Much is riding on outcome

A lot is at stake in two of today's Gateway games.
By PETE MOLLICA
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- It's been quite a while since the final weekend of play in the Gateway Football Conference has so much riding on two of its four games.
Western Kentucky comes to Youngstown State in a 1 p.m. contest at Stambaugh Stadium, while Southern Illinois visits Northern Iowa and the UNI-Dome for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff.
Those two games will not only decide the Gateway Conference champion, but also will determine which teams from the conference will advance to the Division I-AA playoffs.
Southern Illinois (7-2, 5-1 Gateway) is in the driver's seat. If the Salukis beat the Panthers, they lock up the conference championship and the automatic bid to the playoffs.
Possible three-way
If Northern Iowa (6-3, 4-2) wins, there will be a three-way tie for the Gateway title and the Panthers will get the automatic bid since they have defeated the other three teams.
Western Kentucky (6-3, 4-2) and Youngstown State (7-3, 4-2) can't win the conference title outright, but the winner would probably get an invitation to the playoffs as an at-large team.
The last three weeks have almost been like a round-robin tournament between the league's top four teams.
Two weeks ago, Northern Iowa handed YSU its first conference defeat, 21-7, while Southern Illinois knocked off then-No. 1 ranked Western Kentucky, 31-20, in Bowling Green, Ky.
Last week, Southern Illinois stopped the Penguins, 31-17, and Northern Iowa upset Western Kentucky in two overtimes, 23-20.
The other two games in the Gateway are meaningless, except to the teams involved.
Illinois State (6-4, 3-3) will play host to winless Indiana State (0-10, 0-6) in a 2:30 p.m. kickoff at Hancock Stadium in Normal, Ill.
The Sycamores upended the Redbirds last year, 41-38 in overtime, but Illinois State had won six straight before that game.
The final matchup will take place in Macomb, Ill., as Western Illinois (4-6, 2-4) will entertain Missouri State (4-5, 2-4) with a 2 p.m. kickoff at Hanson Field.
Missouri State won last year's matchup, 36-31, but Western Illinois leads the overall series 12-11-1. The Bears have won four of the last six meetings in Macomb.
mollica@vindy.com