Fighting the Fighting Illini: Previewing the Southern Illinois University Salukis
By Editorial Staff
Another week brings another blow to the Illini defense.
After making three tackles during a 23-13 loss to Missouri in week one of the 2010 college football season, Illinois defensive lineman Michael Buchanan has been suspended indefinitely after his DUI arrest early last Sunday morning.
Illini senior defensive end Clay Nurse will move to Buchanan’s Bandit position for this Saturday night’s home opener against Southern Illinois, which thumped Quincy thumped Quincy 70–7 last Thursday and is featured in this week’s Fighting the Fighting Illini opponent preview.
Looking Back at Week One for the Illini and Salukis
After getting out to a surprising 13-3 lead against Missouri in last Saturday’s Arch Rivalry game, the Illini were outclassed during a second half which the offense stalled and the defense couldn’t stop the Tigers before losing by 10.
On the positive side of things, at least Illinois lost to a team from an automatic qualifying Bowl Championship Series (BCS) conference, unlike several teams such as Kansas and Mississippi that were embarrassed at home by Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) teams.
The Illini must avoid a similar fate this weekend against a very strong SIU team that was ranked the 5th best FCS team in the nation by the preseason coaches’ poll, won its first game by 63 points, and has upset on its mind.
How SIU Fared in 2009
The Salukis had a terrific 2009 season, going 11-2 and losing only to Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) school Marshall during the regular season before falling to William and Mary in the Elite Eight of the FCS championship tournament.
The Salukis averaged 36.6 points last season while holding opponents to an average of 15.3.
The Salukis are led by 5th-year senior quarterback Chris Dieker, who completed 11-of-15 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns during Southern Illinois’ victory against Quincy last weekend and finished with an average quarterback rating of 136.1 in 2009.
Last season, Southern Illinois had several impressive victories against quality opponents, including a win over a Northern Iowa team that almost upset an Iowa squad that would play in the Orange Bowl.
Series History
Illinois and Southern Illinois have only met twice before, with the Illini coming away with the victory in both games.
However, the meetings have been far from the blowouts that you may expect when FBS teams take on FCS opponents.
In 1985, the Illini narrowly avoided the upset when the Salukis visited Champaign, squeezing out a 28-25 victory and ultimately finishing 3rd in the Big Ten that season.
In 1990, Illinois hung 56 points on the Salukis, which scored 21 points in the loss. That Illini team would finish 3rd in the Big Ten and ranked 24th in the nation.
Illinois’ 56-21 victory against the Salukis in 1990 is especially worth noting for several reasons.
The Illini actually trailed the Salukis 21-7 before halfback Howard Griffith scored 8 rushing touchdowns for Illinois. In memory of the feat, Griffith will be honored at this weekend’s game.
Although Illinois leads the series 2-0, both Illini teams that have defeated the Salukis were bowl-qualifying teams that went on to have strong seasons.
As seen against Missouri, the 2010 Illinois team has a hard time defending against the pass, which is not a good sign when facing a team that scored 70 points in its opener and starts three senior wide receivers.
Key Matchups
The following matchups will be key to deciding what them emerges victorious this weekend.
SIU Quarterback Chris Dieker vs. the Illinois Secondary
Much like how Missouri used Blaine Gabbert to pick apart the injury-depleted Illini secondary, expect SIU to air it out early and often with Dieker.
Unlike Missouri, SIU has a strong running game to compliment its passing, with the Salukis rushing for 307 yards and 6 touchdowns in last weekend’s victory.
To avoid giving up big plays, Illinois will need to focus on both the rushing and throwing facets of the Southern Illinois offense.
The Illinois Offensive Line vs. Itself
While both of Illinois’ lines should be able to overpower SIU, the Illini O-line can not have as many false start penalties as it did against Missouri.
Zook addressed the problem after the Missouri game, saying:
"The noise, that’s a little bit of it. That’s hard to practice. And some of them, I’m not sure they were false starts."
Whether Zook agrees with the calls or not, the Illini must cut down on the penalties.
Nathan Scheelhaase vs. the Saluki Defense
Scheelhaase showed his skill in the first half against Missouri, but he also had 4 turnovers and struggled throwing the ball more than 10 yards.
Scheelhaase must improve his accuracy and rely less on scrambling for yards to help take the pressure off running backs Mikel Leshoure and Jason Ford.
Three Illini Players to Watch
The top Illinois players to watch in this game are the three individuals who had big games against Missouri.
Kicker Derek Dimke
Dimke is still perfect in college as a kicker. He had a huge game against Missuori, scoring 7 points on two field goals (one from 52 yards) and a PAT following Scheelhaase’s 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver A.J. Jenkins.
Illinois is sure going to need Dimke’s accuracy to get some points on the board, especially if it continues to struggle in the red zone.
Running Back Mikel Leshoure
Leshoure had a terrific game against Missouri, gaining 112 yards on the ground against a stifling defense.
While the Salukis will surely put a lot of attention on Leshoure, if Scheelhaase can make them respect the pass, Leshoure should easily have another 100+ yard game.
While Leshoure is unlikely to match Griffith’s amazing numbers (:-)), expect big things from the junior.
Linebacker Ian Thomas
Thomas had a great game against Missouri, recording 13 tackles with two going for a loss.
With yet another defensive player gone in Buchanan, the defense will look to Thomas and fellow linebacker Martez Wilson to keep the pressure on Dieker and force some turnovers.
Alright.
Check back on Friday for Writing Illini’s game prediction and Saturday for another live play-by-play and game tweets.
You can watch the game on the Big Ten Network at 6:30 p.m. central time.
Until then.