The Northern Iowa game was the capper.

For anybody who still had doubts about the SIUC football team, those doubts should have been erased last Saturday.

Yes, the Salukis lost 13-0 and lost their shot at the Gateway championship, but just think about that statement.

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They lost their shot at a Gateway championship.

This is a ball club that lost 10 contests last year. The Dawgs had no business being in the top half of the division let alone challenging for the league’s top spot.

If battling for the top spot didn’t convince you then the way the Salukis played against the Panthers should.

SIUC went up to the UNI Dome and held the 14th-ranked Panthers to just 13 points.

Northern Iowa has outscored league opponents 95-24, so only allowing 13 points is pretty good for any team. This is also a Panthers team that rarely loses a conference game and almost never loses on at home.

Reaction from the students is also encouraging. People are around campus are talking about the squad.

In the past people never talked about the football Salukis and treated the program like a family treats their insane relative acting as if they don’t have one.

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Right now the Dawgs sit at 2-2 in the Gateway and 4-4 overall good enough for third place in the conference.

For those who have short memories let’s recap what has happened so far this year.

SIUC started out picked last in the Gateway almost 50 points behind the sixth place squad.

The Salukis promptly opened the season with an upset at then 20th-ranked Southeast Missouri State, 30-27.

The Dawgs suffered a 35-3 setback against Murray State the next week. The Racers have since won the rest of their games and are challenging the top teams in the nation.

Division 1-A Arkansas State was SIUC’s next opponent, and the Dawgs outplayed the Indians for most of the game before finally succumbing, 14-9.

Saluki head coach Shawn Watson got his first win at McAndrew Stadium the following week when the Dawgs ran over Nicholls State, 48-20.

Then, in what most players call the turning point of the season, SIUC went to Indiana State and got blasted 52-3. The Salukis took the loss personally and went on to get two consecutive home victories.

First was a 14-11 victory over intrastate rival Illinois State, 14-11, and then the Dawgs won a homecoming thriller 33-30 over Southwest Missouri State in overtime.

After a decent performance against Northern Iowa, the Salukis are looking to have their first winning season since 1991 and finish in the top half of the conference.

It’s time to congratulate the players, Watson and the rest of the coaching staff for putting a team on the football field that we can be proud of.

Now if only McAndrew Stadium had some better turf.