#11 Southern Illinois (2-1) vs. Southeast Missouri (1-2)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025
Kickoff: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Houck Field (8,000)
Surface: Field Turf
Series: SEMO leads, 44-40-8

Head Coaches
Southern Illinois: Nick Hill (50-57 overall; 50-57 at SIU; 28-42 MVFC)
Southeast Missouri: Tom Matukewicz (65-65 overall; 64-65 at SEMO; 47-32 OVC-Big South)

Follow the Redhawks
Video: ESPN+ (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser)
Live Stats: SEMORedhawks.com
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser)
X: @SEMOfootball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF) 

War for the Wheel
•    Longtime rivals Southeast Missouri (1-2) and #11 Southern Illinois (2-1) meet in the War for the Wheel Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m., CT at Houck Field.
•    In 2018, the football rivalry between SEMO and SIU was officially deemed "War for the Wheel."
•    It was named this in reference to the ship's wheel trophy which goes to the winner each year.
•    During the early years of the series, SEMO and SIU used to cross the Mississippi River by boat to play.
•    SEMO has won the wheel trophy four times.
•    The trophy presently resides in Cape Girardeau after the Redhawks beat the then-#7 Salukis, 38-21, on Sept. 21, 2024 in Carbondale.

Series History
•    This year marks the 93rd meeting between Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, schools separated 48 miles apart.
•    SEMO holds a 44-40-8 lead in the all-time series which dates all the way back to 1909.
•    It is the longest series in both schools program histories.
•    The Redhawks are 19-20-4 against the Salukis at Houck Field.
•    SIU came away with a win during each of its last two trips to Cape Girardeau.

Matukewicz and Southern Illinois
•    Tom Matukewicz is 5-6 against Southern Illinois, a place he worked as an assistant coach from 2001-07.
•    Three of Matukewicz's five wins over SIU were decided in the final 25 seconds of the game.
•    SIU Head Coach Nick Hill was the starting quarterback when Matukewicz was an assistant coach on Jerry Kill's staff.
•    All three Saluki teams Hill was a part of made the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs.
•    Matukewicz and Hill coached against each other nine times. Hill holds a 5-4 edge in those matchups.
•    SEMO beat SIU in all five seasons it has advanced to the NCAA FCS Playoffs (2010, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2024).

Brickyard Game
•    Saturday is another "Brickyard" game for the Redhawks.
•    Anytime SEMO upsets a FBS or ranked FCS opponent, it displays the winning scores of those games permanently in the "Brickyard."
•    The "Brickyard" resides in the Redhawks locker room located at the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.
•    Against ranked FCS opponents, Matukewicz has a program record nine victories. His last "Brickyard" win was at then-#7 Southern Illinois (38-21, Sept. 21, 2024).

Ranked Opponents
•    #11 Southern Illinois is the second of three ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponents on Southeast Missouri's schedule.
•    SEMO has a total of 12 wins over ranked FCS opponents during its NCAA Division I tenure, nine of which have come with Tom Matukewicz at the helm.
•    The Redhawks upended then-#3 Southeastern Louisiana (24-23) in Cape Girardeau on Sept. 20, 2014. It was the highest ranked opponent SEMO defeated in program history.
•    SEMO's wins over ranked FCS foes are:
#17 Illinois State - W, 28-25 (Sept. 16, 2000)
#19 Tennessee State - W, 27-20 (Oct. 25, 2008)
#5 Southern Illinois - W, 24-21 (Sept. 18, 2010)
#3 Southeastern La. - W, 24-23 (Sept. 20, 2014)
#20 Tennessee State - W, 28-21 (Oct. 4, 2014)
#13 Eastern Illinois - W, 21-14 (Oct. 1, 2016)
#4 Jacksonville State - W, 37-14 (Oct. 19, 2018)
#15 Stony Brook - W, 28-14 (Nov. 24, 2018)
#14 Jacksonville State - W, 24-21 (Oct. 19, 2019)
#8 UT Martin - W, 31-14 (Nov. 20, 2021)
#17 Southern Illinois - W, 34-31 (Sept. 10, 2022)
#7 Southern Illinois - W, 38-21 (Sept. 21, 2024)

Against the Missouri Valley Football Conference
•    The Redhawks play Missouri Valley Football Conference opponents in back-to-back weeks.
•    SEMO recently fell on the road to #1 North Dakota State (Sept. 13) before meeting #14 Southern Illinois this weekend.
•    SEMO is 81-101-8 all-time against MVFC schools.
•    The Redhawks are 3-8 vs. Illinois State, 4-5 vs. Indiana State, 28-46 vs. Missouri State, 44-40-8 vs. SIU, 0-1 vs. North Dakota State and 1-0 vs. Western Illinois (now in the OVC-Big South).
•    In all, SEMO has played 190 games against MVFC members.

Former Redhawk
•    Former Southeast Missouri safety Eriq Moore is the cornerbacks coach at Southern Illinois.
•    Moore (2013-16) was a three-year starter after walking on at SEMO as a freshman.
•    He earned a scholarship and was the Redhawks team captain his final two seasons.
•    Moore coached at Missouri Western and Emporia State before joining the Saluki staff.

An Experience to Build On
•    Southeast Missouri's first-ever trip to Fargo, North Dakota resulted in a 41-14 setback against #1 North Dakota State (Sept. 13).
•    SEMO became the first team to score a touchdown against the Bison through three games this season.
•    Kalvin Gilbert scored his first career touchdown on a 65-yard reception to tie the game with 10:37 left to play in the first quarter.
•    Payton Brown then dove into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season with 4:38 remaining in the second quarter.
•    The Redhawk defense held NDSU to just 2-of-10 on third down.
•    NDSU was the first #1 ranked Football Championship Subdivision opponent SEMO faced since 2021 (Sam Houston). The Redhawks dropped to 0-6 all-time against #1 ranked opponents in their program history.

Strong Start for Leatherwood
•    Jax Leatherwood is off to a nice start as Southeast Missouri's first-year starting quarterback.
•    Leatherwood threw his first 92 passes of 2025 without an interception.
•    He completed 59-of-92 for 642 yards and five touchdowns through three starts.
•    Leatherwood then threw for a season-high 272 yards in his first career start at Arkansas State (Aug. 30). He also threw two touchdowns against ASU and vs. North Alabama (Sept. 6) the following week.
•    Leatherwood ranks among the top 20 national leaders in completions per game (16th, 19.7) and passing touchdowns (16th, 5).

Approaching 1,000 Passing Yards
•    Jax Leatherwood ranks third in the Ohio Valley Conference-Big South with 642 passing yards.
•    Leatherwood is 358 yards away from reaching 1,000 passing yards this season.
•    Lindenwood's Nate Glantz (781) and Tennessee Tech's Kekoa Visperas (736) are also in position to become the first OVC-Big South quarterback to 1,000 passing yards.

Red Zone Offense
•    Southeast Missouri leads the Football Championship in red zone offense three games into its 2025 campaign.
•    SEMO has scored on all six of its opportunities in the red zone thus far.
•    The Redhawks scored 34 of their 68 points inside the 20-yard line.
•    Additionally, SEMO has not turned the ball over in the red zone in 13 of its last 14 games dating back to last season.

Gilbert and Davis Make First Career Starts
•    Wide receiver Kalvin Gilbert and inside linebacker Jayden Davis made their first career starts at #1 North Dakota State (Sept. 13).
•    Gilbert, in his first FCS Division I start, caught two passes for 67 yards and a touchdown to lead the Redhawks. 
•    He scored his first career TD on a 65-yard reception early in the opening quarter.
•    Davis tallied five tackles, including four solo. He was also in on a tackle for loss.

Redhawks Pick Up First Win 
•    Southeast Missouri earned its first win of the season when it beat North Alabama, 30-21, in its home-opener on Sept. 6.
•    SEMO fell behind, 7-0, early but scored 30-straight points to pull away from the Lions.
•    UNA made a late push by scoring two touchdowns in the final five minutes, but it wasn't enough.
•    SEMO improved to 8-4 in home-openers under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.
•    The victory also marked the Redhawks fifth-straight home-opening win.

Pedro Clears 1,000 Receiving Yards
•    Cam Pedro went over 1,000 receiving yards in his Southeast Missouri career when he finished with four receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown vs. North Alabama (Sept. 6).
•    Pedro scored on a 55-yard reception in the third quarter to surpass the 1,000-yard mark.
•    He had 71 yards after the catch against the Lions.
•    Pedro has caught 98 passes for 1,086 yards and six touchdowns as a Redhawk.
•    He scored a receiving touchdown in two of his three starts this year.

Leading Tackler
•    Safety Landon Sylvie leads the Redhawks with 29 tackles this season.
•    Sylvie became the first Redhawk to reach double-digit tackles when he posted a career-high 12 at Arkansas State (Aug. 30).
•    He followed that up with eight tackles the following week vs. North Alabama (Sept. 6) and nine at #1 North Dakota State (Sept. 13).
•    Sylvie was SEMO's leading tackler in all three games this season and ranks 19th in the Football Championship Subdivision in total tackles (29, 9.7 per game).

Mr. Accurate
•    Justin Keller has not missed a kick in his first three starts as Southeast Missouri's kicker.
•    Keller, a transfer from Coastal Carolina, is in his first season as the Redhawks starting kicker.
•    He scored a season-best 12 points on 3-of-3 field goals and 3-of-3 extra points vs. North Alabama (Sept. 6).
•    For the season, he has scored a team-high 20 points on 4-of-4 field goals and 8-of-8 PATs.
•    Keller is tied for first in the FCS in field goal percentage.

Net Worth
•    Southeast Missouri ranks ninth in the FCS in net punting with a 41.2 average.
•    First-year starting punter Ryan Kingston is third in the OVC-Big South with an average of 43.5 yards per punt.
•    Kingston dropped four of his punts inside the 20-yard line. Three of his punts traveled 50 or more yards, including a season-long 56-yard punt at #1 North Dakota State (Sept. 13).

About Southern Illinois
•    Southern Illinois was picked to finish sixth in this year's Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Poll.
•    SIU is 2-1 this young season with wins over NCAA Division II member Thomas More (49-3) and OVC-Big South member UT Martin (37-10). The Salukis only loss came at Big Ten Conference and FBS member
Purdue (34-17).
•    The Salukis have the eighth-best scoring defense in the FCS allowing just 15.7 points per game. SIU is tied for fourth nationally with eight takeaways, as well.
•    Former Eastern Illinois linebacker Colin Bohanek is one of SIU's top defenders with 8.7 tackles per game.
•    Offensively, former Murray State quarterback DJ Williams has thrown for 646 yards and five touchdowns. 
•    Williams led Murray State to a 28-10 victory the last time he faced SEMO on Nov. 13, 2021.
•    He ran for 121 yards and two touchdowns and completed 10-of-17 passes for 175 yards against the Redhawks in that contest.