10/28/23 - vs Southern Illinois (Hall of Fame Weekend)
Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2023 11:47 am
VS
Western Illinois (0-7) @ Southern Illinois Salukis (5-2)
Date: 10/28/2023
Kickoff: 3:00 PM (Central)
Location: Hanson Field, Macomb, IL
Media: ESPN+, Q98.1 FM
Game Notes: Western Illinois | Southern Illinois
SIU's Record and Stats
The Salukis are currently 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the MVFC. They started off the season with 4 straight wins over Austin Peay (49-23), at FBS Northern Illinois (14-11), at then #13 SEMO (26-25), and against Missouri State (33-20). They picked up their first loss against Youngstown State, 31-3 but then beat MVFC newcomer Murray State, 27-6. Last weekend, they hosted #1 South Dakota State for SIU's homecoming, where they fell 17-10 to the defending FCS champions. Last year, SIU finished 5-6 overall, including a 30-7 win over the Leathernecks. WIU and SIU have faced off 67 times starting back in 1933, with WIU holding the series lead 37-26-4. For 18 years (from 1984-2001), WIU won every game, but since then, it's leaned much more towards SIU, with them winning the last 3 matchups.
Senior QB Nic Baker currently has a rating of 140.55 with 141 completions on 207 attempts for 1566 yards (223 per game) with 8 TDs and 4 INTS. He's currently 2nd in the conference in passing yards. Sophomore WR Vinson Davis III leads the team in receiving yards with 405 (57.86/game) and 1 TD while Junior WR Izaiah Hartrup has picked up the most receiving TDs (3) as well as 352 yards.
The ground game is (was?) led by Senior RB Ro Elliott with 275 yards and 5 TDs, but hasn't played the last 3 games (sounds like the injury wasn't too serious though and he might be back this weekend). In the meantime Senior RB Justin Strong has been picking up more of the duties, with 128 yards and a TD against Murray State (has a total of 219 yards and 3 TDs for the season).
On the defensive side, Senior Safety PJ Jules leads the team in tackles with 64 (32 solo), tackles for loss (9.5) where he's #2 in the MVFC, and is tied for pass breakups. Senior DE Devin Cowan has 3.5 sacks with 2 forced fumbles, which is tied for the lead in the conference. Their FG kicker is Senior Thomas Burks, who is 6 of 7 on the season, hitting everything under 40 yards, but is 0-1 in the 40-49 yard range. Sophomore Punter Nathan Torney has 32 punts for 38.5 yards per punt with a long of 64 and 6 inside the 20.
View the full stat comparison between the two teams.
Chance of Victory
Massey says 3% chance of a WIU victory, with a predicted score of 37-13 for the Salukis: https://masseyratings.com/game.php?gid=938288225
Sagarin says 4% chance of a win.
Our best chance of a win the rest of the season is still Indiana State, who is also 0-7, including a 27-0 loss to EIU, a 2-point loss to fellow MVFC "cellar dweller" Murray State, and a 44-7 crushing by the other ISU a couple of weeks ago.
Western Illinois (0-7) @ Southern Illinois Salukis (5-2)
Date: 10/28/2023
Kickoff: 3:00 PM (Central)
Location: Hanson Field, Macomb, IL
Media: ESPN+, Q98.1 FM
Game Notes: Western Illinois | Southern Illinois
SIU's Record and Stats
The Salukis are currently 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the MVFC. They started off the season with 4 straight wins over Austin Peay (49-23), at FBS Northern Illinois (14-11), at then #13 SEMO (26-25), and against Missouri State (33-20). They picked up their first loss against Youngstown State, 31-3 but then beat MVFC newcomer Murray State, 27-6. Last weekend, they hosted #1 South Dakota State for SIU's homecoming, where they fell 17-10 to the defending FCS champions. Last year, SIU finished 5-6 overall, including a 30-7 win over the Leathernecks. WIU and SIU have faced off 67 times starting back in 1933, with WIU holding the series lead 37-26-4. For 18 years (from 1984-2001), WIU won every game, but since then, it's leaned much more towards SIU, with them winning the last 3 matchups.
Senior QB Nic Baker currently has a rating of 140.55 with 141 completions on 207 attempts for 1566 yards (223 per game) with 8 TDs and 4 INTS. He's currently 2nd in the conference in passing yards. Sophomore WR Vinson Davis III leads the team in receiving yards with 405 (57.86/game) and 1 TD while Junior WR Izaiah Hartrup has picked up the most receiving TDs (3) as well as 352 yards.
The ground game is (was?) led by Senior RB Ro Elliott with 275 yards and 5 TDs, but hasn't played the last 3 games (sounds like the injury wasn't too serious though and he might be back this weekend). In the meantime Senior RB Justin Strong has been picking up more of the duties, with 128 yards and a TD against Murray State (has a total of 219 yards and 3 TDs for the season).
On the defensive side, Senior Safety PJ Jules leads the team in tackles with 64 (32 solo), tackles for loss (9.5) where he's #2 in the MVFC, and is tied for pass breakups. Senior DE Devin Cowan has 3.5 sacks with 2 forced fumbles, which is tied for the lead in the conference. Their FG kicker is Senior Thomas Burks, who is 6 of 7 on the season, hitting everything under 40 yards, but is 0-1 in the 40-49 yard range. Sophomore Punter Nathan Torney has 32 punts for 38.5 yards per punt with a long of 64 and 6 inside the 20.
View the full stat comparison between the two teams.
Chance of Victory
Massey says 3% chance of a WIU victory, with a predicted score of 37-13 for the Salukis: https://masseyratings.com/game.php?gid=938288225
Sagarin says 4% chance of a win.
Our best chance of a win the rest of the season is still Indiana State, who is also 0-7, including a 27-0 loss to EIU, a 2-point loss to fellow MVFC "cellar dweller" Murray State, and a 44-7 crushing by the other ISU a couple of weeks ago.