SIU sees need to open conference with strong win

A name change is not all SIU head coach Jerry Kill expects from the Missouri State Bears.

Formerly Southwest Missouri State, the Bears are returning 33 lettermen, leading Kill to believe the 2-1 team will be a more mature squad to be reckoned with in the Gateway Conference season opener.

“Any time we play in the Gateway Conference, we will have a difficult time,” Kill said. “And there’s no question they’re a much better football team than they were a year ago.”

The No. 2-ranked Salukis hold an identical 2-1 record entering Saturday’s Homecoming game against Missouri State, but as Kill said, this game marks the start of the real season for SIU.

And while SIU thoroughly embarrassed the Bears 27-3 in the 2004 season, Kill is reluctant to display any swagger when it comes to Missouri State, particularly its running game.

The Bears are fourth in the Gateway with an average of 211 rushing yards a game. SIU- typically known for its running prowess – is gaining 207 yards a contest, placing it one rung lower. Kill said stopping the run, and subsequently the clock, will be the true key to taming the Bears.

“They can sit there and eat the clock up, and before long they shorten the game,” Kill said. “It’s 14-12, they’re ahead, and that’s the way they play. That’s our number-one issue.”

MSU has become adept at time management, leading the Gateway with an average possession time of more than 33 minutes thanks to a competent stable of running backs. Lee Baker and P. J. Ikner are both piling up more than 70 yards a game.

However, 70 yards is roughly the same amount the much-vaunted conference-leading Saluki defensive line allows in every game. Kill is concerned about halting the Bears’ running game, but it seems to be a non-issue.

“You can’t ever look past anybody,” senior defensive tackle Linton Brown said. “But, at the same time, we’re going to go out there and play hard too. We’re ready.”

Meanwhile, SIU’s Arkee Whitlock has become the lone ranger of the Saluki backfield. After the loss of Brandon Jacobs and Terry Jackson in 2004, the junior back unquestionably became a leader, both in status and statistics. Whitlock welcomed the role.

“Most of the time, with leaders, coaches want the ball in their hands,” said Whitlock, who has accumulated 317 yards on 53 carries thus far in the season. “I like to take the responsibility … and get most of the carries.”

Senior Antione Jackson is the closest to Whitlock with a comparatively meager 21 carries for 77 yards. Obviously, senior quarterback Joel Sambursky has been busy in the pocket.

Sambursky has already thrown for 678 yards, compared to last season’s total of 545 yards through the first three games. With the Bears’ pass-happy Scott Carroll – who, in a strange twist, was Sambursky’s teammate at Liberty High School – at the quarterback position, the Homecoming game may turn into an air show.

However the Salukis go about it, a victory is needed in the conference-opener. Coming out in Gateway play with a quick win will go a long way in carrying SIU’s momentum through a conference containing three teams – SIU, Western Kentucky (No. 3) and Northern Iowa (No. 8) – in the nation’s top 25 in Division I-AA football.

“If we don’t play well, we’ll be in trouble,” Kill said.

Reporter Gabe House can be reached at [email protected]