Getty SDSU will face South Dakota Saturday. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
The Southern Illinois Salukis (3-4 overall, 1-2 in MVFC) will head to the DakotaDome to face the South Dakota Coyotes (3-4 in overall, 2-1 in MVFC).
The game (5 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on national TV anywhere, but anyone in the US can watch it live right here on ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of dozens of college football games and other live sports every week, all the 30-for-30 documentaries and additional original content (both video and written) all for $4.99 per month.
You can sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch Southern Illinois vs South Dakota live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
Southern Illinois vs South Dakota Preview
The Salukis enter this game having just snapped a three-game losing skid. They beat Youngstown State last week by a score of 35-10, and are looking to build off of that momentum. The Salukis will be led on offense by quarterback Sam Straub and versatile running back Javon Williams. Williams, who is the conference’s reigning offensive player of the week, should be one of the Salukis top weapons in this game. He rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown last week, and he also caught a touchdown and threw for one, as well.
The Southern Illinois defense also had a solid game last week. They had a whopping nine sacks against Youngstown State. Junior defensive end Anthony Knighton has led the way with 2.5 sacks in his last three games. Knighton and Company will have to bring the goods again this weekend against a very good quarterback in Austin Simmons. The Salukis also lead the league in pass defense, giving up an average of 159 yards in three conference games. The Salukis secondary will have their hands full Saturday when they face the Coyotes, however.
The Coyotes are back at home this week after a tough 42-27 loss to Northern Iowa last Saturday. After watching his team turn the ball over three times in the second half last week, and six times total in the game, Coyotes head coach Bob Nielson is emphasizing ball security this week against the Salukis. “We’ve got to take better care of the football, and we’ve got to continue to force turnovers and create some opportunities,” he said.
Nielson also said that he felt his team pressed a bit on both sides of the ball last week after falling behind, and he wants to avoid that this week. Nielson will lean heavily on senior quarterback Austin Simmons, who is having an excellent year. Simmons has 1,949 yards passing, 16 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while leading an offense that is averaging 25.7 points per game. He will be tested against this strong Southern Illinois secondary.
Both teams have a chance to move to .500 if they win this game. Saturday’s matchup between South Dakota and Southern Illinois is the first ever meeting between these two teams.