Southern Illinois and UNI are off to 3-0 starts in league play in 2003. A Gateway team has started conference play 4-0 on 18 occasions, and all finished second or better in the league standings. Fifteen of the 18 earned playoff berths; while 12 won the title.

Must See TV
The UNI-Western Illinois game will be on TV airwaves this week. It’s Centennial Day in Macomb, Ill., and the game is part of the Gateway Television Network. Mitch Holthus, Richard Baldinger and Mick Shaffer will call the action from Hanson Field, beginning at 1 pm.

Road Tested, Mother Approved
After a 4-0 record by road teams last week, the league is 7-5 on the road in conference play in 2003 (including 2-0 marks by UNI and SIU). In six of the past nine years, a GFC champ needed a perfect road record to clinch the title.

Three-Headed Monsters
In league history, three teams have been ranked among the nation’s Top 10 the same week on five occasions, including twice this year.

Fab Four
In league history, four teams have been ranked among the nation’s Top 15 the same week six times, including three times this year.

Fearsome Foursome
A minimum of four Gateway teams have been ranked in the same Top 25 poll 32 times in league history, including seven polls in 2001 and a league-record nine times during 1999. This year, four top-25 polls (Sept. 22-29, Oct. 6-13) have had four Gateway teams.

Gateway Ranked vs. Ranked
Two ranked Gateway opponents have played each other a total of 44 times in league history, including twice this year. Of those previous 44 games, 10 times the meeting involved teams that were both ranked in the Top 10 at the same time. The home team has a 25-19 record; while the higher-ranked team is 24-20. Ranked UNI plays at ranked Western Illinois on Oct. 25.

Good Starts
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.

Koutsos: Rushing & TD Leader
With 153 rushing yards against Illinois State , Tom Koutsos of Southern Illinois became the league’s all-time leading rusher. He added 73 yards last week at Western Illinois. Additionally, Koutsos picked up a pair of TDs Saturday to become the GFC’s career TD leader (47).

ILS .. Committed to the Run
Head coach Denver Johnson wanted to reinstitute the running game against Western Kentucky and senior tailback Sha-Ron Edwards did just that. Edwards rushed for a career-high 233 yards on 36 carries. His total was the most ever rushing yards in the Johnson era and the sixth-best total in Illinois State history. Edwards scored on a nine-yard run and keyed another scoring drive with a career-long 60-yard run.

INS .. Brillhart Has Heart
Tom Brillhart continues to have a strong season from the defensive tackle position as he recorded two sacks in the ISU loss to Youngstown State, along with four total tackles. Brillhart now has three sacks on the season.

UNI .. Six In A Row
UNI has won six-straight games for the first time since winning the last five of 1998 and the first four of 1999 for a nine-game streak. The last same-season streak of six wins for UNI came during 1996, when the Panthers won nine-straight before falling at Marshall in the semifinals of the I-AA playoffs.

SIU .. Let’s Be Frank
S Frank Johnson of Southern Illinois led the team with eight tackles, including six solos, against Western Illinois. Had 2.5 TFL for minus-6 yards, intercepted a pass and returned it 35 yards to set up a Saluki score, and Johnson also had three pass break-ups.

SMS ..Trey-NQuilizing
The Bears continue to be victimized by the field goal in league games. SMS has now lost five league games in a row, dating back to last season. Field goals have accounted for the opponent margin of victory in four of those five games, including four WIU treys in a 28-23 WIU win over SMS (2002), four UNI field goals in a 25-24 win over SMS (2002), three field goals in a 9-6 Western Kentucky win over SMS (2003), and four field goals in a 26-20 loss to UNI.

WIU .. Happy Birthday
The Leathernecks will officially celebrate their 100th season of football this Saturday with special centennial events taking place at halftime. Special introductions will be made, commemorative souvenirs will be distributed and many former Leathernecks are scheduled to be in attendance.

WKU .. Haddix Keys Road Win
QB Justin Haddix matched a career-high with 189 yards of total offense to help lead the Hilltoppers to their first road victory of the season at Illinois State. He was 7-of-10 for 109 yards and a TD, and also rushed for a career-best 80 yards on 13 carries. It was his fifth 100-yard passing game of the season, while the rushing yardage more than doubled his six-contest total entering the day.

YSU .. Cayson Leads Penguins
Josh Cayson ran for 88 yards on 17 carries and scored two touchdowns, including a game-winning 15-yard score in the Penguins’ overtime win at Indiana State. Cayson had a nine-yard run in the third to give YSU a 14-10 lead. In overtime, he had a 10-yard rush on his first carry before scoring the game-ending TD on a 15-yard scamper.

ILS .. A Lot of Gilot
For the second straight week, Gean Gilot posted a career-high in tackles. This week against Western Kentucky, the senior linebacker totaled 20 stops, including two tackle for losses and a sack. He also added two forced fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Cerone Colvin to give the Redbirds a 21-20 lead late in the third quarter.

INS .. Sydney Shines
Sydney Montfort enjoyed his best day as a Sycamore as he took over for the injured Jake Shields and gained a season-best 129 yards with a TD vs. Youngstown State. Montfort had 34 carries and one catch for three yards.

UNI .. Ball Control
After going minus-12 in turnover ratio last year to rank last in the league and No. 117 in the I-AA, UNI has turned it around this year. The Panthers forced five turnovers against SMS this past Saturday and are now plus-8 in turnover margin in 2003 to rank second in the Gateway. Last year, UNI threw 18 interceptions, and the Panthers and QB Tom Petrie have just three interceptions in 2002.

SIU .. Sambursky Enters Top 10
Sophomore QB Joel Sambursky has moved into the top 10 in career passing yards at SIU. He is currently 10th with 2,297 yards. Sambursky is also the most accurate passer in school history, completing 56.1 percent of his passes in his career.

SMS .. Radon Gets the Start
Mike Radon made his first start for SMS at quarterback, hitting 13 of 26 passes for 180 yards and a TD against UNI last week.

WIU .. Great Gray
For the second time this season, all three of Reggie Gray’s receptions went for touchdowns. Gray caught three passes for 39 yards and three touchdowns against Southern Illinois, and caught three passes for 93 yards and three touchdowns against Tennessee-Martin.

WKU .. Rooney Surpasses 1,000
With five receptions for 86 yards at Illinois State, senior Casey Rooney passed the 1,000-yard mark in his career. He has three touchdown catches in the first seven games this season after grabbing a 36-yard pass for a score on the opening drive of the second half against the Redbirds. The TD total is one more than he posted in 15 contests in 2002.

YSU .. Home Cookin’
The Penguins hope to continue an 11-game Homecoming winning streak on Saturday when they play host to Illinois State. YSU’s last Homecoming defeat at Stambaugh Stadium was in 1991 against Liberty.