The Southern Illinois University Salukis did something that has not been done in the UNI-Dome in over three years: they beat the Panthers on their home turf with a 27-20 victory. Saluki head coach Dale Lennon did the exact same thing he accomplished last time he visited Cedar Falls — knock off a favored UNI squad on their home turf.

Lennon’s last trip to the Dome occurred on Sept. 9, 2006, as his University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, a Division II program, upset the Panthers 35-31.
It may seem as if Lennon uncovered one of the Football Championship Subdivision’s most mysterious secrets, winning in both of only two trips total to the UNI-Dome.

“When I was at North Dakota, it was dome team. That’s an atmosphere that you learn how to play in. We pride our work on that too with this team (Southern Illinois) and make them aware of the environment,” said Lennon.

Lennon also led the Salukis to their first away victory in the UNI-SIU series in 12 seasons. Earlier in the week Lennon said, “With a long streak like that, it is eventually going to get broken, so it’s just a matter of time.”

Just that happened.

Statistically, the Panthers outplayed the Salukis in terms of offensive production, gaining a total of 375 yards compared to SIU’s 345. However, it was production in the red zone that proved to be the difference-maker in the game.

UNI found themselves within SIU’s 10-yard line on five separate occasions but scored six on only two of those instances. One of those chances turned into a turnover as senior wide receiver D.P. Eyman threw a costly interception off a double pass.

In 10 out of UNI’s 11 possessions, they reached Saluki territory. However, the Panthers only converted points on four of those possessions.

“There was a lot of missed opportunity and poor decisions. (Southern Illinois) did a good job at letting us defeat ourselves,” said UNI head coach Mark Farley.

“We had a couple shots to complete balls, and we actually had a some balls in our hands, but the ball just bounced out. It’s just the way the game goes really,” said UNI senior running back Derrick Law.

The Salukis, on the other hand, converted on each of their three red zone appearances. Two out of the three resulted in touchdowns.

“We made mistakes out there, but we were able to overcome our mistakes. They didn’t come back to hurt us too bad. Overall, it was as complete of a team effort than we’ve had,” said Lennon.

Southern Illinois handed UNI its first regular season home loss since Oct. 28, 2006, when the Panthers fell to Western Illinois University, 24-13.

The Panthers’ demoralizing defeat took place before a record UNI-Dome crowd of 17,190 on the Panthers’ Homecoming.

“It seemed like we never really caught rhythm,” said Farley. “We’ve got a lot of room for growth, a lot of thinking and a lot of rethinking to do.”

Things will not get much easier for UNI next week as they travel to Brookings, S.D., to take on the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits. The Jacks are 5-1 overall and undefeated in Missouri Valley Conference play at 4-0.

“I think our team will be able to set this (loss) aside and continue with the season, continuing to do great things,” said Law.