Southern Illinois faces a must-win Saturday in home finale

Quarterback Nic Baker (8) will leave Carbondale with nearly every passing record in the Southern Illinois record book. (Photo by SIUSalukis.com)

By Dan Verdun

The FCS playoffs don’t officially start until after Thanksgiving, but the Southern Illinois postseason begins for all intents and purposes Saturday at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale.

“This is a must win for us. Our playoffs have started,” SIU head coach Nick Hill said of his team’s Missouri Valley Football Conference finale against Indiana State. “That’s the way we’re preparing for this team and this game.”

The No. 16-ranked Salukis (6-4 overall, 3-4 MVFC) have lost two straight conference games and are on the postseason bubble.

Indiana State (1-9, 1-6) is coming off its first win of the season, a 27-6 triumph over winless Western Illinois.

SIU is bidding for its third playoff appearance in the last four seasons.

“Where we’ve got the program now, there’s not a player here that if we weren’t to make the postseason who would think this is a successful season . . . That’s why these guys come here,” Hill said.

Saturday could also mark the final appearance in SIU uniforms for 16 seniors, including record-setting quarterback Nic Baker.

“Nic’s done an unbelievable job here,” Hill said. “(I’m) excited that he’ll have the ball with an opportunity to control his own destiny.”

Baker, listed at 5-foot-9 and 202 pounds, has passed for a school-record 8,756 yards in his Saluki career.

His 62 touchdown passes trail Joel Sambursky’s program-record 65 TD throws. Sambursky played at SIU from 2002 to 2005.

“He’s gotten hit a lot,” Hill said of Baker. “He’s a tough, tough kid. That’s the one thing that he’s earned, the respect. If there’s one thing you want as a football player, it’s the respect of your opponents. They know he’s going to compete and that he’s tough. That’s probably the one consensus as far as (what) the other coaches (notice).”

This week’s opponent

Head coach Curt Mallory’s Sycamores reeled off 27 straight points to defeat Western Illinois last weekend.

Running back Justin Dinka scored a pair of touchdowns and receiver Harry Van Dyne reeled in a 37-yard TD catch in the win.

Linebacker Garret Ollendieck earned MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honors with 11 tackles and three sacks against WIU. Ollendieck leads the conference with 13.5 tackles for loss and is third in the league with 7.5 sacks.

“If they’re playing in any other league in the country, they would have a lot more wins than they do now,” Hill said of the Sycamores.

Kickoff: 1 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio:  CILFM.com.

Key matchup to watch

SIU offense vs. third down

The Salukis ranked 106th out of 122 FCS teams on third-down conversions (31%). SIU was a combined 10-for-30 (33%) on third down in the losses to South Dakota and North Dakota State.

Defensively, SIU is tied for 53rd nationally stopping opponents on third down (37%).

“It starts with third downs,” Hill said. “We had some manageable third downs (against North Dakota State) in the third quarter that we just weren’t able to execute good enough to stay on the field.”

Southern was 4-for-13 on third down in the 34-10 loss to NDSU.

“(As a result) our defense was on the field too much,” Hill said.

What’s at stake

As Hill noted, it’s a must-win game for the Salukis.

A victory gets SIU to 7-4 overall and 4-4 in the MVFC. After that, it’s up to the FCS playoff committee to determined the 24-team tournament bracket.

Earlier this week, Prairie State Pigskin sought the opinions of national FCS media members to determine SIU’s chances of making the postseason.

Hill also shared his thoughts.

“There are no moral victories, but we’ve played a challenging schedule,” the SIU head coach said. “I think we’ve recognized the teams with seven wins that don’t play a challenging pre-conference schedule. It’s tough (for them) to get in because I don’t know if the (playoff) committee looks at some of those wins the same way.”

The NCAA announces the playoff field at 11:30 a.m. Sunday on ESPNU.

Quick hits

Southern Illinois has been to the playoffs in two of the last three seasons. Moreover, the Salukis posted playoff wins over Weber State (2020) and South Dakota (2021). SIU did not make the postseason a year ago. … Hill said he created videos for each outgoing senior. “It’s just a personal note that they can keep,” he said. … Joining Baker are senior honorees Ro Elliott, Devin Cowan, D’Ante’ Cox, P.J. Jules, Justin Strong, D.J. Johnson, Zach Burrola, Sam Neuman, Jackson Sailliez, J.D. Czech, Jake Baumgarte, Dante Cleveland, Kam Bowdry, Thomas Burks and Tim Varga. … Saturday also marks SIU’s annual Military Appreciation Day. The Saluki marching band will perform a patriotic halftime show and leadership from the local Marion VA will be honored. Active and retired military personnel can attend the game for free by showing their military ID.

Dan Verdun is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin. He has written four books: NIU Huskies Football, EIU Panthers Football, ISU Redbirds Football and SIU Salukis Football.

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