Southeast Missouri (1-1) at #14/20 Southern Illinois (2-0)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, Sept. 13
Kickoff: 6 p.m., CT
Site: Saluki Stadium (15,000)
Surface: FieldTurf Duraspine PRO
Series History: Southeast leads, 39-34-8
Forecast: Partly Cloudy, 70 degrees
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (2-1 overall; 1-1 at Southeast; 0-0 OVC). Dale Lennon (146-61 overall; 44-28 at Southern Illinois).
Southeast Captains: Reggie Jennings, Paul McRoberts, Corey Porter, Jon Slania

Media Coverage
Radio: ESPN 92.9 FM; Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser)
Video: Saluki All-Access
Live Stats: SIUSalukis.com
Twitter Updates: @GoSoutheast
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri | Southern Illinois

Redhawks Travel to Nationally-Ranked Southern Illinois
Southeast Missouri (1-1) crosses the Mississippi River to face regional-rival and No. 14 Southern Illinois (2-0) Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., CT, at Saluki Stadium.

Tickets Available for Southern Illinois Game
Tickets for Saturday's game at No. 14 Southern Illinois are available at the Southeast Athletics Ticket Office. Tickets are $20 each. Fans can purchase tickets at the Athletics Ticket Office (1221 Broadway), or by calling (573) 651-2113.

Follow the Redhawks
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean and Rick Wieser will call the action at Saluki Stadium. Fans can watch online via pay-per-view at SIUSalukis.com (Saluki All-Access). Live stats can be accessed online at SIUSalukis.com and GoSoutheast.com.

Series History
Southeast meets Southern Illinois for the 82nd time in 2014. The Redhawks, who have played SIU more than any other opponent in its football history, owns a 39-34-8 advantage in a series that dates all the way back to 1909. These teams last met in the first college football game at Busch Stadium on Sept. 21, 2013. The Salukis won that game by a score of 36-19. SIU won seven of its previous eight matchups against Southeast and beat the Redhawks the last three seasons. Southeast last defeated the Salukis in 2010 (24-21 in Carbondale), the year it won the Ohio Valley Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs.

Old Stomping Grounds
Tom Matukewicz spent seven seasons under head coach Jerry Kill at Southern Illinois. As linebackers coach and run-game coordinator, Matukewicz had a big hand in three Missouri Valley Football championships (2003, 2004, 2005) and five NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoff berths (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007). He was named the 2007 FCS Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association after helping turn the Salukis into one of the top rushing defenses in the nation. SIU held opponents to a rushing average below 135 yards per game every year from 2002-07. The Salukis had three of the top-10 rushing defenses in program history during that time. Matukewicz's 2004 linebacker corps formed the heart of a defense which gave up just 101.7 rushing yards a game, led the nation in scoring defense and allowed 13.2 points per contest.

More SIU Ties
Southeast defensive coordinator Bryce Saia and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Sherard Poteete also have Southern Illinois connections. Saia coached the defensive line for four years (2004-07). The Salukis ranked either first or second in the Missouri Valley Football Conference during his tenure, and had the top-ranked scoring defense in the Football Championship Subdivision in 2004. Saia was also with Tom Matukewicz at Toledo the last two seasons. Poteete was named the 1999 Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Year and garnered All-MVC accolades in 2000 as a quarterback at SIU. His wife, the former Jamie Campbell, played softball for the Salukis from 1997-2000.

Familiar Name
Former wide receiver great Willie Ponder is back at Southeast as an undergraduate assistant coach. Initially recruited by Tom Matukewicz when Matukewicz was at Southern Illinois, Ponder was on a plane to visit Carbondale when the flight was aborted due to bad weather and had to return to St. Louis. Instead, he chose to attend Southeast and put together a stellar two-year career which saw him leave as the school's all-time leader in receiving yardage (2,543), receiving touchdowns (26) and receptions per game (6.83). Southeast beat SIU both years (2001, 2002) that Ponder played. He caught the game-winning 38-yard touchdown pass from Jack Tomco with 49 seconds left in the game to give Southeast a 21-14 win in Carbondale during the 2002 campaign. Ponder went on to play for the New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams in the NFL.

Redhawks Don New Helmet
Last week, Southeast unveiled a new helmet at Kansas (Sept. 6). The helmet is white with a chrome red facemask. A large chrome Redhawk logo resides on the right side of the helmet, while the player's jersey number is on the left. Southeast's white helmet is secondary to its current black headgear that sports the Redhawk head on both sides. In all, Southeast has had five different helmet designs during its NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision era.

Near Comeback
The Redhawks gave Big 12 Conference and Football Bowl Subdivision member Kansas all it could handle in Lawrence last week. Southeast, which trailed 24-0 at halftime, outscored the Jayhawks 28-10 in the second half and scored 21 points in the fourth quarter. Paul McRoberts made a spectacular 26-yard touchdown reception on a 4th-and-7 to pull the Redhawks within six with 1:33 left to play. Nick Harwell then recovered the Redhawks ensuing onside kick and KU managed to escape.

Southeast vs. Ranked FCS Opponents
Regional-rival and No. 14 Southern Illinois is one of four opponents on Southeast's schedule currently ranked in the Football Championship Subdivision Top-25. Third-ranked Southeastern Louisiana, No. 8 Jacksonville State and No. 24 Eastern Illinois are the others. Southeastern Louisiana visits Cape Girardeau on the backend of a home-and-home series next week. The Redhawks are 2-16 against ranked FCS teams since 2004. Southeast's last win against a ranked FCS program was when the Redhawks beat then-No. 5 SIU, 24-21, in Carbondale (Sept. 18, 2010). Southeast is looking to snap a seven-game losing streak against ranked FCS opponents.

Receiving Votes
The Redhawks received eight votes in this week's Sports Network Top-25 poll. Southeast was among 34 different teams that garnered votes. Southeast hasn't been ranked in either of the two Football Championship Subdivision polls since it ended the 2010 campaign at No. 13. Meanwhile, Southern Illinois jumped 11 spots (from 25th to 14th) in the FCS Coaches Poll after beating then-No. 14 Eastern Illinois, its first win over a ranked team this year.

Closing In
Wide receiver and return specialist Spencer Davis is closing in on Southeast's all-time career record in all-purpose yardage. Davis went over 4,000 (4,010) all-purpose yards at Kansas (Sept. 6). He is 164 yards away from surpassing Kelvin Anderson (4,173 yds, 1992-94) for the new mark.

Jackson Out with Hand Injury
Southeast starting tailback DeMichael Jackson could be out for at least six weeks due to a hand injury. Jackson broke his left hand in the Redhawks game at Kansas on Sept. 6. Lennies McFerren or Lewis Washington will make their first start of the season in the backfield this week. McFerren entered the Kansas game after Jackson got hurt and finished as the Redhawks top rusher with 47 yards on six carries. He averaged just under eight yards (7.8) per rush.

Special Teams Rise
The Redhawks needed a big play on special teams at Kansas (Sept. 6) and got one in a rather unique fashion. Tim Hamm-Bey blocked a 49-yard field goal attempt by Matthew Wyman early in the third quarter. After Wyman's kick was blocked, Reggie Jennings picked up the ball and pitched it to Eriq Moore. Moore never had possession after mis-handling the lateral. The ball then wound up in Ron Davis' hands and he ran 18 yards to the Jayhawks 37-yardline. The first blocked kick of the season resulted in a wild finish that ultimately sparked Southeast's ferocious second-half comeback.

Big Time McRoberts
Junior wide receiver Paul McRoberts had a career-high 173 yards on six receptions at Kansas (Sept. 6). A native of St. Louis, Mo., McRoberts caught a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes to fuel Southeast's late comeback. He scored on a 68-yard pass from Kyle Snyder with 10:39 left and made a spectacular 26-yard catch on a 4th-and-7 to pull the Redhawks to within six at the 1:33 mark. McRoberts also completed the first pass of his career when he hooked up with Peter Lloyd on a reverse pass. He took DeMichael Jackson's pitch off the reverse and tossed a 28-yard pass to Lloyd. That play was on fourth down, as well. McRoberts' 173 yards were the most in a game by a Southeast receiver since Miles Edwards had 208 vs. Southwest Baptist on Aug. 28, 2008.

Where They Rank
The Redhawks are among the top-five NCAA Football Championship Subdivision teams in fourth down conversion percentage (t1st, 1,000), fourth down conversion percentage defense (t1st, .000), scoring offense (2nd, 52.5 ppg) and team passing efficiency (4th, 186.32 rating). Southeast leads the Ohio Valley Conference in both fourth down conversion percentage and fourth down conversion percentage defense, while ranking second in scoring offense and total offense (468.5).

Fourth Quarter Points
Southeast scored 35 points in the fourth quarter this season. That is the most fourth-quarter points by any Ohio Valley Conference school through the first two games this year. Defensively, the Redhawks haven't given up a point in the fourth quarter. Southeast notched 86 points in the fourth quarter during the 2013 campaign, its most in any 15-minute period.

Snyder Notches Career-High
Kyle Snyder completed 12-of-27 passes for a career-high 269 yards and three touchdowns at Kansas (Sept. 6). Snyder also cleared 1,000 passing yards (1,084) in his career. It marked the second time in his career where he threw three touchdown passes in a game (vs. Southern Illinois on Sept. 21, 2013). Snyder leads the Ohio Valley Conference in passing average (233.5 ypg), pass efficiency (183.9 rating) and total offense (266.5 ypg) after two starts this season.

Garrett Sees Double
Middle linebacker Roper Garrett is off to a great start for Southeast's defense this season. Garrett, who walked on the team a year ago, currently leads the Redhawks and the Ohio Valley Conference with 24 tackles. He posted double-digit tackles in each of his first two starts, recording 10 vs. Missouri Baptist (Aug. 28) and a career-high 14 at Kansas (Sept. 6). In addition, Garrett leads the team in forced fumbles (3), tackles for loss (3.5) and sacks (2.0).

Strong Start
The kicking game was a major area of concern for the Redhawks last season, but you wouldn't know it with the way they started this year. Southeast, which ranked last in the Ohio Valley Conference in both PATs (25-of-34, 73.5 pct.) and field goals (5-of-13, 38.5 pct.) in 2013, made a perfect 11-of-11 PATs vs. Missouri Baptist (Aug. 28) and followed that up with 4-of-4 at Kansas (Sept. 6). Ryan McCrum, who made eight PATs all of last season, already surpassed that mark with 11 in 2014.

Starting Streak
Corey Porter has made 25-consecutive starts on the offensive line. Both of his starts came at left tackle. Before that, Porter spent the last two seasons as Southeast's starting center.

One of a Kind
Southeast first-year head coach Tom Matukewicz is using simple acts of kindness to teach his players valuable life lessons. This week, Southeast's players not making the trip to Southern Illinois, will be appearing at the Nolan Weber Believers 5K & Fun Run/Walk in Jackson on Sept. 13. Weber was a soccer player at Jackson High School who fought brain cancer for almost three years (doubling the life expectancy of what his illness normally came with) before he passed away. The Redhawks plan to donate their "Yellow Shirt" money to the Believing Beyond Nolan Weber Foundation that provides financial and/or spiritual/emotional support to children and their families battling cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. Before that, Michael Douglas, a 16-year old from Kansas accompanied the Redhawks on the sideline for their game at Kansas (Sept. 6). Douglas was diagnosed with an interstitial lung disease when he was a year old and has to use an oxygen tank. The teenager initially contacted Southeast wide receiver Mike Cyliax for an autograph over the summer. Once Matukewicz heard the story, he wrote Douglas a letter and invited him to Southeast's game against the Jayhawks. Against Missouri Baptist, the Redhawk captains took a No. 14 jersey to midfield for the coin toss honoring the memory of Kaden Robert. Robert was a Kelly football player who died in an accidental shooting in June. Southeast also gave Robert's family a game ball. Last spring, Southeast presented a check to the parents of Dominic Hooper -- a Scott City teen who died in February from injuries sustained in an ATV accident -- during the team's spring game on Apr. 26.