# 2018 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

The 2018 Southern Illinois Salukis football team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale as a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference (MVFC) during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Nick Hill, the Salukis compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, placing last out of ten teams in the MVFC. Southern Illinois played home games at Saluki Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

## Preseason
### Preseason MVFC poll

The MVFC released their preseason poll on July 29, 2018, with the Redbirds predicted to finish in eighth place.
| 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.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 6:00 p.m. | at Murray State* | Roy Stewart StadiumMurray, KY | ESPN+ | W 49–10 | 6,350 |
| September 8 | 3:00 p.m. | at Ole Miss* | Vaught–Hemingway StadiumOxford, MS | SECN | L 41–76 | 53,339 |
| September 15 | 6:00 p.m. | Southeast Missouri State* | Saluki StadiumCarbondale, IL | ESPN+ | L 44–48 | 8,592 |
| September 29 | 6:00 p.m. | South Dakota | Saluki StadiumCarbondale, IL | ESPN+ | L 24–31 | 8,546 |
| October 6 | 5:00 p.m. | at Youngstown State | Stambaugh StadiumYoungstown, OH | ESPN+ | L 14–17 | 14,581 |
| October 13 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 12 Illinois State | Hancock StadiumNormal, IL | ESPN3 | L 3–51 | 11,247 |
| October 20 | 2:00 p.m. | Indiana State | Saluki StadiumCarbondale, IL | ESPN+ | L 21–24 | 6,435 |
| October 27 | 2:00 p.m. | at Missouri State | Robert W. Plaster StadiumSpringfield, MO | ESPN+ | W 49–35 | 6,374 |
| November 3 | 1:00 p.m. | Western Illinois | Saluki StadiumCarbondale, IL | ESPN3 | L 31–34 | 4,780 |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 6 South Dakota State | Saluki StadiumCarbondale, IL | ESPN+ | L 38–57 | 4,433 |
| November 17 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 1 North Dakota State | FargodomeFargo, ND | ESPN+ | L 17–65 | 18,008 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll 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 |