Salukis look for Week 2 reboot at Samford

CARBONDALE, Ill. — You don’t get do-overs in college football, but SIU’s game at Samford is as close to a reboot as you can get.

After dropping their opener at West Florida last week, the No. 25-ranked Salukis (0-1) find themselves on the road again, in another Thursday-night special, in front of what’s expected to be another capacity crowd.

Southern Illinois is the only Missouri Valley Football Conference school to begin its season with back-to-back road games, and head coach Nick Hill said his team welcomes the challenge of the road trip to Alabama.

“We kind of need that,” said Hill, ahead of the team's six-hour drive to Birmingham. “I'm excited for a long bus ride. Let's go back into another tough spot on the road, another home opener. You want to do hard things because it creates a resiliency. Wins that are easy, nobody talks about them. Nothing of significance is easy.”

Chandler Chapman averaged 7.5 yards per carry at West Florida.

Running back Chandler Chapman, who rushed for 75 yards on 10 carries at West Florida, said the offense will rally behind whoever lines up under center, whether its DJ Williams, who was injured in last week’s game, or Jake Curry, who played well in relief.

“I feel like this is a chance to get redemption and to showcase our talent,” said Chapman, following the team's crisp, 90-minute practice on Tuesday morning. “We’re a very talented team, with very talented quarterbacks. What we showed last Thursday night is not us.”

Likewise, the defense is looking to bounce back after giving up more than 200 rushing yards a week ago.

“The best way to get over a loss is to get back on the field,” said defensive tackle Lance Bassett, a North Alabama transfer who made three tackles in his first-career start at SIU. “We want to just kind of erase what happened last week and move forward from here. We need to make sure that we don't have that feeling again.”

Lance Bassett made three tackles in his SIU debut.

Hill meets each week with the team’s leadership council and believes his club will prove resilient.

“It's a mature group, but you still got to go out and do it,” he said. “We have to prove that that's who we are when real adversity hits you in the face. It’s about the response. It's about the grittiness.”

The Bulldogs (0-1) lost at North Alabama, 22-10, in Week 1, but expect a large crowd for their home opener that marks the start of a new era under first-year head coach John Grass.

Thursday’s game will be televised on ESPN+ and kicks off at 6 p.m. CT.