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."

Moreland continues to find the ball

Maybe it's his smile, an attraction to the number seven or the perceived maturity of being a father.

Whatever the reason, the ball has been mightily attracted to safety Alexis Moreland lately.

Moreland got his hands on another punt Saturday, giving him two tipped punts in as many weeks and re-establishing him as a turnover machine. Moreland now has three blocked kicks, one recovered fumble, four interceptions and a tipped ball that caused an interception.

The bulk of those stats have come in the last four games - the four games after he was taken off the Buchanan watch, a list of candidates for the award given to Division I-AA's best defensive player.

Moreland denies a connection, and said he did not even know he was off the Buchanan watch when told by a Daily Egyptian reporter after the Youngstown State game.

"That's not something I really have to know about, because if you just play the game the way it's supposed to be played, all the personal stuff will take care of itself," Moreland said.

Moreland said he has no idea why the ball seems to be finding him more lately. It could just be things balancing out after a quiet first couple of games - or it could be something more powerful.

"I don't know," Moreland said. "Maybe it's the Lord. Maybe someone's looking after me."

What could have been

In an act of mercy, SIU downed the ball inside the Western Illinois 20-yard line to end the game Saturday, choosing sportsmanship over more points.

But that one yard cost the Salukis dearly as far as the record books were concerned. When Curtis Holley took the final snap of the game, SIU had the all-time school record for total offense with 607 yards. When he knelt down, SIU was back at the previous record, 606.

That was one of the few records SIU did not break Saturday. SIU set school records for most points against a Gateway school, most points scored against a I-AA team, most consecutive Gateway wins against Western Illinois and largest margin of victory against Western Illinois.

The Salukis helped Western Illinois set a few records as well, including most total yards allowed in a game, a record previously set by the 1992 Salukis.

Had SIU scored a touchdown instead of downing the ball and converted the extra point, it would have been the most points scored against the Leathernecks in their 101-year history.

Georgia Southern closing the gap

Week by week, No. 2 Georgia Southern continues to creep up on the Salukis. SIU is still No. 1, but Georgia Southern now has 26 percent of the first-place votes in the Sports Network poll, and 22 percent of first-place votes in the coaches' poll.

SIU and Georgia Southern beat last week's opponents by a combined score of 129-20.

Georgia Southern will play at No. 3 Furman next week in arguably the last losable game for Georgia Southern.

In the meantime, SIU is No. 1 for the seventh straight week and has now been on top for eight weeks overall. The eight weeks at No. 1 ties a conference record for combined weeks on top while playing in the Gateway.

SIU's weeks at No. 1 in 1983 do not count toward the record.

Streaking past basketball

SIU football's home winning streak is now at 11 games, and in an odd reversal, the football Salukis have a longer streak than the basketball Salukis.

Men's basketball has won nine straight at the SIU Arena, a new streak it was forced to start last December after Charlotte snapped a 31-game home winning streak.

Should football win against Indiana State and win three home playoff games, men's basketball will not have a chance to take the school's longest streak back until Dec. 30 against Wyoming.

Sambursky quiet on Saturday

Lost in Saturday's dominating performance was an uncharacteristic performance from SIU quarterback Joel Sambursky.

Sambursky did not have his greatest day, completing 10 of 23 passes for 157 yards. It was the first time this season Sambursky has not completed at least 50 percent of his passes, and only the fourth time in the last two years.