Monday notebook: Salukis and Redbirds have “backs against the wall”
CARBONDALE, Ill. — During his weekly presser on Monday, Southern Illinois head coach Nick Hill said both the Salukis and Illinois State have their “backs against the wall” heading into Saturday’s nationally televised showdown on ESPNU.
Both teams have lost two-straight conference games. The Salukis (3-4, 1-2) have lost to a pair of Top 10 teams in Youngstown State and South Dakota. The No. 13-ranked Redbirds (4-2, 0-2) have dropped games to Northern Iowa and South Dakota State.
SIU has home-field advantage, but Illinois State is coming off a bye week and thus an extra week of rest.
"Backs against the wall is for tough people,” Hill said. “These are two teams that will play the game with a sense of, (we) gotta have it.”
The Salukis also started the 2025 season with a 1-2 conference record, and went on to win three of their last five league games, narrowly missing the playoffs.
“I still have a lot of faith in this football team,” Hill said. “Putting a full game together at our complete best, I don’t think we’ve done that yet. I have faith in this staff and team that we’ll do that. They have the mindset.”
In other news, Hill provided an injury update on left tackle Blaine Halley and center Ethan Goodin. Both players were hurt on the same play during the second half at South Dakota.
“Blaine will be out longer than Ethan,” Hill said. “Ostyn Friday and Jacob Katauskas will be ready to roll. They’re veteran guys who have played a lot, and we’ll have great confidence in them.”
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