Carbondale Reporter

Southern Illinois University’s football team, ranked No. 17, will face off against No. 5 South Dakota on Saturday at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. This marks the third consecutive week that Southern Illinois has played a ranked opponent.

The Salukis have previously faced BYU (No. 22 in FBS), Incarnate Word (No. 12 in FCS), and SEMO (No. 21 in FCS) this season.

Saturday's game will be the tenth meeting between Southern Illinois and South Dakota since their series began in 2014. South Dakota currently leads the series with five wins to Southern Illinois' four, including victories in the last two matchups in 2022 and 2023. Southern Illinois' last win against South Dakota was during the 2021 playoffs with a score of 22-10, where they forced four turnovers while committing none themselves.

Head coach Nick Hill has an all-time record of 4-8 against Top 5-ranked FCS teams, with his most recent victory coming against No. 2 South Dakota State on October 9, 2021.

Quarterback Hunter Simmons made his starting debut last Saturday against SEMO, completing 28 of his 48 passes for a total of 341 yards and one touchdown without any interceptions. This performance marked the highest passing yardage for a Saluki quarterback in their first start in school history.

Sophomore linebacker Ben Bogle is currently third in the nation with ten tackles for loss and fifth with five-and-a-half sacks. He set a school record with three-and-a-half sacks during Week Two at Austin Peay, earning him FCS national player-of-the-week honors.

In their recent game against SEMO, Southern Illinois led by six points late into the third quarter but ultimately lost after conceding three unanswered touchdowns. Notable performances included linebacker Stephen Green blocking a PAT and returning it for two points—a first in school history—and wide receiver Vinson Davis III achieving a career-high nine catches for 132 yards.

The game saw an attendance of over thirteen thousand fans during Family Weekend, marking the second-highest attendance in stadium history.

Three of Southern Illinois' four captains—tight end Aidan Quinn, defensive end Dewey Greene, and linebacker Colin Bohanek—have missed the last two games due to injuries. The only captain who played was center Chase Evans.

Currently ranked seventh nationally in sacks and fifteenth in rushing defense, allowing an average of just over one hundred yards per game, Southern Illinois has been nationally ranked for eighteen consecutive weeks across both the current and previous seasons.