Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University (SIU) maintained its No. 10 ranking this week despite a loss to BYU, a Power Four conference team, on Saturday. To date, only one FCS team has defeated an FBS opponent in 2024, with Montana State overcoming New Mexico.

The Salukis (0-1) will travel to Clarksville, Tennessee, to face Austin Peay (0-1) in a Saturday night game broadcast on ESPN+ at 6 p.m. The Governors are receiving Top 25 votes this week after their loss to FBS Louisville last Saturday.

In their historical matchups, the Salukis hold a 6-2 record against Austin Peay. SIU has won the last six meetings in a series that began in 1938. The two schools are separated by 162 miles. SIU leads the series with a perfect 3-0 record in Clarksville and secured a victory over APSU last season in Carbondale with a score of 49-23.

This week's game will feature DJ Williams as the starting quarterback for SIU. Williams transferred from Murray State and made his debut against BYU, where he led the team with 121 rushing yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns. He is the first Saluki quarterback to rush for over 100 yards since Matt DeSomer did so in 2018.

The Salukis' lineup at BYU included only four returning starters on offense and three on defense. Linebacker Colin Bohanek achieved a career-high of 12 tackles during the game. Bohanek was named to the MVFC's All-Newcomer team in 2023 after transferring from Eastern Illinois.

Punter/kicker Paul Geelen also made his debut at BYU, averaging 45.7 yards on seven punts with a long of 65 yards. Geelen transferred from William Jewell College where he had notable performances last year.

Other notable points include:

- The attendance of 63,712 fans at BYU was the third-largest crowd for an SIU game.

- Despite forcing two fumbles at BYU, SIU did not recover either.

- Nine different receivers caught passes during the game.

- Linebacker Ben Bogle recorded his third career sack.