Aug. 30, 2005

Southern Illinois at Southeast Missouri State

Date: Sept. 1, 2005

Time: 6:00 p.m.

Location: Houck Stadium, Cape Girardeau, Mo. (10,000)

Affiliations: Southern Illinois, I-AA, Gateway Conference

Southeast Missouri, I-AA, Ohio Valley Conference

2004 Records: Southern Illinois 10-2, Southeast Missouri 3-8

National Ranking: SIU is ranked 5th nationally by The Sports Network

The Coaches: Tim Billings is 23-34 in his sixth season at Southeast Missouri

Jerry Kill is 25-22 in his fifth season at SIU, 74-47 after 12 years overall

Radio: Southeast Radio Network anchored by K-103 FM in Cape Girardeau. Other network stations include KSIM in Sikeston and KWOC in Poplar Bluff. Erik Sean will do play-by-play with Rick Wieser as the color analyst.

Internet: Southeast Radio Network broadcast can be heard over the internet at www.k103fm.com.

THE TEAMS: It will be the season opener for both teams. Southeast Missouri is picked eighth in the OVC while SIU is picked to win the Gateway Conference and is ranked fifth nationally by The Sports Network. Last season, Southeast was 3-8 while SIU was 10-2.

THE COACHES: Tim Billings, a former assistant at Marshall, Missouri and Oklahoma, is 23-34 in his sixth season at Southeast. He was the 2002 OVC Coach of the Year and the 2002 AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year. Billings is 3-2 vs. SIU. Jerry Kill is 25-22 in his fifth season at SIU and is 74-47 in his 13th year as a collegiate head coach. He is 2-2 vs. Southeast Missouri.

THE SERIES: It will be the 74th meeting in what is the longest series for both schools. Southeast leads the series 36-29-8 and has won three of the last five games while the Salukis have won the last two straight. The teams first met in 1913.

HOUCK STADIUM TURNS 75: The season opener will mark the 75th anniversary of Houck Stadium as the home of Southeast football. The dedication game was played on Oct. 3, 1930 against SIU with the Salukis emerging with a 12-6 win. Southeast President Dr. Kenneth W. Dobbins will participate in the opening coin toss along with Dr. Walter Wendler, Chancellor of the SIU-Carbondale campus. 97-year old Max Neville who took the opening kickoff in 1930 is scheduled to be on hand for the game. He will be introduced prior to the game.

Other 75th anniversary events include a pre-game tailgate party just south of the stadium sponsored by Hardee's and Kohlfeld Distributing. Hardee's will be cooking and giving away hamburgers and there will be a free band performing in a tent between the stadium and the Student Recreation Center South (formerly the First Baptist Church Activities Center).

The first 3000 fans entering the stadium will receive 75th anniversary mini-footballs. Ther will also be free Marshall Faulk Bobble Heads and 2005 Redhawks football schedule magnets.

LAST SEASON: SIU led 14-3 at the half and then rolled to a 42-3 win at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale. In 2003, SIU upset the Redhawks who were ranked 22nd nationally. The Salukis jumped to a 14-0 halftime lead and led 28-0 before Southeast scored on the final play of the game to make the final score 28-7.

SIMONHOFF IS CONCENSUS ALL-AMERICAN: Junior punter David Simonhoff is a consensus first team preseason All-American. He was a second team All-America pick last season when he ranked second nationally in punting with a Southeast and OVC record of 46 yards per punt. Simonhoff is the only Redhawks player to be named preseason All-OVC.

COLLINS MOVES TO THE FRONT: Junior college transfer Austen Collins has moved to the front in the battle for the starting running back spot. He played last season at Mesa Community College in Arizona.

PEREZ IS BACK: Francisco Perez, a returning starter at offensive guard, has missed a lot of work in the preseason due to a shoulder injury but has been cleared to play and will see action against SIU.

DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR ON ACTIVE DUTY IN IRAQ: Damon Bradford, football defensive coordinator at Southeast Missouri State University is currently on active duty with the Tennessee National Guard in Iraq.

Bradford joined the Southeast staff prior to the start of spring dr ills in 2004 and was called to active duty in the summer of 2004. He previously served as linebacker coach at Tennessee Tech.

NEW COACHES: Southeast has six new coaches. Joe Dan Rogers (defensive backs), Rip Flippo (quarterbacks) and C. L. Miller III (defensive ends) joined the staff prior to spring practice while Derek Hill (defensive line), Paul La Bate (assistant defensive backs and Steve Canter (tight ends) joined the staff in late July.

The only holdovers from last year's staff are assistant head coach Kip Shaw (running backs), Mike Chavez (offensive line), and Rob Likens (offensive coordinator and wide receivers).

Canter, who joined the staff on the first day of fall drills, is a graduate assistant from Virginia Tech. He was a member of the Virginia Tech team in 2001, 2002 and 2003. He was the 2003 recipient of the Paul Frederick Cobb Award given to the player who shows the most enthusiasm and team spirit. He played in the 2002 Gator Bow, 2002 Diamond Walnut Bow and 2003 Insight Bowl. Canter was a strength and conditioning graduate assistant on last year's Virginia Tech Sugar Bowl team.

INDIANS PICKED EIGHTH IN OVC: Southeast has been picked to finish eighth in the OVC in a preseason poll of league head coaches and sports information directors. Jacksonville State is picked to win the OVC with Eastern Kentucky second and Murray State third.

TWO NFL DRAFT CHOICES IN TWO YEARS: Southeast has had NFL draft choices in two of the last three years. Willie Ponder, a consensus All-American at Southeast, was drafted in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL draft by the New York Giants.

Ponder, the Southeast record holder for receiving yards in a season with 1,453 and career receiving yards record holder with 2,513 yards in 2001-2002, led the NFL in kickoff returns last season.

Eugene Amano, the 2003 Rimington Award winner as the top center in I-AA football, was drafted in the seventh round of the 2003 draft by the Tennessee Titans.

A four-year starter at Southeast, Amano was a part-time starter for the Titans last season and is currently number two on the Titan depth chart at center and both guard positions.

Amano was a first-team All-America pick by the American Football Coaches Association.

Dan Connolly, an offensive tackle for the Redhawks last season, was signed the day after the 2004 draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is currently listed as a second unit guard for the Jaguars.

BILLINGS ON TELEVISION: Southeast Missouri Football with Tim Billings is televised weekly on UPN-The Beat. Todd Richards hosts the show that airs at 6:30 p.m. each Thursday.

Tim Billings RADIO SHOW: Tim Billings has a one-hour radio show each Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The show is broadcast live from Port Cape Girardeau on ESPN Radio, 1220 AM. Erik Sean is host for the show that also includes call-ins and audience participation.

NEXT UP: Southeast will play at I-A Kent State on Saturday, Sept. 10, 3 p.m. Kent State opens its season on Sept. 3 at Michigan State. SIU hosts Union College from Barbourville, Ky. on Sept. 10.