in advance and have their group recognized on the stadium video board during the game.

The Salukis (1-1) nearly pulled off an upset at Kansas State last Saturday. After leading at halftime, the Wildcats rallied to win, 31-23, but SIU had a chance to tie, deep in KSU territory before time expired.

The Flyers (1-0) beat Eastern Illinois last week and were 8-3 in the Pioneer Football League in 2019 — their last full season. The school has a storied history with 43 players drafted by the National Football League, including most recently tight end Adam Trautman, who was picked in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by New Orleans.

Series versus the Flyers and the Pioneer Football League (PFL)

SIU is 3-2-1 lifetime vs. Dayton. The last meeting was a 38-16 SIU win on Oct. 5, 1974.
The two teams have never met since they dropped from FBS (1-A) to FCS (1-AA).
SIU's only game ever vs. a PFL team was its Oct. 14, 2000 home victory over Drake.

On this date Sept. 18

1971: SIU beat today's opponent, Dayton, in the season-opener, 31-14. The game was played in Dayton and the outcome was reported as an upset.
1976: SIU won at Drake for then-coach Rey Dempsey's first win as SIU's coach.
1982: Dempsey and the Salukis beat Drake upping their record to 3-0 for the first time since 1970.
1993: Coach Bob Smith and SIU lost at Toledo, 49-28.
1999: Coach Jan Quarless and SIU won at Eastern Illinois upping the Salukis' record to 3-0. They finished 5-6.
2004: Coach Jerry Kill and SIU over powered William Penn, 59-9.
2010: SIU suffered its first loss in three-week old Saluki Stadium 24-21 vs. Southeast Missouri.

Saluki home openers

The Salukis are 9-2 in Saluki Stadium (opened 2010) home opening games.
The Salukis are 61-37-7 all-time in home-opening games.

Saluki Stadium

Saluki Stadium opened in 2010 and is in its 12th season as SIU Football's home.
SIU's all-time Saluki Stadium W-L record is 31-27.
Current Coach Nick Hill's Saluki Stadium coaching record is 13-13.

Last time out: Kansas St. 31 SIU 23

K State led 21-3 with 9:16 to play in the second quarter.
SIU scored 20 points in the final 5:09 of the first half to take a 23-21 lead.
K State grabbed the lead for good with a 34-yard field goal with 7:38 to play in the third quarter.
Kansas State recovered SIU QB Nic Baker's fumble at the K State 25-yard line with 19 seconds remaining in the game.
SIU RB Javon Williams scored two touchdowns to move into sixth place on SIU's career TDs list (30).
WR Landon Lenoir, who led the Salukis with six receptions, moved into third place on SIU's career pass receptions list.

Head Coach Nick Hill's Weekly Press Conference - 9/13/21

Opening Statement:
"After the game and after watching film, I was proud of this team and their effort. They played with a lot of passion, effort, and energy and it showed. When you look back at those games, I felt like our team speed was as good as theirs [K-State] and we handled the physicality and the depth. I felt like we did some really good things on Saturday. We can do a better job as coaches, starting with me: I felt like there were maybe some things that we should have done or maybe we didn't do early in the football game based on their last game against Stanford. I do think they had a good defense and they have proven that the first two weeks of the season, so obviously a lot more credit to them, they made more plays than us to win.

Looking back, I'm proud of our team. I don't think we need the validation of this team. Sometimes you get those who say 'hey, now you can play with anybody', but I don't think our team really believes that. I think they went into that game knowing that they should be in that football game with them, and they'll have that same attitude the rest of the year. It doesn't get any easier.

Moving on to Dayton, that is a well-coached football team. They've got an outstanding program. We're looking forward to, No. 1, growing and getting better as a football team at home. We've been on the road for the past two weeks in different environments so we're excited to be at home in Saluki Stadium. Our team will be ready to go, I can promise you that and we are looking forward to practice and excited for the opportunity to go out and get another win."

On Dayton not playing in 2020-21:
"I don't think it'll affect our preparation. Obviously, you'd like to have more [game film], but it's like playing a team the first week of the season or Kansas State [being the first meeting between the teams]. With only one game to watch as far as film goes, you are also only going off of one year's tape. We have to be concentrated on what we do and what we can control and executing. So whatever they put out there, I feel that it's the same coordinators, so we're going to put together a plan to play fast, play physical, and execute."

On Dayton's Running Back, Jake Chisholm:
"He's a good player. And he did a great job in '19 as well. They do a good job on offense as far as different schemes, run game, throwing the ball, using all five eligibles – all five out of the back field. They are well coached, we can't give them anything easy."

On LB Bryson Stong's update:
"I believe he'll start getting into some individual-type practice settings this week. Our plan is to slowly move him along, the end of October looks like his return date as far as a game setting. You have to practice for three and four weeks with that kind of injury and get going to get out and play in a game. But he's coming along, he has a lot of juice out on the sideline, he's been incredible as a leader in this time off, on the sideline, in practice settings and meeting room. He's running around, his strength is coming. We are excited about adding him as the season gets going."