Oct. 13, 2009

By Jason Clay
www.SIUSalukis.com

Click Here for Complete Game Notes

Game Day Quick Facts TELEVISION: Mediacom Cable - Live on Ch. 22 in Carbondale with Scott Warmann (play-by-play) and Darren Kinnard (color analyst). Cedar Falls Utilities - Live in Cedar Falls with Jeff Mickey (play-by-play), Rick Coleman (analyst) and Eric Braley (sideline).
RADIO: Saluki Sports Network with Mike Reis (play-by-play), Gene Green (color analyst) and Joel Sambursky (sideline) on WVZA-FM 105.1 in Carbondale. Other radio affiliates on P. 2.
FCS Radio Game of the Week: Broadcast through Clear Channel Communications' 50,000 watt all-sports station - The Homer - 1530 AM WCKY in Cincinnati with Frank Santore (play-by-play).
INTERNET AUDIO and VIDEO: Saluki All-Access (sign up at www.siusalukis.com).
LIVE STATS: www.siusalukis.com

Fifth-ranked Southern Illinois travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa for a heavyweight bout with second-ranked Northern Iowa in its Homecoming at the UNI-Dome, Saturday, Oct. 17 at 4:05 p.m. ... This is the third Football Championship Subdivision game of the 2009 season that matches up two Top five teams and will be Southern's 20th game in school history against a team ranked fifth or higher. SIU has a 6-13 overall record against Top five teams... The game is being televised on Mediacom Cable (Ch. 22 in Carbondale) with Scott Warman (play-by-play) and Darren Kinnard (color analyst) calling the game, which also airs on Cedar Falls Utilities... Fans can listen to all the action with "Voice of the Salukis" Mike Reis, color analyst Gene Green and sideline reporter Joel Sambursky on the Saluki Sports Network beginning at 1 p.m. on WVZA-FM 105.1 in Carbondale... The game is also the FCS Radio Game of the Week with Frank Santore's call, which is available to over half of the United States and Canada through Clear Channel Communications megastation - The Homer - 1530 AM WCKY in Cincinnati.... The Salukis are trying to combat history this week in Cedar Falls, where they own a 2-11 record all-time and have lost 11-straight in the UNI-Dome going back to 1987... The home team has won every game in this series since 1997... Both the Panthers and the Salukis rank in the Top five nationally in total offense and in the Top 25 in scoring defense, so it should be a heavily contested game on both sides of the ball...

Saluki Headlines
• Deji Karim was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week and the Sports Network National Player of the Week. He is the nation's leader in rushing and all-purpose yardage.
• The Salukis rank No. 2 nationally in rushing offense, No. 5 in total offense and sixth in scoring offense.
• SIU has won nine-straight MVFC games.

The Northern Iowa Panthers
Northern Iowa currently has a five-game winning streak and they have won these past five games by an average of 37.4 points. UNI's only loss on the year came in the season opener at Iowa, who was ranked No. 21 in the FBS at the time. The Panthers nearly pulled off the upset in the 17-16 loss, where they had a chance at the end of the game to win it on a field goal. Northern Iowa comes into the game ranked No. 2 in the Sports Network Poll, which will be the highest ranked opponent Southern Illinois has faced since 2007. That's when the Panthers were also ranked No. 2 when the Salukis rolled into Cedar Falls. UNI won that game, 30-24 on Oct. 13 against the sixth ranked Salukis.

The Panthers are loaded on both sides of the ball this season. They are second in the nation in scoring offense (41.8 points per game) and fourth in total offense (468.3 yards per game). Senior quarterback Pat Grace leads the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 245 yards passing per game and he has 15 touchdowns against just two interceptions. UNI is plus-seven in the turnover department, so SIU's defense will have to find a way to get the Panthers out of their groove.

D.J. Hord and D.P. Eyman are Grace's top two targets, as the two have 24 and 22 catches, respectively, while combining for seven touchdowns. The Panthers also average 216.5 yards per game rushing, with Derrick Law leading the way with 84.6 yards per game. Six different Panthers have scored rushing touchdowns this year. Defensively, UNI has 18 sacks on the year and 38 tackles for a loss. James Ruffin and Elijah Hodge have 8.0 and 6.5 sacks, respectively, and Hodge leads the team with 45 tackles. UNI has blocked one punt that was returned for a touchdown and Jarred Herring has returned a kickoff for a touchdown as well.

SIU vs. UNI - The Series
Northern Iowa leads the series with Southern Illinois 15-12 heading into the 28th match-up between the two rivals. The two schools have met every year in the MVFC since 1986 and the road team has not won a game in the last 12 seasons. SIU has only won twice in Cedar Falls in 13 games and those two wins came in 1966 and 1983, the year the Dawgs won the National Championship. Five of the last six games in the series have been decided by six points or less and SIU won 27-24 last year on a Kyle Dougherty field goal as time expired.

Something's Gotta Give
Both of the teams are highly ranked in numerous offensive and defensive statistical categories, so something has got to give. UNI leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 10.83 points per game, gives up just 261.5 yards per game (ranking No. 11) and allows just 89.o rushing yards per game. The Salukis have the sixth-best scoring offense with 36.8 points per game and are fifth in total offense (463.2) and second in rushing offense (246.4). On the flip side, the Panthers are fourth in the nation in total offense and second in scoring offense while SIU is 21st in scoring defense. The Panthers have thrown just two interceptions this season, but the Saluki defense has picked off 10 passes in five games, which ranks No. 6 in the FCS.

Karim the Dream
"Karim the Dream", "Karim of the Crop" or "Ice Karim" however you put it, senior running back Deji Karim has been nothing short of phenomenal this season. Karim is the nation's top rusher with 166.8 yards per game and is also tops in all-purpose yardage with 227.8 per game. He ranks second with a kickoff return average of 35.14 and is fourth nationally in scoring at 10.8 points per game. His nine touchdowns on the year tie for the most scored, as he adds one kickoff return with his eight rushing touchdowns.

Karim had a field day against Illinois State last weekend where he ran for 273 yards with three touchdowns - both career-highs. His 273 yards rushing that day are the third most by a Saluki back in a single game and the sixth most in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. It was also 44 yards more than the next biggest rushing game in the country this season and is more than any Football Bowl Subdivision back has tallied in a game. Karim was named the MVFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career and the Sports Network National Offensive Player of the Week. He is averaging 8.8 yards per carry this season and only needs 166 yards (his per game average) to register SIU's 18th 1,000-yard rushing season. In fact, Southern Illinois has had a 1,000 yard rusher in 10 out of the last 11 years. The one year they did not, 2004, it was a fellow by the name of Brandon Jacobs that finished with 992 yards before going on to the NFL and winning the 2007 Super Bowl with the New York Giants.

Top Five Matchup
With Southern Illinois moving up into the No. 5 spot in the FCS Coaches and Sports Network Poll, it creates a Top five matchup with No. 2 Northern Iowa. It will be the third game this year in the FCS that two Top five teams have met. Villanova has been involved in the other two and were ranked second both times. They first met No. 5 William and Mary on Oct. 3 and won 28-17 and then last weekend (10/10) they fell at No. 5 New Hampshire 28-24. The home team in both of those games was victorious. This game will be just the third in SIU history when both the Salukis and their opponent were ranked in the Top five. The last time it happened was on Oct. 16, 2004, when the No. 1 ranked Salukis took down No. 4 Western Kentucky, 38-10 at home. Southern Illinois has faced 19 teams since 1987 that have been ranked fifth or higher and this is the seventh year in a row with matchup No. 20 coming on Saturday. The Dawgs are 6-13 overall against a team ranked in the Top five and are 3-8 on the road in those games.