No. 8-ranked Football at Kansas State

CARBONDALE, Ill. — No. 8-ranked Southern Illinois travels to Kansas State on Saturday for a 6 p.m. kick at Bill Snyder Family Stadium against the BCS Wildcats. The game will be televised on Big 12 Now and ESPN+. SIU and Kansas State have never met in football. The Salukis have played only two Big 12 teams all-time and are 0-4 in those games. SIU is 0-3 vs. Kansas and 0-1 vs. Oklahoma State. SIU's last game versus a Big 12 team was a 42-0 loss at Kansas in 2000.

Salukis vs. the FBS

SIU moved from FBS to FCS (I-A to I-AA) in 1982. The Salukis are 4-35 lifetime vs. FBS teams.
The last SIU victory over an FBS team was Sept. 7, 2019, when the Salukis won at UMass, 45-20.
SIU's four FBS wins have come against UMass, Northern Illinois, Indiana and New Mexico State. Current coach Nick Hill was SIU's QB in one-half of those games (2006 and 2007). (See below).
Only one of the 39 games SIU's played vs. FBS teams has been a Saluki home game.

Nick Hill vs. The FBS (as a player)
Nick Hill quarterbacked SIU to two victories in two tries vs. FBS competition.

9/16/06: SIU 35 Indiana 28. Hill was 10 for 18 passing for 142 yards, 4 TDs and 0 interceptions.
9/8/07: SIU 34 Northern Illinois 31. Hill was 21 for 38 passing for 238 yards, 3 TDs, and 0 interceptions.

Nick Hill vs. the FBS (as head coach)
Nick Hill is 1-4 vs. FBS competition as SIU's head coach.

9/21/19: Arkansas St. 41 SIU 28.
9/7/19: SIU 45 UMass 20.
9/8/18: Ole Miss 76 SIU 41.
9/23/17: Memphis 44 SIU 31.
9/3/16: Florida Atlantic 38 SIU 30 (Hill's first game as SIU's head coach).

SEMO Recap

QB Nic Baker set the SIU record for passing yards in one game, 460.
Freshman WR Izaiah Hartrup caught a team-high 6 passes in his first collegiate start.
The 99-yard Nic Baker-Avante Cox TD pass is the SIU record for the longest pass completion.
Nine different receivers combined to catch 25 passes.
The Salukis averaged just under 7.8 yards per play. (71 plays; 553 yards)
K Nico Gualdoni averaged 61.1 yards per kickoff on 9 kickoffs. That's the second-best kickoff game in his 45-game career.
SEMO's 20 penalties were the most ever committed in a game by a Saluki opponent.
Newcomers DT Kevin Glachjen and DE Richie Hagarty had sacks in their first game as a Saluki.

QB Nic Baker

Beginning a season as the Salukis' starting QB for the first time in his fourth season at SIU, Baker set the school record for passing yards in one game when he passed for 460 yards in the win at SEMO on Sept. 2, 2021.
Baker is 4-0 as a starter at SIU and was 27-1 as a starter in high school, including a 14-0 mark his senior year (2017).
22% of the 460 yards came on the Salukis' first play when Baker found former high school teammate WR Avante Cox for a 99-yard TD.
Baker's 460 yards came while playing in just over three quarters of a game SIU won, 47-21.
Baker is one of just five SIU QBs to pass for 400 or more yards in a game. His head coach, Nick Hill, is also part of that five-some having passed for 436 yards in a 2007 loss at Northern Iowa.

Baker chosen as the starting QB
   Hill chose Baker (Rochester, Ill.) over Stone Labanowitz (Stuart, Fla.) and made the decision public on August 25th. Baker and Labanowitz were two of the three starting quarterbacks the Salukis used in the 10-game 2020-21 season. Kare Lyles was the third 2020-21 starter. Lyles entered the transfer portal following the season and has yet to appear on a roster. Labanowitz left the Salukis following the decision.
   Baker quarterbacked SIU's upset of #1 North Dakota State (Feb. 27) in his first career start. He was 17 of 23 passing for 254 yards and one touchdown in the game and was the MVFC's Player of the Week. One week later, Baker started and threw two TD passes in the Salukis' victory at Youngstown State (Mar. 6th).
   He started the March 13th home win over Northern Iowa. However, he suffered a season-ending broken foot in the third quarter of that game.

Veteran Saluki team

Of the 104 players on the SIU rosters, 19 (18%) are seniors
Of the 19 seniors, 17 are sixth year seniors and 2 are 5th years seniors.

Head Coach Nick Hill's Weekly Press Conference - 9/6/21

Opening Statement:
"It's always good to go against a good opponent and get a win on week one. I looked back at the film and I was really proud of our guys and their approach – that's the message the entire year: control how we play, not so much about the opponent. I was really happy that we got to play so many guys, that is something that is lost in your development as a team. We played 10 offensive linemen, 11 defensive linemen, all the linebackers played, we played eight defensive backs – we were able to get some guys some real game reps with two quarterbacks.

Turning the page onto Kansas State, they are a great opponent being a Power Five. There are the obvious things: supposed to have more depth, more scholarships – we have been here before, our sixth year playing FBS schools, Kansas State is as good as anyone we've played. As a coaching staff, we won't treat this game any differently. We are going to go out and put together the best plan to go out and execute and play at a high level."

On K-State head coach Chris Klieman and defense:
"They held Stanford scoreless until three minutes left in the game. It's week one, they are going to have other things prepared for us on offense. He's [Klieman] is a great defensive mind, he always has been. They went to three-down, we see everything in our league – we know Northern Iowa plays that defense, and we have studied teams that do it.

Offensively, they have some playmakers and that starts with their quarterback. I think he's a tough winner, obviously the back as well as those wide receivers that can really make plays. It'll be like every week in this league – we can't give up explosive plays for touchdowns. We have to be assignment-sharp and go battle them for 60 minutes."

Using FBS as a measurement:
"It'll be a good challenge for our team, again on the road, you have to bus out there seven hours. It'll be a good atmosphere being their home opener, we are going to go out there to compete and win the football game. We won't go there and through it all out there and see how we measure up for conference play. We treat each game the exact same, obviously this is a great opponent and we'll have to play really well to go win, but I think our guys are a confident group that have played in a lot of these games."

FCS teams overcoming FBS teams this season:
"Our guys see those scores [Montana vs. No. 20 Washington and South Dakota State vs. Colorado State] and want the opportunity to do the same. I'm excited about our guys getting that opportunity, once we get down to the game we have a tough opponent. I tell them that we're not there to play it close or have a moral victory or have a good job, it's about playing 60 minutes of good football and see where we are at the end of the game."

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Players Mentioned

Nic Baker

Avante Cox

Nico Gualdoni

Richie Hagarty

Izaiah Hartrup

Stone Labanowitz

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