Duel in the Dome
The winner of the UNI-Southern Illinois game in the UNI-Dome (Nov. 15) will earn
the league’s automatic bid into the I-AA field. If UNI wins, the league will
have co-champions for the second-straight season (Western Illinois/Western
Kentucky in 2002) and fourth time (1990, 1995, 2002) overall. The Salukis are
2-8 against UNI in Cedar Falls, and haven’t won there since 1983 — the same
year SIU won the national title.

Championship Game
The Gateway doesn’t have a “title game,” of course, but the last time UNI was
faced with a win-and-you’re-in (the playoffs) situation was in 2001. In the
final conference game for UNI that year, the Panthers (6-1) beat Western
Kentucky (5-2) in Bowling Green, 24-23, on a last-second field goal from
Mackenzie Hoambrecker.

Must See TV
The Western Kentucky-Youngstown State game will be on TV airwaves this week.
Paul Crane and Jerry Glanville will call the action. The game is being produced
by The Football Network and will air live on syndicated networks at 12 noon CST.
It will be tape-delayed on TFN at midnight (A complete Gateway TV schedule, with
clearances, is on page four of this release.)

Road Tested, Mother Approved
After a 2-2 record by road teams last week, the league is 14-10 on the road in
conference play in 2003 (including a 3-0 marks by Western Illinois and Southern
Illinois). In six of the past nine years, a GFC champ needed a perfect road
record to clinch the title.

Perfect Seasons
At 6-0 in league play, Southern Illinois is aiming to join a handful of previous
Gateway teams to win a Gateway Conference title with an undefeated record.
Illinois State (1999) was the last to do it. Western Illinois (1988 and 1997)
and UNI (1985, 1987, 1994, and 1996) have also gone unbeaten. Since Western
Kentucky joined the league to expand membership to eight teams in 2001, though,
no team has gone perfect (7-0).

Good Starts Important?
Southern Illinois and UNI both started 5-0 or better this year in the league.
Counting this year, a Gateway team has started conference play 5-0 on 13
occasions, and all of them finished second or better in the league standings.
Ten of those previous teams 11 earned playoff berths; while 10 won the title.
Only twice in league history (1987, 2003) have two teams started 5-0 or better
the same season.

Eight is Great
Four Gateway teams (UNI, Southern Illinois, Western Illinois and Western
Kentucky) have a chance at eight-win seasons. The league has never had a season
in which four teams reached eight wins. In fact, the league has only had three
eight-game winners in the same year three times previously (1989, 1999, 2001).

On Cloud Nine
Including 2002, the Gateway has had two nine-game winners (during the same
season) five times in the past six years and seven times overall. Only three
times in league history (1997, 1999, and 2002) has the league had two teams
reach double-figure wins the same year.

Salukis Extend Streak to Six
Southern Illinois has six-straight conference wins. UNI (from 1993-95) owns the
record with 13-straight Gateway wins. The Panthers had a six-game conference
winning streak snapped last weekend at Western Kentucky.

Salukis Have Best Start
In the history of the Gateway, six teams have started the season with 6-0 marks
(including Southern Illinois this year). The previous five went on to postseason
play. SIU’s 10-0 beginning has established a league record for best starts to a
season by a Gateway member.

Strength in Numbers
After going 25-13 against non-conference competition in 2002, the league has
gone 25-10 this season (matching an all-time best for winning percentage).

Hilltoppers Have All-Time Streak
Before falling to Auburn on Sept. 27, Western Kentucky had won a league-record
13-straight games, surpassing the previous record of 11 in a row of Eastern
Illinois (1986) and UNI (1985). With its victory against Youngstown State last
week, Southern Illinois (10-straight wins) now has the fourth-best win streak in
GFC history.

Margin For Error
In 2003, UNI’s and Southern Illinois’ turnover margin has translated into
success. For all games, UNI leads the league (+13), while Southern Illinois
(+11) is second. The two teams are +6 and +8, respectively, in league play.
Western Kentucky won the national crown and led the league at +17 in 2002.

Behind the Eight Ball
Including this year, the Gateway has had at least two eight-game winners for
nine-straight seasons. Notably, in 18 previous Gateway seasons, 30 teams have
won eight or more games, and 26 of those have made the playoffs. UNI (in 1989
and 1999), Western Illinois (in 1994), and Youngstown State (2001) are the only
league teams to win eight and not make it.

A Fine Nine
Before this year, every team in league history to win nine or more games has
represented the conference in the playoffs. Twenty-three teams (including
Southern Illinois this year) have won nine or more games in Gateway history.

ILS .. Road Warriors
To knowledge there aren’t any negotiations taking place, but the Illinois State
football team might rather play at Memorial Stadium in Terre Haute, Ind., this
weekend. The Redbirds are unbeaten outside the state of Illinois with wins at
Youngstown State and SMS. Meanwhile, Illinois State owns a 2-4 mark at home.

INS .. Johnson Has Career Day
ISU redshirt freshman QB Phillip Johnson had his best day as a Sycamore as he
completed 12 of his 29 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson’s
three TDs were the most by a Sycamore since Julian Reese threw for three at SMS
in 2001. Johnson went on to add a one-yard touchdown run.

UNI .. Aiming for a Title
UNI will be gunning for its 11th Gateway Conference crown Saturday. The Panthers
were picked to finish fourth in the pre-season poll. Of those 10 shared or
outright titles, UNI has won it six times with one conference loss.

SIU .. Three Unbeatens Remain
Only three I-AA teams remain unbeaten. Those three are Southern Illinois (10-0),
Colgate (10-0) and Penn (8-0). Projected to finish sixth in the Gateway, SIU has
clinched at least a share of the conference title. A win over UNI Saturday would
give SIU the title outright. Southern Illinois has never won the Gateway, and in
fact, SIU has not won a football league title since winning the Illinois
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship in 1961.

SMS .. What a Rush
WR/RS Steven Rush of SMS had a record-setting day in the 48-43 loss to Illinois
State. He became the first player in league history to have three touchdowns
receptions of 70 yards or more in the same game (74-75-80), and coupled with an
88-yard kickoff return, he became the first in league history to have four
scores of 70 yards in length. His four TDs, and 249 receiving yards and
all-purpose yards are SMS records, while his 410 all-purpose yards is a league
record and ranks ninth-best in the history of I-AA football.

WIU .. Glasford Closes In
Travis Glasford is 26 yards away from becoming the first sophomore in
Leatherneck history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Glasford, who recorded
689 yards last season as a true freshman, has rushed for 100 yards in four of
his last six games and five times overall this year, including a career-high 198
yards at Illinois State. Glasford’s 972 yards rank ninth on the single-season
Leatherneck charts.

WKU .. Haddix Has Career Day
QB Justin Haddix posted career highs of 226 passing yards and 279 yards of total
offense to help lead an offense that averaged 8.0 yards per play against the
Panthers. He also caught the first pass of his career, a 31-yard reception from
Casey Rooney on the Toppers’ opening drive of the third quarter. It marked the
first time a Hilltopper quarterback has thrown for 200 yards in a game since
1997 (Willie Taggert).

YSU .. New Faces for Penguins
The YSU defense had some new faces against Southern Illinois. Reserve tackle
Chris Rice and backup corner Herb Jones made their starting debuts. Also
offensive tackle Jamel Lee played nose tackle. Lee helped force two Joel
Sambursky interceptions with pressures.

ILS .. Edwards the Great
Senior RB Sha-Ron Edwards entered the season with 190 yards on 41 carries, but
with his career-high 239 yards at SMS, Edwards became only the second player in
ISU history to post two 200-yard rushing games in a single season (Toby Davis,
1992). Edwards also went over the 1,000-yard rushing mark and now has 1,210
yards on the season only second behind Davis’ 1992 total of 1,561 yards. His 5.7
yards per rush also ranks No. 2 in ISU history.

INS .. Remember Me?
Senior wide receiver Chris Lewis, a former quarterback as a freshman in 2000,
completed his first pass since his freshman year when he made a reverse pass on
the first play of the game, a 36-yard strike to Carl Berman that set up an ISU
touchdown on their opening drive.

UNI .. Carter’s Little Pill
TB Richard Carter, known for gaining his grounds squirting under and around
defensive lines, added another dimension to his game against the Hilltoppers
when he also caught a career-high eight passes for a personal-best 83 yards. He
was UNI’s leading rusher with 13 carries for 67 yards for a 5.2 average, and the
Panthers’ leading receiver.

SIU .. Double Century
Southern Illinois had a pair of running backs top the 100-yard mark against
Youngstown State, the second time its happened this season. Tom Koutsos had 153
yards, and Muhammad Abdulqaadir added 120. The last time SIU had two backs rush
for 100 yards was against Illinois State when Koutsos and Brandon Robinson each
had 100-plus yards.

SMS .. Pratt Does It Again
TB Cody Pratt had his seventh 100-yard rushing game in 10 outings for SMS as he
ran for 121 yards on 25 carries against Illinois State last week. Pratt has
1,134 yards this season and leads SMS with 11 TDs. The last SMS player to hit
1,000 in a year was Mo Daniels with 1,120 in 1998, and the record is 1,453 by
Michael Cosey in 1996.

WIU .. Difference Maker
Buck Buchanan Award candidate Lee Russell continues to make a difference as he
forced a fumble in Indiana State territory that was returned 22 yards by Wyatt
Green for the Leathernecks’ game-winning touchdown in a 34-28 win at Indiana
State. The touchdown marked Green’s second career fumble recovery, both of which
have been touchdowns. For Russell, it was his second forced fumble of the
season, to go along with a league record-tying four fumble recoveries.

WKU .. It’s Miller Time
Chris Miller’s 21-yard third-quarter touchdown run that gave Western the lead
for good was his first carry of the game. It was his first score since the
Hilltoppers’ Gateway Conference opener at Western Illinois Oct. 4, while his 40
yards on five carries were the most he has posted since running for 64 two weeks
earlier in the Eastern Kentucky victory.

YSU .. Marshall’s Plan
YSU quarterback Aaron Marshall continues to play well, completing 14-of-32
passes for 183 yards against Southern Illinois. The past three weeks he has
thrown for 527 yards. In 124 pass attempts in Gateway play this year, Marshall
has not thrown an interception.

ILS .. The Sackman Cometh
Senior defensive end Ray Robinson posted his third three sack game of the season
at SMS Saturday and recorded his 12 sack of the season. Robinson’s 12 sacks ties
the Illinois State school record for sacks in a season shared with John Kropke,
who did it in 1986.

INS .. Playing Long Ball
The 75-yard touchdown strike from Phillip Johnson to Scott Penick was the
longest play from scrimmage this season for ISU and was the longest pass play
since Julian Reese hit Jake Shields against Ball State in 2002 for an 80-yard
touchdown pitch and catch.

UNI .. Freeney Still Within Reach
TB Terrance Freeney was held to just 13 yards on 13 carries against WKU,
breaking his six straight games of reaching at least 100 yards. He needs 317
yards to surpass Adam Benge’s 1,383-yard school record set last year and 35 more
carries to tie the school mark of 275 carries.

SIU .. Koutsos Keeps Rolling
With 153 rushing yards against Youngstown State, Tom Koutsos of Southern
Illinois added to his all-time leading rushing total, with 4,564 career yards.
The 153 yards last week matched a season high for Koutsos. Additionally,
Koutsos, who scored a touchdown against the Penguins, extended his all-time
record for career TDs in the Gateway (50).

SMS .. 1,000-Yarders
The Bears now have three people with 1,000 all-purpose yards this season, a
first for SMS football. On two previous occasions SMS had as many as two guys
with 1,000 yards in a year. This year, Steven Rush is at 1,193; Cody Pratt is at
1,153, and Michael Sparks, 1,075.

WIU .. Motivational Speaker?
The Leathernecks have shut out each of their last two opponents in the second
half, outscoring them 31-0 after halftime. On the season, Western Illinois has
outscored its opponents 157-86 in the second half and has held four teams
scoreless after the break. Coach Don Patterson, meanwhile, needs one win to
become the first Leatherneck mentor to win 40 games in his first five seasons.
He currently is tied for fourth on the all-time WIU coaching list with 39
victories.

WKU .. Rooney Tops Toppers
Casey Rooney matched a career high with six catches and set another with 142
receiving yards against UNI. The senior scored a 68-yard touchdown on the third
play of the final period to break the game open, then added a 38-yard catch on
the first play of the Toppers’ final scoring drive. He posted 113 yards as WKU
in the second half as the Hilltoppers scored 21 points. Rooney also recorded a
31-yard completion on his first WKU pass attempt.

YSU .. M*A*S*H
Injuries have been a tough part of YSU’s season this year. A total of 22 players
on the roster have missed multiple games due to injuries this season. On
Saturday against Southern Illinois, YSU lost two more players to injury for the
year (John Bartos and Nate Baston). This year only one YSU offensive lineman
(first or second-team) senior Josh Davis has not missed time because of an
injury.