Redbirds Continue Road Swing Against The Salukis

Date: Oct. 14, 2017
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Site: Carbondale, Illinois
Stadium: Saluki Stadium (15,000)
Series: SIU leads 40-36-3
Streak: ILS Won 3
Last: ILS won 31-28 on Oct. 15, 2016
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Watch: ESPN3

THE GAME
After suffering its first loss of the season, No. 15/17 Illinois State looks to get back on track and improve to 3-0 in Valley Football play when it wraps up a two-game road swing in Carbondale, Illinois, against in-state foe Southern Illinois.

THE SERIES
Illinois State and Southern Illinois will meet for the 80th time Saturday. The Salukis hold a slight 40-36-3 advantage over the Redbirds in the series, however ISU has won the last three meetings overall. The 'Birds have won two out of the last three meetings in Carbondale, but are an even 4-4 against the Salukis under the leadership of head coach Brock Spack.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Illinois State: Dalton Keene, Sr., DL
Senior defensive tackle Dalton Keene was all over the field last Saturday for the Redbirds at NAU.  The Jacksonville, Illinois, native recorded a season-high 10 tackles, recorded a sack and finished with a career-best three tackles for loss for the Redbirds against the Lumberjacks. 

Southern Illinois: Sam Straub, Jr., QB
Junior quarterback Sam Straub has taken control of the SIU offense and is putting up some impressive numbers. Straub has thrown for 1,142 yards and 13 touchdowns so far this season, while leading the Salukis to a 2-3 record. His 290 yard and four-touchdown effort nearly led SIU to an upset win over Memphis earlier this season.

THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT
>> Southern Illinois University is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and has an enrollment of 15,987 students. The Salukis are members of the Missouri Valley Football Conference and play their home games at Saluki Stadium (15,000).
>> The Salukis finished the 2016 season with a 4-7 record overall and 2-6 mark in Valley Football play. SIU returns 50 letterwinners and 15 starters from last year's squad.
>> SIU is led by second-year head coach Nick Hill (6-10), who helped the Salukis set program records for passing completions, attempts and yards in 2016 while only throwing seven interceptions all year, the fourth-lowest total in program history. Southern Illinois ranked in the top-10 nationally for passing offense, total offense and scoring offense for nearly all of the year.
>> After picking up two wins to start the season, the Salukis have dropped three straight contest heading into today's game. Two-straight losses to UNI and No. 8 South Dakota State last weekend have put the Salukis in a hole early in the MVFC slate.
>> Darrell James has been the go-to target in the Salukis' passing game so far this season. James has caught 23 passes and gained 343 yards and scored five touchdowns, while averaging 14.9 yards per catch.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET (OCT. 15, 2016)
Illinois State held a small lead at the half and then scored 17 second-half points to earn its first MVFC victory over in-state rival Southern Illinois, 31-28. The Redbird offense recorded 341 total yards, with quarterback Jake Kolbe throwing for 200 yards and three touchdowns to tie his career-best. Senior wide receiver Anthony Warrum caught two of those touchdowns to move into sole possession of third place on the career touchdowns list with 24. For the second-straight week, freshman running back James Robinson rushed for over 100 yards, highlighted by career-long 55-yard dash, that was followed by his first career rushing touchdown. 

KEENE CONTINUES TO IMPRESS
Facing one of the most high-powered offenses the Redbirds have seen in recent years, senior Dalton Keene put together one of the best games of his career against NAU.  Keene recorded a season-high 10 tackles, recorded a sack on NAU star quarterback Case Cookus, and finished the game with a career-high three tackles-for-loss against the Lumberjacks. With those numbers, Keene moved up to second on the team with 6.5 TFLs and his pass breakup at the line of scrimmage was his fifth of the season to lead the Redbirds.

POINTS KEEP COMING FOR SLATTERY
For the second time this season, senior placekicker Sean Slattery booted three field goals through the uprights for the Redbirds. Slattery connected from 32 yards in the second quarter and then tied the game at 6-6 with his career-long boot of 51 yards, topping his previous high of 50. He later added a 38-yarder in the third quarter to improve to 10-for-12 on field goal attempts this season with a perfect 4-for-4 mark from 40 yards or more. Slattery headed into the game ranked No. 2 in field goals per game in the NCAA and ranked in the top 20 in scoring with 9.5 points per game.

ARTISS TAKES ADVANTAGE
Needing a spark for his team, redshirt freshman running back and kick returner Artiss Henderson made the most of his opportunity late in the game. Taking the ball two yards deep in his own end zone, Henderson ran left and picked up a few blocks, before making a defender miss and sprinting down the far sideline for an 83-yard gain all the way to the NAU 17 yard line. The return resulted in three points for the Redbirds, as Sean Slattery connected on his third field goal of the contest. The kickoff return was the longest for the Redbirds since 2014, when Tevin Allen returned one 95 yards for a touchdown against South Dakota State in 2014.

CLARK STEPS UP 
Defensive end Tuvone Clark has certainly made the most of his opportunity the last two weeks starting in the place of a banged-up Jason Harris. Through the first two games of the season, Clark recorded three tackles and a TFL in a reserve role in a pair of wins for the Redbirds. However, in the last three contests he has tallied 13 tackles, two sacks and 3.0 TFLs in three starts at defensive end. Clark set a career-best with 1.5 sacks against Indiana State and now ranks third on the team in sacks and fourth in TFLs on the season.

GO BIG OR GO HOME
Through the first three games of the season, the majority of the scoring came on the ground with at least three rushing touchdowns scored in each contest. Against Indiana State, the big-play passing offense stole the show and eventually resulted in a Redbird victory. Quarterback Jake Kolbe connected twice with senior wide receiver Christian Gibbs for long touchdown strikes, with the first going for 54 yards and the second resulting in a 77-yard score. The 77-yard connection was the longest for both Kolbe and Gibbs in their careers, and each set career-highs as Kolbe finished with 345 passing yards and Gibbs tallied 189 receiving yards against the Sycamores.
 
FOUR TO START
After securing a 24-13 win over Indiana State, the Redbirds improved to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 to start Valley Football play. The 4-0 start is the best for the Redbirds since 2014, when they started the season 7-0 on way to a 13-2 record and a berth in the FCS National Championship game. Whether or not the 2017 season has the same journey in store is yet to be seen, but the start is promising for the team, which is looking to earn a berth in the playoffs for the fourth time in as many seasons.