SIU’s season mirrors the Penguins’

By Joe Scalzo | October 13, 2011 at 12:10a.m.

Youngstown State’s win over Southern Illinois in last year’s conference opener turned out to be the high point of the Penguins’ season — and a turning point for the Salukis’ program.

SIU entered that game with a 14-game conference winning streak and as the prohibitive favorite to win its third straight Missouri Valley title.

But cracks had already begun to show. The 31-28 loss to YSU was the Salukis’ third straight and began the program’s fall from the conference elite. After going 21-5 in his first two seasons, SIU coach Dale Lennon is just 6-9 since, including a 5-6 mark in the league.

That’s what makes Saturday’s game against YSU so important. Like YSU coach Eric Wolford, he’s lost two straight league games and is in danger of seeing his season slip away.

“It’s definitely significant, just to regain control of your schedule and your season and feel good about what you’re doing within the program,” said Lennon. “It’s an important game for both programs.”

If the Salukis are to snap their losing streak, it will have to be on the arm of sophomore quarterback Kory Faulkner, who will make his second straight start in place of injured starter Paul McIntosh (shoulder).

Faulkner nearly rallied SIU from a 14-0 deficit against Western Illinois two weeks ago but struggled against North Dakota State’s stout defense last week, completing 16 of 28 passes for 169 yards and three interceptions in a 9-3 loss.

“I think Kory did a good job of managing the game and giving us a chance to win, but we only scored three points so, naturally, there’s room for improvement,” said Lennon. “We hope to see signs of improvement from the first start to the second start.”

Faulkner can lean on running back Jewel Hampton, an Iowa transfer who has rushed for more than 100 yards in three straight games behind preseason All-America linemen Bryan Boemer and David Pickard.

Defensively, preseason All-America defensive end Chance Coda leads a disruptive unit that has 34 tackles for loss and 14 sacks in just five games. The Salukis held North Dakota State without a first down until late in the third quarter last week.

“I think they’ve improved tremendously on defense,” said Wolford, whose team rushed 56 times for 206 yards in last year’s win over SIU. “Their defensive line is very active and it’s playing much more physical and they run a lot better than they did last year.

“I think the team whose defense plays better really has the nod [on Saturday].”

Although North Dakota State made the playoffs with a 4-4 conference record last year, it seems unlikely that the loser of Saturday’s game will have a chance at the playoffs.

So, both teams view this as the beginning of their postseason, since the conference won’t have more than three playoff teams and NDSU, Northern Iowa and Indiana State all have the early edge for those spots.

“It’ll be another wild game here in the Missouri Valley, but we look forward to going and playing them,” Wolford said. “I think we’ll be for a good ball game.”