DawgBlog

SIU is a half away from the playoffs.
The third-ranked Salukis scored once on defense and took a 27-3 lead into the locker rooms at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium against No. 9 South Dakota State earlier today. SIU will wrap up its seventh straight trip to the postseason and at least a tie for the league title if it can hold the lead.

The Salukis (7-1, 6-0 MVFC) will receive the second-half kickoff.

SDSU (7-1, 6-0) hadn’t allowed anyone to score more than 21 prior to today, but gave away some points. Punter Dean Priddy fumbled a snap in the second quarter and set up SIU at the Jackrabbits 6-yard line. Paul McIntosh, a redshirt freshman making his second career start, rushed two yards and then found fullback John Goode from four yards for the touchdown.

Deji Karim, the nation’s second-leading rusher, is three yards away from becoming the first tailback to earn at least 100 yards against SDSU. The Salukis rushed for 174 yards and passed for 22 more.

Peter Reifenrath’s 22-yard field goal is the only blemish on an astounding performance from SIU’s defense.

The Jackrabbits, who have never lost a home league game since joining the MVFC last year, rushed for minus-17 yards in the opening half. Quarterback Ryan Crawford was sacked five times and completed 15-of-27 for 147 yards with an interception.

Lance Caldwell, a backup safety, returned that interception 75 yards for a pick-six with 1:29 to go in the half.

The SIU women hosts its final exhibition game today against Washington (Mo.) University. Washington returns four starters from a 20-plus-win squad that lost in the Division III title game.
Don’t worry. SIU beat Lambuth a couple years ago after they won the D3 title. The Salukis should be all right.
I won’t pretend to know a ton about the women’s team, because that’s Pete Spitler’s job, but I was impressed by the group last weekend. I took the family to see Katie Wagner, who is a friend of ours, and see what they looked like.
I think Christine Presswood could have a good season, although coach Missy Tiber said she was playing out of position until her point guard recovers from her injury. Presswood had 13 points and 11 boards in SIU’s win over Quincy, but shot 6-of-16 from the field. I like Nneka Nwani’s athleticism, even though she only took four shots in 24 minutes. I think she could become a big part of their offense.
I really liked Stephany Neptune’s abilities, and Katie Wagner’s abilities. Both could play big parts this season, and will have to if SIU is going to rise above the last two seasons.
We’ll see what they look like Sunday.

Great storyline in today’s SIU-Southern Indiana men’s basketball exhibition at 3:05 p.m. Former associate coach Rodney Watson finally got his first head coaching position in Evansville, and will begin his campaign where it started, collegiately: the SIU Arena in Carbondale.
But, past Watson and the fact he’s playing guys he coached and recruited, today’s game revolves a little bit around Jamar Smith. The 6-foot-3, 185-pound guard was a preseason All-American by Division II Bulletin and averaged 18.5 points per game last season. He shot 47.2 percent from the floor and even better from 3-point range, 47.6 percent.
SIU struggled keeping the big names from going off last season. With more versatility and better bodies, Saluki coach Chris Lowery hopes to see his team rise to the occasion today.
“We wanted to play somebody who had a high-end scorer this preseason, and, obviously, Jamar Smith is capable of getting 30 or 40 in a game with his ability to shoot the basketball,” Lowery said. “That was something we wanted to address. If it wasn’t Southern Indiana, it was going to be somebody else of that caliber, because we wanted to test these guys right away. We just need to see if we can hold a good guy under 20, which we couldn’t last year.”
Forward Lance Smith was the big one for Henderson State last weekend in SIU’s exhibition opener. Smith grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds (nobody else had more than nine) and scored 11 points. HSU shot 40 percent for the game, but SIU still won 82-55 after leading 45-26 at the break.
USI scrimmaged against Vincennes (Ind.) University two weeks ago, but Watson said he hopes to see some improvement, defensively and offensively, from his club today.
“We’re trying to get some execution against some great pressure,” he said. “Just get the ball reversed, and, hopefully, get some touches inside. Defensively, we’re really looking to see if we can cover their wings, because they shoot the ball so well.”
Watson had some great things to say about SIU’s new group. The Salukis return three players that started at least one game last season, but have 10 newcomers this season.
“I’m impressed by John Freeman and Jack Crowder,” Watson said. “When you get through that first wave, you get a breather from Tony Freeman and Kevin Dillard, and then you get Kendal Brown-Surles and Jack Crowder. They’ve got two freshman of the year candidates in Gene Teague and Kendal Brown-Surles. Their second five, they’re as good as any first five we’re going to play all year.”
SIU opens its season next week at home against Tennessee-Martin.

The flags are waiving, and the sun is shining here in beautiful Brookings, S.D., site of today’s Missouri Valley Football Conference championship.
Both No. 3 SIU (7-1, 6-0) and No. 9 South Dakota State (7-1, 6-0) have one league game remaining after today, but will decide the conference title today in about 84 minutes. The winner of today’s 1 p.m. game earns the league’s automatic bid to the Football Championship Subdivision and at least a share of the title.
SIU has reached the playoffs six straight seasons and will probably make it seven regardless if it loses today. SDSU has made the postseason only ONCE in 111 years of football. That’s not a misprint. Just motivation.
“(SIU) is not giddy about this and looking ahead,” SDSU coach John Stiegelmeier said. “They understand what it takes to win the next game, and win the next game and get into the playoffs. We’ve told our players it’s 1-0. You’ve gotta line up, and you gotta play Jackrabbits football. You’ve set these goals, and they’re in front of you right now, and it doesn’t change. You’ve gotta play your best football. They’re all kids. We’ll see how they react.”
Lennon, the vet of the postseason, said it was still Game No. 9, but added there is definitely added significance with his first goal of the season on the tee.
“This is what you work hard for and spend the whole season that’s significant at the end of the season, where everything is somewhat at stake,” Lennon said. “It’s Game No. 9 for us, and we have two games after that. This is bigger than the normal game, but we still need to prepare the same way and keep everything in perspective.”
From my perspective, these two teams couldn’t be more similar if Thomas O’Brien was still the quarterback for the Jacks. Senior Ryan Crawford ruins a bit of it, but, both teams are in the top 10 in the country in scoring defense, both have rushers in the top 10 nationally, and both are in the top three in the MVFC in rushing defense. Both average more than 28 points per game. They are tied in turnover margin (plus-9), and both are in the top three in sacks and sacks allowed.
The only difference is SDSU’s knack for the red zone. As in keeping teams out of it. Only 11 times have the Jackrabbits faced a team in the red zone. Only SEVEN have scored anything. All seven were touchdowns. Somehow, SDSU got one turnover and has been able to thwart a field goal the other three times. Maybe they missed. Maybe they were blocked. Either way, that’s amazing, for any division.
I expect SIU to pull out this victory, somehow. I think the Salukis have better athletes, overall, and will find a way to break off some big plays. I see Deji Karim breaking a few tackles and scampering for an 80-yard score right now. I see SDSU throwing a pick - which would be SIU’s 17th of the season - and scoring off it. I don’t see the Salukis being able to have a lot of long scoring drives. Maybe one. Maybe two. But not three.
We’ll see. How do you think today’s game will play out?