With a match against the South Dakota Coyotes coming up, the pressure is on for the Salukis to perform as best as possible. After the most recent loss to the Youngstown Penguins, the Salukis’ win-loss record is split 3-3 despite the strong start to the football season. Now, pressure is mounting for the football team to bring home at least one more victory before homecoming. Meanwhile, the team is looking at what went wrong against the Penguins.
On October 3, 2026, the Salukis faced off against the Penguins, but lost 28-16. Not without resistance, though. Chandler Chapman rushed for 49 yards on 11 carries. Eddie Robinson rushed for 23 with four touches. Wide receiver Kyle Thomas caught eight passes. Linebacker Ben Fiegel took to the defense with eleven stops, with four solo tackles and seven assisted. Seth Adams scored the first three points in the first quarter with a 44-yard field goal, and Quarterback DJ Williams scored a touchdown in the second. By the end of the first half, the Salukis were ahead 10-3.
However, the Salukis struggled in the second half. Head coach Nick Hill pointed to the penalties during a postgame press conference, saying that they set the team back during the game.
“We went backwards way too many times. Penalties really hurt us,” SIU coach Nick Hill said. “I think we had 10 penalties for 75 yards. They had seven for 73, but ours were critical to us going backwards. Those were offensive penalties. We gotta be better, and we’ll have our opportunities to do so against good teams in this league because they keep piling up.”
He does have some hope in the team. During the post-game press conference, Hill said he was more disappointed in the situation than anything, and that he likes the guys he’s working with. Hill said that the mentality and the defense were there, but it was the offense that needs improvement.
During a postgame press conference, Ben Fiegel was reflecting on what happened. Just like Coach Hill, he saw the defense as a strong point, while also forcing the opposing team to make more mistakes in the first half.
On October tenth, the Salukis will be facing off against the South Dakota Coyotes in the DakotaDome in Vermilion. The Coyotes are a top-ranked team, and the Salukis have faced off against them in the past. During last season’s game, it went into overtime five times and ended with the Salukis losing 53-51. If last year is anything to go by, it could easily be a game as tight.
So far this season, the Coyotes have won four of the six games they’ve played since August. That includes their first conference win of the season against Indiana State. The Coyotes even have a home-field advantage this year in some way; the field has new turf. Currently, the Coyotes have won all three home games they’ve had this year, with a historic win-loss ratio of 190-83 since 1979. Their current home point average is sitting high at 48 points for the season.
Soon the Salukis will be shipping off to South Dakota for one more game before homecoming. Just one more win will be what the team needs for a confidence boost. Currently, they sit at a 3-3 win-loss record. Meanwhile, the Coyotes sit at a 4-2 record. With the current home wins and point averages the University of South Dakota is racking up, this is going to be a tough nut to crack for Southern Illinois.
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