On Oct. 25, UNI handed Western Illinois its second-straight home loss as the Panthers won for the seventh-consecutive game to improve to 7-1/4-0 Gateway. The No. 9 Panthers won, 38-30, as QB Tom Petrie threw for four touchdowns. Tom Koutsos Tom Koutsos and the Salukis are 8-0 after a 20-6 win against SMS on Oct. 25. Meanwhile, the No. 4 Salukis downed visiting SMS to move to 8-0/4-0 as Southern Illinois remained perfect on the season. SIU won 20-6 to go to 8-0 for the first time since 1983. Elsewhere, Illinois State (35-25) and Western Kentucky (59-14) spoiled Homecoming games for Youngstown State and Indiana State, respectively.

No. 9 UNI 38, No. 7 Western Illinois 30

Led by an opportunistic defense and QB Tom Petrie's

four touchdown passes, UNI jumped to a 31-7 late third-quarter lead before Western Illinois rallied for a final 38-30 margin in what was UNI's seventh win in a row. QB Russ Michna completed 20 of 38 passes for 321 yards and two touchdowns, including 14 completions for 214 yards in the fourth quarter, but No. 7 Western Illinois could not overcome five first-half turnovers Marlus Mays put the Panthers (7-1, 4-0 Gateway) up 18, 38-20, on the next possession with a 46-yard pass from Petrie, but the Leathernecks fought back with a two-yard touchdown pass to Travis Glasford and a 25-yard Justin Langan field goal to come within eight at the 1:35 mark, ending a 23-point fourth quarter in which they scored on all four drives. The Panthers recovered the ensuing bloop kick and were able to run out the clock. A 14-yard touchdown run by Terrance Freeney, a three-yard pass to Andy Thorn and a 37-yard field goal by Brian Wingert gave the Panthers a 17-0 second-quarter lead before Gray returned a kickoff 99 yards to put the Leathernecks on the board five seconds before the end of the half.

No. 4 Southern Illinois 20, SMS 6

The Salukis used a balanced offense attack and a swarming defense to defeat Southwest Missouri State on Saturday, 20-6. With the win, the Salukis moved to 8-0 and stayed tied for first in the Gateway Conference at 4-0 (with UNI). All-American Muhammad Abdulqaadir rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown, RB Tom Koutsos had 74 yards, Brandon Robinson had 71 rushing yards, and QB Joel Sambursky added 53 yards as the Salukis had 281 rushing yards as a team in a 14-point home victory against the Bears (0-4 in league play). The Bears only had 188 yards of total offense and averaged fewer than four yards per play against the Salukis. Cody Pratt was most of the SMS offense as he rushed for 138 yards on 30 carries.

No. 8 Western Ky. 59, Indiana State 14

Tony West collected 149 yards rushing and Lerron Moore added 148 to lead No. 8 Western past Indiana State, 59-14. The Hilltoppers (6-2, 3-1 Gateway) scored touchdowns on all six of their first half possessions in building a 42-point lead at the break. The Sycamores fell to 3-6, 0-4 in league action. Moore — who did not play after the third scoring drive — gained 148 yards on 12 carries. Justin Haddix hit 4-of-8 passes for 118 yards and added 31 yards rushing with a career-best three touchdowns. And Casey Rooney posted the first 100-yard game of his career, with two catches for 101 yards. For Indiana State, QB Jake Schiff was 9-of-19 passing for 98 yards before leaving with an injury, with Ryan King and Sam Logan each catching a game-best three passes. Sydney Montfort collected 59 yards on 15 carries to pace INS.

Illinois State 35, Youngstown State 25

Illinois State jumped out to an 18-0 lead and held off a late YSU comeback bid to pick up its first Gateway Conference win of the season with a 35-25 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday evening at Stambaugh Stadium. Sha-Ron Edwards paced the Redbirds on the ground with 183 yards and two touchdowns while LaShawn Bullock added 106 yards on 14 carries. Quarterback Mike Souza added 271 yards through the air with two touchdown passes despite throwing two interceptions. Josiah Doby led the Penguins with 71 yards on nine carries while quarterback Aaron Marshall chipped in with 69 yards and one touchdown. Marshall was 13-of-29 for 131 yards and two touchdowns through the air. The Redbirds outgained the Penguins 604 yards to 336 and won the first down battle 32 to 24.