Despite the (0-2) start to Saluki football, coach Dale Lennon said he does not feel on the hot seat.

“It’s football,” he said. “Every year is a contract year.”

Lennon said he knows turnovers have been an issue for SIU.

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“Every [other] Missouri Valley team is in the plus category except one. Missouri State is at -2,” he said.

The Salukis have a -9 turnover margin while failing to register a takeaway yet this year.

“It’s not an athletic thing, it’s not a scheme thing, it’s not that we’re physically we’re not capable of doing it, we just have to take better care of the football,” Lennon said.

Lennon also noted how the defense needs to start taking the ball away.

“The Indiana game we had our hands on the ball three times,” he said. “The SEMO game, on the final drive we had a ball basically in the gut of our corner, then they scored [the game-winning field goal] two plays later.”

As far as injuries go, Lennon said inside linebackers Markese Jackson, concussion, Tori Millender, fibula strain, and senior punter Derek Mathewson, ankle, should all be able to play next week. Senior backup quarterback Matt McIntosh, who plays in select packages, is almost 100 percent returning from a lingering hamstring injury.

The Salukis play at 6 p.m. Sept. 26 at Saluki Stadium against Liberty.

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Sean Carley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @SCarleyDE