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News | No. 17 Football at No. 5 South Dakota on Saturday
09/24/2024 | 9:50:00 | Football
CARBONDALE, Ill. — For the third-straight week, Southern Ilinois will play a ranked opponent, as the No. 17 Salukis play at No. 5 South Dakota on Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+.
Southern's ranked opponents so far have included games at BYU (No. 22 in FBS), versus Incarnate Word (No. 12 in FCS) and versus SEMO (No. 21 in FCS).
Series versus South Dakota
The game versus the Coyotes will be the 10th meeting between the schools in a series that began in 2014. South Dakota holds a 5-4 edge, including wins in the last two games (in 2022 and 2023). SIU's last win in the series was in the the 2021 playoffs, a 22-10 victory in the Dakota Dome. In that victory, SIU forced four turnovers and played turnover-free football itself to advance to Sweet 16 round of the FCS Playoffs. Safety Qua Brown had two interceptions.
Hill vs. Top 5 opponents
Head coach Nick Hill is 4-8 all-time against Top 5-ranked FCS teams. The most recent win came at No. 2 South Dakota State on Oct. 9, 2021. Nine of the 12 Top 5 opponents were from the Dakotas.
QB Hunter Simmons throws for 341 yards in starting debut
In his first-career start last Saturday versus SEMO, quarterback Hunter Simmons completed 28-of-48 passes for 341 yards, 1 TD and no interceptions. It marked the second-highest passing yardage for a Saluki quarterback in their first start, in school history and ranked 23rd overall. Josh Straughan passed for 367 yards at Florida Atlantic in his starting debut in 2016.
LB Ben Bogle is 3rd in nation in TFL, 5th in sacks
Sophomore LB Ben Bogle ranks third in the the nation with 10.0 tackles for loss. He also ranks fifth in the nation in sacks with 5.5. He had a school-record 3.5 sacks at Austin Peay in Week 2, in which he earned FCS national player-of-the-week honors. SIU's single-game season record for TFL is 18.0 (Bart Scott, 2001) and for sacks is 12.0 (James Phillips, 1978).
SEMO recap
The 13,421 fans in attendance on Family Weekend versus SEMO were the second-most in stadium history, behind only the standing-room crowd of 15,276 that attended the opening of the stadium in 2010 versus Division II Quincy. Saluki Stadium seats approximately 14,000 in its horseshoe-shaped seating bowl, with an official stadium capacity of 15,774 that includes the standing-room area of the berm.
Safeties Ubayd Steed and Iverson Brown headline secondary
S Iverson Brown (24 tackles) and S Ubayd Steed (24 tackles) are tied for second on the team in tackles this season. Brown has one interception and two pass breakups, while Steed has two forced fumbles. The veteran duo combined to start 24 games for SIU last season. Steed started every game in 2023, ranked third on the team in tackles (83) and was named to the MVFC Newcomer Team. He had the game-clinching interception in the win at Northern Illinois. Brown made 11 starts and recorded 33 tackles with a pair of forced fumbles.
Dawg bytes
The Salukis have been nationally ranked for 18-consecutive weeks. They were ranked in all 13 polls released in 2023 (as high as #5), and have been ranked in all five polls released in 2024 (as high as #7).
Southern's ranked opponents so far have included games at BYU (No. 22 in FBS), versus Incarnate Word (No. 12 in FCS) and versus SEMO (No. 21 in FCS).
Series versus South Dakota
The game versus the Coyotes will be the 10th meeting between the schools in a series that began in 2014. South Dakota holds a 5-4 edge, including wins in the last two games (in 2022 and 2023). SIU's last win in the series was in the the 2021 playoffs, a 22-10 victory in the Dakota Dome. In that victory, SIU forced four turnovers and played turnover-free football itself to advance to Sweet 16 round of the FCS Playoffs. Safety Qua Brown had two interceptions.
Hill vs. Top 5 opponents
Head coach Nick Hill is 4-8 all-time against Top 5-ranked FCS teams. The most recent win came at No. 2 South Dakota State on Oct. 9, 2021. Nine of the 12 Top 5 opponents were from the Dakotas.
QB Hunter Simmons throws for 341 yards in starting debut
In his first-career start last Saturday versus SEMO, quarterback Hunter Simmons completed 28-of-48 passes for 341 yards, 1 TD and no interceptions. It marked the second-highest passing yardage for a Saluki quarterback in their first start, in school history and ranked 23rd overall. Josh Straughan passed for 367 yards at Florida Atlantic in his starting debut in 2016.
LB Ben Bogle is 3rd in nation in TFL, 5th in sacks
Sophomore LB Ben Bogle ranks third in the the nation with 10.0 tackles for loss. He also ranks fifth in the nation in sacks with 5.5. He had a school-record 3.5 sacks at Austin Peay in Week 2, in which he earned FCS national player-of-the-week honors. SIU's single-game season record for TFL is 18.0 (Bart Scott, 2001) and for sacks is 12.0 (James Phillips, 1978).
SEMO recap
- SIU led, 21-15, with two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but SEMO closed the game with 21 unanswered points
- LB Stephen Green blocked a PAT in the first quarter and returned it 89 yards for two points — the second time in school history a PAT has been returned for points. (LB Trevor Moe returned a blocked PAT in 2006 at Northern Iowa.
- True freshman RB Jerrian Parker made his first-career start and had 53 total yards on 15 rushes and three catches.
- WR Vinson Davis III had a career-high 9 catches for 132 yards — his second-career 100-yard game. Both came against SEMO. He has 853 receiving yards in 17-career games at SIU.
The 13,421 fans in attendance on Family Weekend versus SEMO were the second-most in stadium history, behind only the standing-room crowd of 15,276 that attended the opening of the stadium in 2010 versus Division II Quincy. Saluki Stadium seats approximately 14,000 in its horseshoe-shaped seating bowl, with an official stadium capacity of 15,774 that includes the standing-room area of the berm.
Safeties Ubayd Steed and Iverson Brown headline secondary
S Iverson Brown (24 tackles) and S Ubayd Steed (24 tackles) are tied for second on the team in tackles this season. Brown has one interception and two pass breakups, while Steed has two forced fumbles. The veteran duo combined to start 24 games for SIU last season. Steed started every game in 2023, ranked third on the team in tackles (83) and was named to the MVFC Newcomer Team. He had the game-clinching interception in the win at Northern Illinois. Brown made 11 starts and recorded 33 tackles with a pair of forced fumbles.
Dawg bytes
- Three of SIU's four captains have missed the last two games due to injuries — TE Aidan Quinn, DE Dewey Greene and LB Colin Bohanek. The only captain to play was C Chase Evans.
- SIU ranks 7th in the nation in sacks with 14.0
- SIU ranks 15th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing 101.0 yards per game.
The Salukis have been nationally ranked for 18-consecutive weeks. They were ranked in all 13 polls released in 2023 (as high as #5), and have been ranked in all five polls released in 2024 (as high as #7).
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/ FootballInside Saluki Athletics - September 16th
Wednesday, September 17
9.16.25 | Coach Nick Hill Weekly Press Conference
Tuesday, September 16
9.8.25 | Saluki Football Highlights - at Purdue
Monday, September 15
9.15.25 | Damien Mayo Jr. with Rodney Watson
Monday, September 15