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Salukis look for redemption at SMS

SIU remembers the Robert W. Plaster Sports Complex all too well.

The last time the football team was in Springfield, Mo., two years ago, the World War II era stadium held nothing but nightmares for the Salukis. Not only did Southwest Missouri State win, SIU lost Muhammad Abdulqaadir, who was on pace to obliterate just about every rushing record in Division I-AA history.

"It stunk pretty bad," recalled SIU quarterback Joel Sambursky. "It seemed like we were down to our eighth string running back."

The 2002 season, which once looked so promising after a 4-4 start, never recovered, and the Salukis lost the season's three remaining games.

"I try to forget 2002," SIU head coach Jerry Kill said. "We went up there, and Mo (Abdulqaadir) got hurt the second or third play of the game, and it was downhill from there."

This year, armed with a deeper - and less injury-prone team - SIU is looking to obliterate SMS in its former house of horrors where it has lost eight in a row dating back to 1986.

According to their coach, the Salukis are bigger, stronger and smarter than two years ago, and are unlikely to play as poor a game as in 2002.

SMS head coach Randy Ball said the same thing, and isn't about to rev up his team with stories of 2002.

"As you look at it, they may have struggled," Ball said. "But they didn't have the team that they have now."

Not only has SIU improved exponentially since the 2002 season, it is unlikely to commit the errors that caused the tough loss.

Curtis Jones, the third-string running back who came in for Abdulqaadir after his season-ending injury, fumbled the ball twice and saw the Bears turn both fumbles into touchdowns. One of the fumbles came with 17 seconds left in the first half as SIU attempted to run the clock out.

Aside from the Northern Iowa game, SIU has shown no signs of giving away points this season, a reason for optimism for the Salukis.

"I think we're a more mature, more physical football team than we were two years ago," Kill said.

Maturity and physical play, combined with a little luck, have kept the Salukis healthy for most of the season, Sambursky said. He is not expecting any horrific injuries Saturday, but SIU may make the trip without starting cornerback Yemi Akisanya, who is fifth on the team in tackles and a crucial part of SIU's secondary.

Patrick Jordan is already out and will not make the trip, but Akisanya is still questionable and may play.

Akisanya's potential absence could be tough for SIU. The Salukis will be attempting to contain explosive receiver and kick returner Steven Rush, and the thought of facing Rush without Akisanya cannot be comforting to Kill.

"He is a big, big concern," Kill said of Rush. "He's a guy that can make plays, and we can't let him get started."

Kill called Rush a guy that can break a touchdown on every play, and he is the main part of an offense that is averaging more than 30 points per game. Rush has scored five of the team's eight passing touchdowns this season and took off for a 100-yard touchdown return earlier in the season.

According to Kill, Rush is worth about 10 to 14 points per game by himself, and he has only been more dangerous since SMS gave him a greater role in its offense.

SMS coaches are still thinking of ways to get him the ball with room to run.

"The thing about him is as much as we try to use him, he still has unlimited potential," Ball said. "He's as fine a receiver as I've ever had."

Defensively, SMS is a very good offensive team.

The Bears are next to last in the conference in total defense, giving up 406.9 yards per game. Given the performance of SIU's offensive line last week, the SMS defense may be in for a long day.

Center Elmer McDaniel, who was named the conference's offensive lineman of the week after dominating Western Kentucky, said if his line plays like it did last week, the SIU offense will be unstoppable.

SIU is the favorite to win the game, but as usual the team swears it is not overlooking SMS, even with Western Illinois coming to Carbondale next weekend. A loss to the Bears would be devastating to morale and in the polls, and an unblemished conference record is what SIU players said they are fighting for.

"We control our destiny right now," Sambursky said. "And the last thing we want to do is get any conference losses."