Southern Illinois University and NIU have more in common than just sharing the same state.

Both schools used to be known for their horrendous football teams but now see just the opposite. In SIU football coach Jerry Kill’s first season in 2001, his team was 1-10 record.

Two years later, Kill led his team to a 10-2 record and the Salukis’ first playoff game in 20 years.

Seniors at SIU have seen the full circle of football, which is starting to rival basketball, the Saluki’s traditionally strong sport.

“Before Kill, it was definitely a basketball school,” said SIU senior Michael Brenner, Daily Egyptian sports editor. “Now, there are plenty of students willing to go to football games. This is really a two-sport school now.”

The Salukis’ basketball team made it to the NCAA tournament in 2003. And the campus took notice.

“It was crazy,” said SIU junior TV-radio major GeNae’ Welch. “Everyone expected it in a way, but it was still pandemonium.”

Since last season, football has shared some of the Saluki spotlight. SIU is the top-ranked team in I-AA football, after the former No. 1, Delaware, fell 24-21 to New Hampshire last week.

“We’ve been too busy worrying about playing NIU that we haven’t had a chance to enjoy it,” Kill said. “We had a dream season last year, much like Northern, but these rankings don’t mean much until the end of the season.”

Students at SIU still remember the losing days, too. In the not-so-distant past, NIU football also has seen its share of losing. The Huskies suffered a 23-game losing streak between 1996 and 1998. NIU is 18-6 over the last two seasons.

“We’re very much alike in that aspect,” Welch said. “We hadn’t won at all, and then our coach came into the program and turned it around.”

SIU senior forestry major Tyler Sapp plans to head to DeKalb this Saturday to see the Saluki’s first road game.

“Most students are excited about the game and hope we can win,” Sapp said. “I expect at least the first half to be close, but it’ll be different because there aren’t 30,000 people that come to our games.”

Even with SIU’s recent climb to success, some students in Carbondale see NIU as a tough opponent.

“Everybody heard about Northern last year,” Brenner said. “If you’re any type of football fan, you heard about the juggernauts they beat.”

This North vs. South matchup expects to be a tough matchup.

“I think our football team is going to turn a lot of heads and make a lot of noise,” said SIU senior journalism major Jason Sereno. “It’s going make for a pretty rowdy atmosphere. It’ll be a high-intensity game.”