The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester."

Salukis set Gateway record

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - With its 27-3 thumping of Southwest Missouri State Saturday, SIU maintained its No. 1 ranking and set Gateway Conference and school records in the process.

Both major polls have the Salukis at the top, making them the first team in Gateway history to be on top of Division I-AA for six consecutive weeks. The previous record was held by Northern Iowa, which reigned for five weeks from Oct. 5 to Nov. 2 in 1992.

It also breaks the school record for weeks at No. 1 during a season, beating the 1983 team that was No. 1 for two three-week stints.

SIU has now been No. 1 for a total of seven weeks, one shy of tying the Gateway record for most total weeks at No. 1. Youngstown State, during its tenure in the Gateway, has been on top for a total of eight weeks during two different years.

The Penguins' No. 1 rankings before joining the Gateway do not count, just as SIU's rankings from 1983 do not because the Salukis had not yet joined the conference.

Jackson should be fine

Terry Jackson's absence from Saturday's game was merely a precaution, according to SIU head coach Jerry Kill.

Kill said Jackson is 80 to 85 percent healthy, but Jackson was limping around the sideline before Saturday's game, clearly favoring his left leg.

A hamstring can turn into a nagging injury, but aside from the limp, there were no indications Jackson would be held out of Saturday's game against Western Illinois.

"He was a little bit tight, and I just didn't feel like it was in our best interests as a football team down the stretch here if we took a chance," Kill said.

Turner still the man

Kill said he has no plans to pull Craig Turner from his punt returning duties following a questionable decision resulting in a fumble.

Turner, a true freshman, grabbed a punt in traffic after one bounce after the first possession of Saturday's game. He never had control of the ball and only ran a yard or two before SMS knocked the ball loose and recovered the fumble.

This sort of thing happens, and Kill does not have a problem with it as long as Turner learns from the experience. After all, Kill said, SIU would not be where it is now without its explosive freshman.

"We would rather him not have picked that football up, but he made an instinct play and did it," Kill said. "We lost the ball, we'll learn from that and we'll be better for it.

"Anytime you put a freshman out there on punt return it takes some guts as a coach, but I think it's been a pretty good move to this point in time."

Second-half snafu

SIU seemed to defy conventional wisdom when it kicked off to begin the second half of Saturday's game, despite having kicked off in the first half.

But it was not a wind-related strategy, Kill said.

It was a "lack of communication," he said, but would not go into specifics.

"There wasn't any strategy. There was a situation that happened before the game," Kill said. "I don't want to go into it.

"It was a situation I'll take full blame for."

Antione Jackson getting his, too

As arguably the best fourth-string tailback in the country, Antione Jackson has been making a splash each time he is inserted into the lineup when the game is out of reach.

Saturday was no different. Jackson ran five times for 24 yards, giving him 161 yards for the season.

His 5.6 yards per carry average is third on the team among those with more than one carry, and it's enough to earn praise from fellow running back Brandon Jacobs.

Jacobs has been impressed with Jackson, and is confident he could step in should the top three backs, Gob forbid, go down with injuries.

"Antione is a good, good, good, running back," Jacobs said. "He runs hard. He runs like he has another body in the closet."