2008 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

The 2008 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Dale Lennon and played their home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois. The Salukis finished the season with a 9–3 record overall and a 7–1 mark in conference play, sharing the MVFC title with Northern Iowa. The team received an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, where they lost to New Hampshire in the first round.^[1] Southern Illinois was ranked No. 11 in The Sports Network's postseason ranking of FCS teams.^[2]

2008 Southern Illinois Salukis football
MVFC co-champion
NCAA Division I First Round, L 20–29 vs. New Hampshire
Conference	Missouri Valley Football Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 11
Record	9–3 (7–1 MVFC)
Head coach	Dale Lennon (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bubba Schweigert (1st season)
Home stadium	McAndrew Stadium
Seasons ← 2007 2009 →

2008 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Northern Iowa +^		7	–	1					12	–	3
No. 11 Southern Illinois +^		7	–	1					9	–	3
South Dakota State		6	–	2					7	–	5
Western Illinois		4	–	4					6	–	5
North Dakota State		4	–	4					6	–	5
Missouri State		3	–	5					4	–	7
Youngstown State		3	–	5					4	–	8
Illinois State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Indiana State		0	–	8					0	–	12
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6		Hampton*	No. 12	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL		W 37–31	10,051	[3]
September 13	11:00 a.m.	at Northwestern*	No. 11	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	L 7–33	19,062	[4]
September 27	6:00 p.m.	No. 5 Northern Iowa	No. 15	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	Mediacom	W 27–24	14,427	[5]
October 4	1:00 p.m.	at No. 6 North Dakota State	No. 13	Fargodome Fargo, ND	NBCND	L 27–35	18,942	[6]
October 11		Indiana State	No. 16	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL		W 60–7	11,857	[7]
October 18		at Youngstown State	No. 16	Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH		W 33–0	14,679	[8]
October 25		at Missouri State	No. 14	Robert W. Plaster Stadium Springfield, MO		W 23–17	6,485	[9]
November 1	2:00 p.m.	North Dakota*	No. 14	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL		W 40–21	8,082	[10]
November 8		No. 17 Western Illinois	No. 12	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL		W 24–14	7,676	[11]
November 15		South Dakota State	No. 10	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL		W 38–35	5,829	[12]
November 22		at Illinois State	No. 10	Hancock Stadium Normal, IL		W 17–10 OT	6,023	[13]
November 29	1:00 p.m.	No. 10 New Hampshire*	No. 9	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL (NCAA Division I First Round)		L 20–29	5,461	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

References

1. "2021 Record Book" (PDF). Southern Illinois University Athletics. p. 78. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
2. "Sports Network's Final 2008 FCS College Football Poll". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
3. Hefferman, Todd (September 7, 2008). "Smallest Saluki comes up big". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1C. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Ryan, Shannon (September 14, 2008). "Wildcats keep a firm grip". Chicago Tribune. p. 3:4. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Ecker, Jim (September 28, 2008). "Panthers fall short". The Gazette. p. 12C. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Nilles, Dave (October 5, 2008). "Bison spoil Lennon's return". The Bismarck Tribune. p. 1D. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Hefferman, Todd (October 12, 2008). "SIU gives a Sycamore spanking". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1C. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Hefferman, Todd (October 19, 2008). "Stambaugh Shutdown". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1C. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Scranton, Lyndal (October 26, 2008). "Bears stunned as time expires". Springfield News-Leader. p. 1D. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Salukis stop Sioux". The Bismarck Tribune. Associated Press. November 2, 2008. p. 3D. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Hefferman, Todd (November 9, 2008). "Dawgs notch big conference win". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1C. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Hefferman, Todd (November 16, 2008). "Salukis outrun Jackrabbits". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1C. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Reinhardt, Randy (November 23, 2008). "Another OT Loss Ends Johnson's Era". The Pantagraph. p. D1. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Hefferman, Todd (November 30, 2008). "Dawgs knocked down, out". The Southern Illinoisan. p. 1C. Retrieved December 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.