Saluki Stadium Opens With Rout Of Quincy

The SIU football team finally has a top-flight facility to match its top-notch team.

Saluki football opened a new era Thursday with a 70-7 victory against Quincy at the sparkling Saluki Stadium in front of 15,276 Salukimaniacs.

It was a banner night as the curtain opened on the crown jewel of the Saluki Way construction project. (more…)

Saluki QB Chris Dieker Attends Prestigious Manning Camp

It’s cliche, yes, but every senior wants to end their career the right way.

As for SIU quarterback Chris Dieker, his final campaign with the Salukis is already off to a good start. (more…)

Salukis Take A ‘Seat’ In FCS Playoffs

(Screen grab via, HT: @bfeldt)

Pack The Mac — No Excuses

It will be a beautiful day in Carbondale, Ill., according to our good friends at the Weather Whannel.  It’s Nov. 14, and you couldn’t ask for a better day to be at a football game.

Pigskin Pimpin On A Sunday Night: Bears, Salukis & Much More

Your favorite football feature that is chock-full of cheerleaders is back.

The there were two winners in Sunday’s Bears-Cardinals game.  Fantasy football players and, of course, the Cardinals.  Kurt Warner threw five touchdowns, two of which went to Larry Fitzgerald, who notched 123 receiving yards.  Jay Cutler threw for 369 yards and three touchdowns.  All three of said touchdowns went to Greg “G-Reg” Olsen, who became the first Chicago tight end to grab three TD passes since Marty Booker did so in 2001.

Heck, I’m surprised it has been that long, seeing that the Bears haven’t had a quarterback since Sid Luckman or a tight end that could catch three passes in a game since Mike Ditka.

However, there were plenty of losers … the biggest being Chicago DT Tommie Harris.  Wow.  I’ll be the first to say that I didn’t see the play in real time (because yours truly was cooking up a storm on the grill) but upon further review, his play was inexcusable.  Disgusting to say the least.  It truly was an omen for the Bears defense, which was pummeled by Warner, Fitzgerald and the Cardinals.

However, I feel as if there is something missing in this entire thing, for this is not the Tommie Harris that Bears fans have come to know and love.  Since coming to Chicago, Harris has been one of the most charitable players in the organization while coming off as a humble, stand-up kind of guy.

Then there’s the last couple of years, where Harris has fallen apart.  Not playing hard in games.  Not practicing.  Being held out of games.  Holding himself out of games.  So, what’s up with No. 91?  Two sources have suggested that Harris is going through some personal problems, which could be distracting Harris on the gridiron.

As for solving this problem right now, a suspension makes sense.  But after that, where do you go with a guy who has lots of years and lots of money still coming to him.

Big ups to The Alma Mater, clinching a playoff berth and a Missouri Valley Football Conference championship with a 34-15 win at South Dakota State.  The No. 3 Salukis opened up a 34-3 lead in the first three quarters of the game against the No. 9 Jackrabbits on their home turf.  The SIU offense took it to SDSU, a team that ranks among the best in the FCS.  Well, that is ranked among the best before Deji Karim rushed for 127 yards to highlight the fireworks.  Quarterback Paul McIntosh added 76 yards on the ground as well.

Think people are still worried about losing Chris Dieker?  I hate to say I told you so, but that would be a lie.

SIU could further solidify its playoff seeding starting Saturday in what will be the last regular season game played at McAndrew Stadium

Southern looks like it is for real and is playing like a team that realizes it is doing something special.  Here’s hoping they could keep it up.

Remember when Michigan was good?  You know.  They were nationally ranked and had just knocked off Notre Dame?  Yeah, well that seems like a distant memory now.  The Wolverines are looking like an average team after looking like they were headed to a big bowl game earlier in the season.

I’ll chalk a part of the mediocrity to the growing pains of having new players in a new system.  But that’s only 10 percent.  The other 90 percent has to come from Rich Rodriguez and his recruiting.  Truth be told, I think Michigan is only one player from being an elite college football team.

Unfortunately, that guy is the quarterback of The Ohio State University.

This whole situation would be a lot better if Terrell Pryor was under center at Michigan.  Remember all those Vince Young comparisons?  They make sense now.  In two years, it’s easy to see that Pryor struggles in The Sweatervest’s pro-style sets, but excels when he gets to make plays by being mobile.

I’ll be under the assumption that Rich Rod could turn it around sooner, rather than later.  C’mon.  He lured Adam “Pacman” Jones and Chris Henry to play football at Morgantown, W. Va.  How could you not get Terrell Pryor to play at Michigan?

Michigan’s loss is only softened by the loss of Notre Dame to Navy.

Fighting Irish fans need to start looking at things on a wider scale.  Charlie Weis is taking your team to another bowl game and has produced two pro quarterbacks.  Shouldn’t you be happy?

Oh, that’s right, you’re not.  You’re Notre Dame and everything should be handed on a golden platter.  Guess what?  It’s not the 1980s anymore.  If you think Jon Gruden is going to save your team?  Think again.  Urban Meyer?  Haha.

News flash, Golden Domers.  South Bend, Ind., is no longer a destination location for high schoolers.  They don’t care about the famed Notre Dame mystique, mostly because they weren’t alive for it.  You might care about it, but they don’t.  Your average 18-year-old high schooler wants to spend the next four years of his life in a place with warm weather and hot babes.

Florida, Texas and California have all three of those.  And that’s why those three states have some of the best college football teams.  As a life-long Midwesterner, I know that the winters are very cold and very gray.  Often, I’ve wanted to escape the lethargic nature that comes with the fall and winter in the middle west.

But if I was a legit college prospects, these would be the most important factors in my college recruitment in order of preference.

1. Girl-to-Guy ratio.
2. Playing time.
3. Location.
4. Coaching

Now, that’s different from a normal college student.  Kind of.

1. Location: Far enough to be away from the parents, close enough to be a respectable drive home. Far enough south to limit the brutal winters.
2. Instead of playing time, SIU played to my interest in sports writing.
3. My one mistake was ignoring the girl-to-guy ratio.  Probably shouldn’t have overlooked that one.

So, Irish fans, remember that when you’re not bowling with the big boys … but bowling nonetheless.

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