SIU looks to build off their win over Northwestern with a win in their MVFC opener.
The Fighting Hawks are coached by Bubba Schweigert in his 9th season. Schwiegert was hired after serving as the SIU defensive coordinator from 2008-2013.
North Dakota is 2-1 on the year with wins over Northern Iowa and Northern Arizona and a loss at Nebraska that they had a lead in until the 4th quarter.
Meet the Fighting Hawks:
North Dakota's QB is Junior Tommy Schuster. Schuster finished runner-up for MVFC Freshman of the year in the 2020-21 season. This season, Schuster has thrown for 634 yards and 5 touchdowns with 1 interception and has also rushed for a touchdown.
The big loss of the offseason for the Fighting Hawks was RB Otis Weah. Their leading rusher so far this year is Graduate Student Tyler Hoosman from Plainfield, Illinois. Hoosman transferred over from Northern Iowa and has 245 rushing yards this year with 2 rushing touchdowns.
North Dakota's leading WR this year has been Junior Bo Belquist. Belquist has 17 receptions so far this year for 181 receiving yards and 2 receiving touchdowns. Belqust was named to the 2nd team MVFC preseason team for WR.
Links:
SIU Game Notes
North Dakota Game Notes
Thanks for the link to their message board. They already have 5 pages and we are just getting started. Looks like they are really hyped about beating the team that just beat Northwestern. They think they can run on us...we shall see.
They have been more of a passing team. Good QB and they will challenge our secondary. UNI and N. AZ both passed for over 300 yards against them. Should be a big day for NB and receivers.
FYI: their excellent RB last year Otis Weah was kicked out of UND for sexual assault. Wanted to transfer to Mo St, who rescinded their offer. I don't believe he's playing anywhere.
Is there any word on Hartrup potentially being back soon? SIU really lacks explosiveness on offense and think he could help a bunch.
Edit: Saw this from Sep 12:
https://twitter.com/VarnRiverRadio/status/1569357913453465678
Massey picks us 30 - 28. Last year we beat them here 31 - 28 on a Nico FG.
Sagarin picks us by 4.
Let’s go Dawgs. Keep the momentum going.
Guarded optimism on this one. I remember last year's game was a nail biter. If they had a better FG kicker they probably would have won.
"The bureaucratic mentality is the only constant in the universe." ~Dr. Leonard H. McCoy
Big game this weekend and I will get to attend in person! If the Dawgs are able to pull this one out, they'll be at 2-2 with 7 to play and be back on more stable footing (will need to win 5 of 7 to be eligible for playoffs, which would be doable given the remaining schedule).
We really need the defense to keep making strides. Watching UND's offense, they play similar to SEMO, lots of quick passes (bubble screens, quick slants, etc.) and have a solid running back (UNI transfer). I don't think their WRs are as talented as SEMO, but their QB Schuster is better. He's very elusive and hard to bring down. If we come out with the same game plan as we did against SEMO, I think we are toast, they were able to dink and dunk all the way down the field and hit us with the occasional deep ball when our DBs were left 1 on 1. I'm hopeful that Petrino has figured out his personnel and these guys have figured each other out.
Our offense has looked better each week. If we can stop dropping easy catches, I think we'll be able to put some points on the board. The biggest thing that has me worried is the offensive line. They played pretty well against NW in pass blocking but couldn't get anything done on the ground for most of the game. UND plays a 3-4 and they bring someone almost every down from a different spot. It will be critical for the O-line to communicate and be able to pick up these blitzers to give Baker time (NAU struggled quite a bit with this last week against UND). Their secondary has been vulnerable when the QB has time to throw it.
One last thing...watch out for the gadget/trick plays from these guys. They weren't able to hit many big plays against NAU, but the ones the did hit were on those kind of plays. They ran a hook and ladder and flea flicker on their last drive to win it. Have to stay disciplined!
Hoping for a big win this weekend! Go Dawgs!
After winning such an emotional game like last Saturday, the next game is always the most difficult. Add to the equation Family Weekend, the MVFC opener, and a difficult opponent, and it could spell trouble. I'm sure Nick and coaches have been preaching all week. Here's hoping we start 1-0 in conference play.
GO DAWGS!
@salukiworld as of yesterday there is no timetable for his return. Still has not practiced.
From HeroSports.com today:
No. 19 North Dakota at No. 24 Southern Illinois
“Bah gawd, King, is that SIU’s music?”
After an atrocious 0-2 start, SIU beat the Big Ten’s Northwestern last week to remind us why the Salukis were in the preseason Top 10. Talent was never the question for the Salukis, even after falling out of the polls. To truly get back onto the playoff radar, though, the Salukis need to beat UND. The Fighting Hawks are 2-1 with two quality FCS wins against UNI and NAU. Getting back-to-back road wins will be tough for UND.
Both secondaries allow big plays, so expect some points in this one. UND is playing with more consistency and is finding a way to win close games, something the Hawks didn’t do last year while losing several games to ranked opponents by one score. Tommy Schuster has taken the next step at QB for UND, and I think UND has the run defense to make SIU one-dimensional and force Nic Baker into a key fourth-quarter turnover for the road win.
Prediction: UND 35-28
I'm not sayin' -- I'm just sayin'!
As long as The Dawgs don't have a huge mental lapse after a HUGE win last weekend, they should be okay. Last weekend should be something to build on considering what the team demonstrated last weekend. I think The Dawgs step up and take this one 42 - 17.
Get out to the game and support this team!
Wake up it’s game day! Hopefully we see a decent crowd today and get a big win!
Is everyone else has having problems with ESPN+?
Guess ESPN+ feed is down right now
