Game Preview: Southern Illinois Salukis




The Jackrabbits (3-1) are set to face the Southern Illinois Salukis (2-2) in their second game of the MVFC conference season.  Last year the Jacks and Salukis put on an impressive offensive display with over 1,000 yards of total offense in the Jacks 45-39 win.





Both teams are coming off tough opening losses.  SDSU fell to Youngstown 19-7 in a game that saw there offense sputter and their defense unable to get off the field on 3rd down.  SIU lost to University of Northern Iowa 24-17 in a lower scoring game than was expected.

Their Head Coach, Nick Hill, is back for his second season.  SIU was a once proud program that has fallen on tough times in the past five years.  Hill is an offensive mind forsure and was the quarterback for SIU during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.  The defense is led by former Montana defensive coordinator, Kraig Paulson who helped lead Montana to the 1995 National Championship.   


Offense
SIU has outscored it's opponents 138 to 88 this season.  There offense has been pretty balanced but they do favor the pass, much like the Jackrabbits.  They have gained 162 yards per game on the ground and 252 per game through the air. UNI allowed them to exceed both of these averages, SIU just couldn't find the end zone.

The quarterback position is lead by #4 Sam Straub.  Straub, a junior, made three starts at the end of 2016 and has so far completed 53% of his passes for 963 yards and 12 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions (2 of which came against UNI).   Straub is not much of a threat to run but did have 25 yards on the ground against UNI.

At the running back position, #5 Daquan Isom is small but mighty, listed at 5'8 186.  Isom has ran for 301 yards on the season including 126 against UNI which featured a 52 yard home run.   The other running backs don't get much action but #9 D.J. Davis has rushed for 98 yards on only 19 attempts this season and did make the HERO freshman Honorable Mention All-American team last year. 

At wide receiver the Salukis are loaded with options.  #6 Connor Iwema already has 20 receptions for 310 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He was an Honorable Mention MVFC pick last year.  He is joined by #8 Darrell James (17, 267, and 5 tds), #11 Raphael Leonard (12, 143, and 2 tds) in the starting lineup.  These three have all hauled in a pass of at least 30 yards on the season.  #83 Jake Varble is the starter at tight end (10, 94, and 2).   Isom and Davis are also capable receivers out of the backfield having 6 and 7 receptions so far.

The Jackrabbit quest for more sacks and pressure on the quarterback might hit a road block against the SIU Offensive line who has only allowed one, yes one, sack on the season.

The Saluki's return 3 starters on the offensive line and appear to have really good depth and experience.  The unit is anchored by it's senior tackles #70 DeVondre Seymour (6'6, 305) and #75 Austin Olsen (6'5, 320). The interior is lead by returning starter #61 Josh Podzielinski (6'2 291).  The new starers are left guard #64 Aaron Harris (6'4, 332), who played as a "super sub" in previous seasons, and #53 Jack White (6'1, 322), who is a transfer from Co-Lin Community College.  This is easily the biggest line that SDSU has faced this season with an average weight of 314 pounds.

Defense
The Saluki defense graduated it's best player from 2016 in Chase Allen.  However, this appears to be an overall stronger unit is 2017.  So far they are only giving up 22 points per game to go with just 99.8 yards per game rushing and 260 yards passing per game.  Their 3rd down defense has been stout only allowing a 33% conversion rate.  

The unit is anchored by MLB #32 Kyron Watson.  Watson transferred from Kansas and was a four star recruit coming out of high school.  Watson had a big week against UNI.  On the season he has 32 tackles.
 
He is joined in the linebacking core by #29 Cody Crider and #3 Airan Reed.  Crider and Reed started 3 and 6 games respectfully in 2016 and this year have accumulated 28 and 16 tackles a piece.

The safety position also appears to be a strong unit for SIU.  #21 Ryan Neal leads the team with 36 total tackles to go with an interception, 3 pass break-ups and 1 fumble recovery.  #2 Jeremy Chinn is also an active defender having made 25 stops, 2 interceptions, and 3 pass breakups.  Chinn was a preseason Honorable Mention MVFC selection following a strong freshman campaign.

At cornerback, SIU returns starter #1 Craig James.  James had 2 interceptions in 2016 but has failed to corral one in 2017, although he does have 6 break-ups.  The other starting cornerback is #14 Tory Lewis who missed all of 2016 after injury but played as a true freshmen in 2015.  Lewis has 14 tackles and break up on the season.  The other cornerback, #11 ShawnTrez Spates is small at 5'9 but has 2 breakups in limited action.


Along the defensive line the Salukis are very inexperienced but posses decent size.  Against UNI they started 3 red-shirt freshmen and a sophomore. #95 Anthony Knighton (6'2, 246) and #92 Jordan Berner (6'6, 260) are the starting defensive ends.  Knighton has recorded 3 sacks and 9 tackles and Berner has .5 sack and 8 tackles.  On the interior #52 Malik Haynes (6'0, 330) and #59 ZeVeyon Furcron (6'0 310) possess ideal size.  Hayes has 1 sack and 7 tackles and Furcron only has 2 tackles this year.  Backup defensive end #58 Chucky Sullivan is a true freshmen and was an early enrollee and has one sack that forced a fumble this season.

Special Teams
SIU is solid at punter with #98 Lane Reazin averaging 45 yards per kick with zero touchbacks and 5 placed inside the 20.  The coverage also appears to be really solid as SIU has only allowed 2.36 yards per return attempt.  The kicking game is a bit of a struggle for SIU.  #97 Matt Sotiropoulos is 2-6 on field goals with one being blocked. Kickoff specialist #99 Nico Gualdoni has kicked off 25 times but only has 5 touchbacks.  This could be a game where Cade Johnson gets some action for the Jacks.

Prediction
The Jacks have to be angry about the performance they had in Younstown.  The team knows it can perform at a much higher level in all phases.  However, Southern Illinois is far from a pushover.  Coach Hill has this team on the up-and-up.  Still I predict the SDSU offense finds its grove and the defense does enough including an interception of Hill.  Jacks win 34-17.

Go Jacks!
-Matt      



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Top 5 Favorite Jackrabbit Football Players

Image
Remember the great scene from "The Sandlot" where Benny wakes up to the ghost of Babe Ruth coming out of his closet?  If you remember, the boys from the sandlot were in a pickle.  A signed Babe Ruth baseball had been hit over the fence and into a junkyard that was roamed by a giant dog named "The Beast" and an old grouchy man who instructed the dog to eat intruders (or so the legend said) lived alone.  Anyways, the best part of the dream scene is Babe Ruth's advice to Benny, "Hero's get remembered, but legends never die." Who are the legends of Jackrabbit football?  What plays and contribution did they make that stand out?  I had this discussion on Twitter on my personal account a few months ago, but I decided I wanted to bring it to the blog.  We can debate all day who the BEST Jackrabbits are, but who are your FAVORITE Jackrabbits of all time?  Who are the legendary players to you?  I've been closely following the Jacks since the fa
Read more

What's Cookin': Dessert

Image
Alright, another year of Jackrabbit football is upon us. We are celebrating at Jackrabbit Illustrated, this our 5th season covering the team.  The players who we first covered as freshmen are now redshirt seniors. We hope you are as excited as us for this upcoming season. Chef Tim, a culinary instructor at Mitchell Tech and contributing writer, has some fun recipes for you this season.  He has committed to doing one a week. I have nothing but faith that he will get them turned in! We start the season celebrating with celebrations. Here are some fun baked goods that will lead to the healthy start to the season; Cherry-Chocolate Chunk Cookies ½ Cup All-Purpose Flour ¼ Cup Quick-Cooking Oats ½ Teaspoon baking Soda Pinch of Salt 2 tbs butter, melted and cooled 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 large egg 1 tsp vanilla Extract 2 oz semisweet chocolate 1/3 cup dried cherries 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray large baking sheet with nonstick spray. 2) Combine Flour, Oats, baking soda, and salt in a
Read more

Guide to Fort Collins

Image
The Jackrabbit games about FBS teams are always fun.  It is a chance to take in a different town and watch the team prove themselves against a foe who is one classification higher.  This year the Jacks aren't playing a Power 5 team but are playing a Great 5 team, Colorado State.  We have a guest contributor today, Jackrabbit legend Austin Sumner.  Austin was the starting QB from 2011 to 2014.  .  Below are some of his recommendations for Fort Collins. Jacks Fans! I’m looking forward to seeing many of you Labor Day weekend as the Jacks take on Colorado State. I’ve lived here in Fort Collins for the last 6 years. Here are some recommendations for those visiting for the big game: Breweries – New Belgium and Odell Brewing Co (most popular) are great places to kill some time and enjoy some of the finest craft beers. Or keep it classy at the Anheuser-Busch brewery and grab yourself a Busch Light. Here is a list of the rest in town: Fort Collins Breweries | Local Colorado Craft Beer (visi
Read more