Homecoming Game Notes & Links

Saturday, October 14

Carbondale, Ill.

2 p.m.

Southern Illinois University

Illinois State

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10/10/2017 | 2:40:00 | Football

Southern Illinois (2-3, 0-2 MVFC) vs. No. 15 Illinois State (4-1, 2-0 MVFC)
Date & Time	Oct. 14, 2017 \| 2 p.m. CT
Location	Carbondale, Ill. \| Saluki Stadium (15,000 // FieldTurf) \| Weather \| Game Day Fan Guide
Run With Us	877-SALUKIS \| SIUSalukis.com \| Promotions \| Homecoming.SIU.edu
Video Stream	ESPN3 with Darren Kinnard (play-by-play), Mike Trude (analysis) and Connor Onion (sideline)
Live Stats	Sidearm Stats
Radio	Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis (play-by-play), Gene Green (analysis) and Connor James (analysis)
Audio Stream	Saluki All-Access (Free all season)
SIU	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
Illinois St.	Game Notes \| Stats \| Media Guide
MVFC	Weekly Notes \| Stats
All-Time Series	SIU leads, 40-36-3 \| In Carbondale: SIU leads, 23-16-1 \| Streak: ILS W3 \| Last: ILS 31, SIU 28 (2016)
Social Media	@SIU_Football \| @SIUSalukis \| Saluki Football

QUICK HITS

The Salukis host No. 15 Illinois State on Homecoming weekend. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
Walt Frazier will serve as the grand marshal of the Homecoming parade. For information on the Homecoming festivities, visit Homecoming.SIU.edu.
Illinois State is Southern's second-longest running rivalry. The game will be the 80th meeting between the schools. Southeast Missouri (85 games) is the only program SIU has faced more often than Illinois State.
The Salukis have beaten at least one ranked opponent for 15 consecutive seasons. Illinois State is ranked No. 15 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 17 in the STATS Media Poll.
The Salukis lead the nation in fewest sacks allowed and rank fourth nationally in net punting.
On game day, the Saluki basketball programs will host Homecoming Hoops from 12-1:30 on the south steps of SIU Arena. Fans will get their first looks at the 2017-18 Saluki men's and women's basketball teams. More information here.

SALUKIS HOST REDBIRDS ON HOMECOMING

Southern Illinois hosts No. 15 Illinois State on Saturday for the annual Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.
For all information regarding Homecoming Week, visit Homecoming.SIU.edu.
The Salukis lead the all-time series over the Redbirds, 40-36-3. Saturday will be the 80th game in the rivalry.
For SIU, the rivalry is the second-longest running series, trailing only Southeast Missouri (85 games).
In the last 30 years, each team has won 15 games in the series.
Illinois State is ranked No. 15 in the FCS Coaches Poll and No. 17 in the STATS Media Poll.
- The Salukis are 45-79 all-time against ranked opponents.
- The Salukis have beaten a ranked opponent in 15 consecutive seasons. Four of the remaining six teams on the schedule are ranked in the top-25.
Southern's last win over a ranked Illinois State team was a 17-0 shutout over No. 9 Illinois State on the road in 2012.

WALT FRAZIER IS COMING HOME

Walt Frazier, one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players of All-Time, will be in Carbondale and serve as the Grand Marshal. The Homecoming parade begins at 10 a.m.
Frazier was a two-time All-American at SIU and led the Salukis to the 1967 NIT Championship. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1987.
Frazier's No. 52 is retired by the Salukis men's basketball program.
Frazier had a 13-year NBA career, winning NBA championships in 1970 and 1973. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star, and his No. 10 jersey is retired by the New York Knicks.

SIU OVER TULSA: 50-YEAR ANNIVERSARY

The class of 1967 will host its 50-year reunion during Homecoming weekend.
The Saluki Football team pulled off one of the biggest upsets in college football history on Homecoming in 1967.
SIU was a "college division" team. Tulsa was nationally ranked in the "university division," which was the highest level of college football.
SIU entered the game 1-5 and lost 37-0 to North Texas State the week before. Tulsa was undefeated at 4-0. Their season scoring margin was 184-18.
The Daily Egyptian before the game proclaimed, "Tulsa Expected to Run Up Score."
- The lede: "If they can beat us 120 to 0 they will." That thought has probably run through the mind of every coach and player who has faced the University of Tulsa in the past dozen years. SIU Coach Dick Towers spoke them at the beginning of the week. And if past performances are any indication, Hurricane Coach Glenn Dobbs will try to make a prophet of him.
The Southern Illinoisan newspaper estimated that SIU was anywhere from a 45- to a 60-point underdog in the game.
Tulsa took a 13-0 first-quarter lead. SIU rallied to tie the game, 13-13, at halftime. A lone second-half field goal gave SIU the win.
The game was Homecoming for SIU, and 15,500 fans came to McAndrew Stadium to watch the game.
The Southern Illinoisan's headline following the shocking win: "Salukis stun Tulsa 16-13"
- The lede: "A Little Leaguer struck out Carl Yastrzemski. Jackie Gleason beat Jim Ryun in the mile, and Slippery Rock State hung one on the Green Bay Packers. Anything's possible. Southern Illinois proved it Saturday before a roaring McAndrew Stadium Homecoming crowd of 15,500, shocking heavly favored Tulsa with a 16-13 football miracle."

CARL MAUCK EARNS PRESTIGIOUS HONOR

Southern Illinois alumnus Carl Mauck earned the 2017 Gerald R. Ford Legends Award. The award is presented to former collegiate or professional centers who, in addition to standout football careers, have also made significant contributions to the football and/or business communities, or through philanthropic endeavors.
Mauck, who played football at SIU, had an NFL career that lasted 34 years. He spent 13 years as a player and an additional 21 years as an assistant coach in the NFL.
The award is given by the Rimington Trophy, which is awarded to the top centers in NCAA Football. President Gerald Ford was the inaugural winner of the award in 2005, and the award is named for him.

SPECIAL TEAMS SHINE

SIU punter Lane Reazin is averaging 46.1 yards per punt, which leads the MVFC and ranks second in the nation.
The Salukis also rank eighth nationally in punt return defense, allowing only 2.46 yards per return.
SIU's net punting (41.65) ranks fourth nationally and leads the MVFC.
Southern's success is in line with the team's "worst to first" goal for the punt unit; SIU was last in the MVFC last season in net punting.
The Salukis also are doing well on kick returns, averaging 24.33 yards per return (3rd in the MVFC).
Returner D.J. Davis, who led the MVFC in kick return average last year, is fourth in the league this year at 24.4 yards per return.

SALUKI DEFENSIVE NOTES

SIU limited Mississippi Valley State to negative-eight yards rushing in the season opener.
Southern's defense has already forced ten turnovers. The Salukis forced a total of 14 turnovers in each of the last two seasons.
In the season opener against Mississippi Valley State, Southern Illinois piled up 16 tackles for loss and six sacks.
SIU's 16 TFLs during the season opener are tied for the second-most in FCS this season.
The 16 TFLs are also the most for the program since at least 2006.
The Salukis recorded 20 sacks all of last season, and they already have 14 this year.
Last year's Saluki defense excelled on third down and in the red zone.
Southern's defense led the MVFC and ranked seventh nationally in third-down defense last year, allowing opponents to convert just 29.7 percent of their third downs.
SIU also led the MVFC and ranked 11th nationally in red zone defense, allowing opponents to convert just 71.4 percent of their red zone trips into points.
After the SEMO win, SIU defensive back Ryan Neal was named MVFC Defensive Player of the Week. Neal had a game-high eight tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery in the win.

O-LINE SURGE

Offensive Line	First 7G of 2016	Since (9 Games)
Rush Yards	948	1,296
Rush YPG	135.4	144.0
Yards Per Rush	3.58	3.95
Sacks Allowed	24 (3.4 spg)	7 (0.8 spg)
Team Record	2-5	4-5

Starting quarterback Sam Straub has been sacked just once in 177 pass attempts. As a team, SIU has only been sacked twice, which leads the nation for fewest sacks allowed.
Southerns sacks-to-sacks allowed ratio is 14:2.
Austin Olsen was named MVFC Offensive Lineman of the Week after SIU put up 393 yards, 31 points and allowed no sacks at Memphis.

YOUNG GUNS

Southern Illinois only has 14 seniors on its 100-man roster.
Only seven of the 22 projected starters are seniors.
Eight of the 11 projected starters on defense are freshmen or sophomores.
Including the entire offensive and defensive two-deep (45 players), only 10 are seniors. (10 are freshmen and 12 are sophomores).
Most of the youth is on the defensive side of the ball. Fourteen of the 22 players on the defensive two-deep are freshmen or sophomores.
Six true freshmen have played this year: Dan Heilbron, E'Mare Hogan, Sam Skinner, Chucky Sullivan, Sam Thompson and Jaylin Wilson.
Seventeen of the team's 19 defensive linemen are freshmen or sophomores. The only two upper-classmen on the D-Line--Quadarius Reed and Javon Webster--are first-year transfers.