Final thoughts ahead of South Dakota
VERMILLION, S.D. — It has been exactly five years since Southern Illinois beat a Top 10 team, a 42-41 victory at No. 2-ranked South Dakota State during the 2021 season.
Since that time, the No. 25-ranked Salukis (3-3, 1-1) have lost their last 10 matchups against FCS Top 10 teams. Notably, nine of the 10 losses were to Dakota schools. The only outlier was a playoff loss to No. 4 Idaho in 2023.
To break the streak, Southern will have to find a way to win at South Dakota. It won’t be an easy task. The No. 10-ranked Coyotes (4-2, 1-1) have won 17 of their last 18 games at the Dakota Dome.
Nothing can top last year’s game between these teams for drama — a 5OT South Dakota win that sent the Coyotes to the playoffs at 8-4, and ultimately kept the Salukis out of the playoffs at 7-5, despite SIU beating Illinois State the following week.
This year’s game could end up mattering just as much, because both teams have already lost one league game to Youngstown State. You don’t want to be sitting with two Valley losses this early in the conference season.
Here’s a deeper dive into the keys to today’s game.
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