The battle may have been lost, but the war is not over.

When the Salukis dropped their game to Western Illinois last Saturday, 19-7, the Dawgs fell to 4-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference good for a tie for fifth in the league with the Leathernecks.

SIUC still has a chance to finish the season on a winning note, but the Dawgs first must get by a Western Kentucky team that is looking for revenge.

Advertisement

Last season, the Dawgs defeated the then nationally ranked Hilltoppers 10-7 at Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Ky., when Jermaine Gray caught a 14-yard touchdown from David Pierson for the go-ahead score late in the game. It was the Salukis’ only victory, as they finished 1-10 on the season.

Western Kentucky hasn’t changed much, he said. They’re not a really big team, and that’s one thing we’ve got going for us.

Their linebacking corps could be as good as what we’ve had. They’re more athletic than (Brian) Tranchitella and (Tony) Seman.

Watson said the fact that Western Kentucky hasn’t changed too much is also a help to his squad.

Their defense is going to be tough, but we’ve already seen this (style of) defense a couple times this year, he said.

The quarterback shuffle continues again this week for the Salukis, as Watson will go back to Danny Smith, who was sidelined by the effects a separated shoulder and concussion suffered against the University of Northern Iowa, Oct. 21.

Watson said Smith is ready to go against the Hilltoppers, but his shoulder is still only at about 90 percent.

Advertisement*

Smith’s replacement in the Western Illinois game last week, Chris Schullian, struggled a bit in his first college start, completing 7-of-15 passes for 87 yards and three interceptions.

However, Watson said the Salukis were their own worst enemy last Saturday.

We shot ourselves in the foot, he said. They did not stop us, we stopped us. We had the ball in the red zone all day.

The Salukis lone touchdown came on a 21-yard run by Karlton Carpenter in the third quarter.

Although the Dawgs fell 19-7, it was not for lack of trying on the part of SIUC running back William Tolen.

Tolen rushed for 128 yards on 16 carries and added 36 yards receiving in the losing effort.

Kickoff for the Salukis is at 12:30 p.m. at McAndrew Stadium.