SIU's confidence not shaken heading into matchup with No. 9 North Dakota

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The best thing to happen to a Saluki Football team licking its wounds from a 45-17 loss to North Dakota State was a return to the practice field on Tuesday.

LB Shug Walker

“That feeling in the locker room after a loss is awful, it’s painful, but it makes you realize why you work so hard for those wins,” said SIU linebacker Shug Walker. “The only way to get back to that good feeling in the locker room is to put in the work.”

The team had a light workout on Sunday and its normal off-day on Monday, so today was the first chance to wipe out any lingering disappointment.

“We kind of sat on that loss a little bit,” admitted wide receiver Vinson Davis III. “It wasn't a good feeling for the guys these last few days, but it felt great getting back to work today.”

Southern’s only other loss this season was at Big Ten Purdue, and the team bounced back the following week with a 37-10 win over UT Martin, the start of a three-game winning streak.

“A loss doesn't change who we are,” said safety Cejai Parson. “I’m still confident in myself and my group, my unit. I know my coaches are going to prepare us every week for what we need to do.”

The next challenge for the No. 12-ranked Salukis (4-2, 1-1) is No. 9-ranked North Dakota, a team whose only losses this season came by a total of four points — at nationally ranked Kansas State, 38-35, and at No. 4 Montana, 24-23.

“It's going to be a battle and we're going to have to go earn it, because there’s nothing free in this conference,” Walker said. “When they put that ball down, we're going to line up and play as hard and as fast as possible, no matter what happened last game.”

The Fighting Hawks (4-2, 2-0) are led by sophomore quarterback Jerry Kaminski, who has put up sparkling numbers — 17 touchdown passes with only one interception. He’s also the team’s third-leading rusher, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

S Cejai Parson

“He's a great off-platform thrower, has a very good arm,” Parson said. “For us in the back end, we have to really hone-in on our techniques this week, make sure that we're sticking to receivers, because this quarterback can put it on the money.”

Southern’s defense played well at times at NDSU, with three-straight 3-and-outs in the first half, but also gave up five explosive plays of 40+ yards during the game.

“Being consistent is our number-one goal for this week,” Parson said. “That means being more sound in our keys, being more vocal in our communication, every little thing that really makes a defense successful. You can't just compete for the first half, you got to be able to play all four quarters. That’s what we're really diving into right now.”

North Dakota also has one of the nation’s top defenses, allowing 19 points and 319 yards per game. Both marks rank third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. Linebacker Malachi McNeal was just named National Defensive Player of the Week, after the team’s 35-17 win over Youngstown State.

WR Vinson Davis III

“They do a lot of good things on defense and have some really good players,” Davis said. “They play a lot of man-to-man, so our receivers have to be on top of our game and win the one-on-one matchups.”

In a scheduling quirk, the teams haven’t met since 2022, so only a handful of players on either side played in the last meeting. Regardless, Walker said the Salukis look forward to the challenge of playing another Top 10 team.

“That's the fun part of playing in this conference,” he said. “Every week, there's ball players who are fun to compete against. We’ll have the same confidence-level in ourselves, and this coaching staff and the game-plan they have for us.”