CARBONDALE, Ill. — During his Monday presser, Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill said he’s excited to turn the page and start conference play on Saturday at Murray State. Down to nine teams in the league after North Dakota State’s exit, every team will play each other this season.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — We’re just hours away from kickoff at Memorial Stadium, where the Salukis (2-1) will make their fifth appearance all-time against Illinois. The Fighting Illini (1-1) have won the previous four matchups by an average margin of 19 points, and they are 19-0 all-time against FCS schools. What are some things that need to go right for the Salukis today to keep up with the Big Ten power? We discuss that and much more in our final thoughts on the Illinois game. ⬇️P

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois re-entered the FCS Top 25 rankings on Monday, coming in at No. 24 in the Stats Perform poll and No. 25 in the Coaches poll, ahead of this week's game at Illinois.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — It’s been nine days since the Salukis beat Samford and there’s a sense of eagerness to get back at it. No more build-up, let’s play football, seems to be the mood in the building. Here’s some final thoughts heading into tonight’s game.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — During his Monday presser, SIU head coach Nick Hill updated the status of quarterback DJ Williams, saying the fifth-year QB is still “week-to-week” with a knee injury.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Southern Illinois continues its tour of the South tonight with a game at Samford, on what will likely be one of the hottest Saluki games on record. Here’s some last-minute scribbles from my notebook on this important contest for SIU.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — It was not the outcome Saluki fans were expecting on Thursday night, a 34-31 loss to a West Florida team making its Division I debut. Today, we take an in-depth look at the good, the bad and the ugly, and what it means for Saluki Football.

PENSACOLA, Fla. — Just a few last-minute thoughts about Saluki Football, as we are just hours away from the start of the 2026 season.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — When Seth Adams’ foot meets the ball on a field goal attempt during practice, a powerful thud reverberates throughout Saluki Stadium.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — On the eve of training camp in late July, StrongDawgs listed a dozen key questions about the 2026 edition of Saluki Football. Tops among them was how well quarterback DJ Williams would bounce back from his knee injury.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — When Southern Illinois freshman defensive tackle Caillou Robinson needs to relax after an intense day of football, he often likes to build a LEGO set.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — After two intense weeks of training camp, Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill sensed the energy was slipping just a bit at the start of Practice No. 13 on Tuesday morning.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — When the offensive line grades were turned in for the 2025 season, the final report card showed one unit at the top of the Pro Football Focus national FCS rankings — Southern Illinois.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Saluki Football season opener at West Florida is less than three weeks away, and there’s one player who’s been looking forward to this contest more than most — safety Matthew McClelland.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Saluki Football held its second live scrimmage of training camp on Friday afternoon during Practice 10. Shorter than the first scrimmage that was held on Tuesday, yesterday’s session leaned heavily on the run game.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — They call Blaine Halley “The Squatch,” and it might be the most appropriate nickname on the Saluki Football team.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Saluki Football held its first scrimmage of training camp on Tuesday, and head coach Nick Hill was eager to dig deeper into the 75 live plays the team put down on film.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Cornerback Naz Hill was a three-star recruit coming out of Kankakee High School in 2022, but after two years at Wyoming, plus the 2025 season at Southern Illinois, he had played in just a handful of college games, and ended the season on the scout team for the Salukis.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — On the opening series of today’s training camp Practice No. 5, wide receiver Allen Middleton made a spectacular catch in the corner of the end zone on a perfectly placed ball by quarterback DJ Williams.

CARBONDALE, Ill. — A word of warning to defenses — Saluki running back Chandler Chapman has added a new wrinkle to his game.