American college football season
The 2018 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University in the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Nick Hill and played their home games at Saluki Stadium. They were a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference. They finished the season 2–9, 1–7 in MVFC play to finish in last place.
Previous season[]
The Salukis finished the 2017 season 4–7, 2–6 in MVFC play to finish in a tie for eighth place.
Preseason[]
Preseason MVFC poll[]
The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Redbirds predicted to finish in eighth place.[1]
Predicted finish
|
Team
|
Votes (1st place)
|
1 |
North Dakota State |
390 (39)
|
2 |
South Dakota State |
270
|
3 |
Northern Iowa |
258
|
4 |
Youngstown State |
248
|
5 |
Illinois State |
248
|
6 |
South Dakota |
206
|
7 |
Western Illinois |
163
|
8 |
Southern Illinois |
139
|
9 |
Missouri State |
90
|
10 |
Indiana State |
41
|
Preseason All-MVFC Teams[]
The Salukis placed four players on the preseason all-MVFC teams.[2]
Offense
1st team
Darrell James – WR
|
Defense
1st team
Jeremy Chinn – DB
Lane Reazin – P
2nd team
Anthony Knighton – DL
|
Schedule[]
Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|
| 6:00 p.m. | at Murray State* | | ESPN+ | W 49–10 | 6,350 |
September 8 | 3:00 p.m. | at Ole Miss* | | SECN | L 41–76 | 53,339 |
September 15 | 6:00 p.m. | Southeast Missouri State* | | ESPN+ | L 44–48 | 8,592 |
September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | South Dakota | - Saluki Stadium
- Carbondale, IL
| ESPN+ | L 24–31 | 8,546 |
October 6 | 5:00 p.m. | at Youngstown State | | ESPN+ | L 14–17 | 14,581 |
October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 12 Illinois State | | ESPN3 | L 3–51 | 11,247 |
October 20 | 2:00 p.m. | Indiana State | - Saluki Stadium
- Carbondale, IL
| ESPN+ | L 21–24 | 6,435 |
October 27 | 2:00 p.m. | at Missouri State | | ESPN+ | W 49–35 | 6,374 |
November 3 | 1:00 p.m. | Western Illinois | - Saluki Stadium
- Carbondale, IL
| ESPN3 | L 31–34 | 4,780 |
November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 6 South Dakota State | - Saluki Stadium
- Carbondale, IL
| ESPN+ | L 38–57 | 4,433 |
November 17 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 1 North Dakota State | | ESPN+ | L 17–65 | 18,008 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
|
Game summaries[]
at Murray State[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Salukis
|
7
|
21
|
14
|
7 |
49 |
Racers
|
3
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
10 |
at Ole Miss[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Salukis
|
21
|
17
|
3
|
0 |
41 |
Rebels
|
14
|
21
|
14
|
27 |
76 |
Southeast Missouri State[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Redhawks
|
14
|
3
|
17
|
14 |
48 |
Salukis
|
10
|
10
|
7
|
17 |
44 |
South Dakota[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Coyotes
|
7
|
3
|
21
|
0 |
31 |
Salukis
|
14
|
3
|
0
|
7 |
24 |
at Youngstown State[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Salukis
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
7 |
14 |
Penguins
|
3
|
3
|
0
|
11 |
17 |
at Illinois State[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Salukis
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0 |
3 |
No. 12 Redbirds
|
7
|
24
|
7
|
13 |
51 |
Indiana State[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Sycamores
|
7
|
7
|
10
|
0 |
24 |
Salukis
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
14 |
21 |
at Missouri State[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Salukis
|
0
|
21
|
21
|
7 |
49 |
Bears
|
7
|
14
|
0
|
14 |
35 |
Western Illinois[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Leathernecks
|
7
|
7
|
0
|
20 |
34 |
Salukis
|
7
|
10
|
14
|
0 |
31 |
South Dakota State[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 6 Jackrabbits
|
10
|
20
|
20
|
7 |
57 |
Salukis
|
3
|
14
|
21
|
0 |
38 |
at North Dakota State[]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Salukis
|
14
|
0
|
3
|
0 |
17 |
No. 1 Bison
|
28
|
7
|
16
|
14 |
65 |
References[]
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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National championship seasons in bold |