Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009

Salukis ranked No. 1 in new Top 25 poll

SIU sports 8-1 record this year

Southern Illinois University Carbondale's 34-15 win at ninth-ranked South Dakota State on Saturday, the Salukis' second road victory against a Top 10 team this year, vaulted them into the No. 1 spot on The Sports Network FCS national; Top 25 poll released Monday.

SIUC (8-1 overall, 7-0 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play) received 37 first-place votes and 3,196 points to jump ahead of Montana (9-0; 3,172 total points).

The No. 1 spot became open after top-ranked Richmond, the 2008 FCS National Champion, fell to Villanova who is ranked No. 3 this week.

This is the 19th time in program history the Salukis have been the top-ranked team in the country, and first since Oct. 10, 2005.

SIUC spent six weeks ranked No. 1 in its 1983 National Championship season, 10 weeks in the top spot in 2004 when the Dawgs reached the national semifinals and twice in 2005.

Edwardsville High graduate Joe Allaria is the Salukis' top receiver with 41 catches for 547 yards and three touchdowns. Deji Karim is the top rusher with 1,240 yards and 11 TDs, while Paul McIntosh (38-of-57, 421 yards, three TDs) has replaced injured starter Chris Dieker. (,272 yards, 10 TDs).

The Salukis have won eight-straight games since falling 31-28 in the Sept. 5 season opener at Marshall. The eight-game winning streak is the second longest in the FCS this season, behind Montana's nine straight.

The Salukis can secure the outright Missouri Valley Football Conference title with a win over Missouri State (6-4, 4-3) on Saturday in the final regular season game at McAndrew Stadium.

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.