Forget about the SIU football team giving players a rest before the playoffs begin.

SIU coach Jerry Kill is hoping the No. 5 Salukis (9-1) can help improve their playoff seed and pull out a win Saturday at Hampton. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. EST., against a team Kill said is better than its 6-4 record suggests.

“This is a game you really don’t want to play at the end of the year,” Kill said. “This is a huge challenge for us and there won’t be resting for anybody.”

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The Pirates have won two straight games, rebounding from a three-game losing streak they suffered in the middle of the season.

However, Hampton lost two of those three games by one point.

SIU will end its regular season a week after beating Illinois State 34-24 at McAndrew Stadium. Kill said the Salukis approached that game the same way they would a playoff game, and the mindset will be the same against the Pirates.

“You better your situation the more you win, and of course after this one, it’s all sudden-death,” Kill said.

SIU junior defensive end James Cloud recorded six tackles and 1.5 tackles per loss in the win against the Redbirds.

He said he expects Hampton to try to establish the run before turning to the pass, so Cloud said he’s been working on his pass rushing moves leading up to Saturday’s game.

Cloud leads the Salukis with 4.5 sacks this season, and said he’s hoping to get to the quarterback more against Hampton.

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“I know I’m going to get the opportunities, so when it’s there I just want to make the best of it,” he said.

The Pirates also tend to spread the field with four wide receivers, SIU defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys said, but Saluki junior safety Clayton Johnson said he welcomes that.

Johnson intercepted two passes against Illinois State, and said he likes when teams test SIU’s pass defense and open it up.

“If they spread the field a lot and they’re throwing, I mean, that’s our dream,” Johnson said. “That’s what we want. We want them to throw the ball like that.”

SIU senior quarterback Nick Hill said he hopes the offense can put some points on the board against Hampton, which ranks sixth in its conference in total defense.

However, Hill said the Pirates have a good defense, so it won’t be easy.

Hill leads the Gateway Football Conference with 2,337 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns this season.

He threw for 185 yards and three touchdowns against the Redbirds, and said he and the other SIU seniors are savoring the games they have left as their college careers wind to an end.

“As seniors, we know our games are numbered now,” Hill said. “Even if we make a long run in the playoffs, there’s only a few games left and as seniors. We might not play that many more games, so you got to take each game like it’s your last and just enjoy them.”

Scott Mieszala can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 256 or [email protected].