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Southern Illinois vs. Thomas More game preview


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CARBONDALE, Ill. — Ranked No. 20 in the Football Championship Subdivision, Southern Illinois opens the regular season on Saturday versus Division II Thomas More. Coming off a 5-6 season in 2024, the Division II Saints were picked to finish eighth in the 10-team Great Midwest Athletic Conference.


Quick Facts

Date: Saturday, August 30, 2025

Kickoff: 6:02 PM at Saluki Stadium, Carbondale

Radio: WCIL, 101.5 FM

TV: ESPN+

Series: First meeting

Spread: Not available


First and Ten

  • Southern Illinois is ranked No. 20 in both the Stats Perform and Coaches FCS preseason polls.

  • Of the 10 FCS teams on SIU’s schedule this season, nine are either ranked in the Top 25 or are receiving votes.

  • The last time SIU played a DII was in 2014 under Dale Lennon, when the Salukis beat Taylor, 45-0.

  • SIU has won five of its last six home openers, including a 35-28 win over No. 12 Incarnate Word last season.

  • The Salukis have made the FCS Playoffs in three of the last five seasons, and won their opening game in the playoffs all three times.


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Scouting the Saints

  • Division II Thomas More was 5-6 last season and is picked to finish eighth in the 10-team Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

  • Thomas More is a private school with an enrollment of 2,300 students and is located in Crestview Hills, Ky., a suburb of Cincinnati.

  • This will be the fourth season for the Saints at the Division II level, after moving up from Division III in 2022. This is the first season Thomas More is eligible for Division II postseason play.

  • Saturday will be just Thomas More’s second game in school history against a Division I opponent. Their only previous game versus a DI team came in 2022, a 34-14 loss to FCS Duquesne.

  • Head coach Chris Norwell played collegiately for Illinois and was an undrafted free agent defensive lineman for the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings. He is a Cincinnati native who is in his fourth season as head coach and 17th season with the program.

  • More than 100 of the players on Thomas More’s roster are from either Ohio or Kentucky.


By the Numbers

  • The Salukis return 22 players who have started at least one game in their career at SIU.

  • RT Cam Dye has the longest active starting streak at eight games, and WR Vinson Davis III has the most overall career starts at 22.

  • Southern is 3-0 all-time versus Division II teams at Saluki Stadium, including a 70-7 wipeout of Quincy in the sold-out inaugural game at the Stadium in 2010.

  • Since 2000, SIU is 13-0 against Division II opponents.

  • The Salukis will play seven regular-season road games in 2025, the most road games in school history.

  • SIU has a five-week gap between tomorrow’s opener and the next home game on Oct. 4 vs. Indiana State. The five-week gap matches the longest in school history, set in 1993.


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SIU Active Career Leaders

  • Passing Yards: Jake Curry (931), DJ Williams (852)

  • Rushing Yards: Lashaun Lester (717)

  • Catches: Vinson Davis III (101)

  • Touchdowns: Vinson Davis III (6)

  • Tackles: Shug Walker (82), Colin Bohanek (76)

  • Sacks: Shug Walker (3.0)


Thomas More Top Returnees

  • Rushing: 8 Eli White (6-0, 205, Jr.) 67 carries, 191 yards, 1 TD

  • Passing: 10 Griffin Scalf (6-3, 225, So.) 67-of-128, 1,009 yards, 8 TDs, 7 INT

  • Receiving: 1 Duncan Bradley (5-11, 165, So.) 27 catches, 447 yards, 2 TD\

  • Tackles: 32 Elijah Manning (6-0, 230, So.) 81 tackles


Coaching Longevity

  • Of the 129 active FCS head coaches in 2025, only 18 of them have been at the same school for the last 10 or more seasons, including SIU’s Nick Hill, who begins his 10th season at the helm of his alma mater.

  • Hill is the second-longest tenured coach in the Missouri Valley Football Conference behind Illinois State’s Brock Spack (17th season).

  • SIU tight ends coach Nate Griffin also begins his 10th season with the Salukis, having served throughout Hill’s tenure, first as running backs coach.


Elsewhere in the Missouri Valley Football Conference

Thursday, Aug. 28

Indiana State 41, McKendree 24

Youngstown State 24, Mercyhurst 15


Saturday, Aug. 30

North Dakota State at The Citadel, 11 AM

Butler at Northern Iowa, 1 PM

South Dakota at Iowa State, 2:30 PM

Murray State at ETSU, 4:30 PM

Illinois State at Oklahoma, 5 PM

Sacramento State at South Dakota State, 6 PM

North Dakota at Kansas State, 6 PM

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