(WSIL) --ÌýNo. 15-ranked Southern Illinois will try to snap a two-game losing skid when it plays at Indiana State at 12 p.m. Central on Saturday.
The Salukis (6-3, 4-2) are still in the thick of a five-team race for the Missouri Valley Football Conference regular-season title, trailing first-place North Dakota State by one game with two games left on the regular-season schedule. SIU is also fighting for a bid to the FCS Playoffs, which begins on Nov. 27.
The Sycamores (4-5, 2-4) are coming off a bye week. They have won two-straight home games, beating Western Illinois and Youngstown State.
During his weekly press conference head coach Nick Hill said,Ìý
"Looking back at the game, it wasn't the outcome we wanted. We have two weeks here to get back on track and get ready to play. We talked as a team yesterday [Sunday], every season is going to have some sort of adversity or things that might not go exactly as planned or the way you want them and ultimately your season is how you respond and get back on track. It's not the first time this group or this team has been in this position and we've played two good football teams, I don't believe we've played to the level that we can play in.
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We're excited for the opportunity to be on the road this week against a great Indiana State football team and do everything we can to get back in the win column."
"It's not too tough to keep these guys motivated. They have the chance to have the best regular season in the last 12 years if we win these last two games. Everything that we want to do is in front of us, we have two games. In order to win two games, you have to win this first game � that's the obvious thing. We're going to have to be ready and execute like I had said in the last two weeks, we just haven't executed in critical moments to win football games. But the motivation � that hasn't been an issue at all, these guys are led by a lot of sixth-year seniors. Regardless if you go to a national championship game, your time as a college football player is winding down so it's not an issue."
