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."

The tables have turned

October 5, 2002 - the McAndrew Miracle. Unranked SIU against No. 8 Western Illinois. SIU quarterback Joel Sambursky throws a touchdown pass to fullback Brandon Robinson with no time left on the clock.

Robinson cradles the ball on the east side of the north end zone, plants his toes inbounds, makes the catch and is instantly mobbed by hundreds of students flooding out of the stands.

As Robinson falls, the 18-year Western Illinois curse, along with the long-time futility of Saluki football, hits the ground with him.

Sambursky later calls it the turning point for the once struggling program, and a moment he will never forget.

"Even though we struggled that year and we had a lot of injuries, I think guys started to realize 'Hey man, we can beat the top teams,'" Sambursky said.

More than two years later, the tables have turned significantly. Western Illinois does not appear to be the stellar powerhouse it once was, and for the first time in a very long time, the Salukis are expected to beat the Leathernecks - which is instilling a healthy dose of fear in SIU players.

They remember the game two years ago. They remember the speeches head coach Jerry Kill gave, how badly they wanted to win, how they believed they would win and how intensely they played a game that saw the two teams score a combined 106 points. They look at that and realize nothing is guaranteed Saturday.

"That's what makes every game so scary, that we know what it's like to be the hunters and out there trying to knock off the top team," Sambursky said. "Now that we are the top team, we understand the mentality of those people that wanted to knock us off."

Sambursky said SIU has had a bulls-eye on it all season, and does not expect anything to be different this Saturday.

Coming off an embarrassing 36-13 blowout at the UNI-Dome, Western Illinois wants to bounce back, and it's tough to make a better statement than beating the No. 1 team in the country.

Leatherneck head coach Don Patterson has never faced a No. 1 team in his six years as a head coach in Macomb, and said he was keyed up for this one.

"This weekend, it's a rare opportunity," Patterson said, adding that most players never get the opportunity to play a No. 1 team.

Kill said Patterson may be giving the same speech he gave to his team two years ago and expects a hungry, inspired team on Saturday.

"They don't have anything to lose, and I'm sure they'll play their guts out," Kill said.