NORMAL - Head coach Denver Johnson and leading tackler Cameron Siskowic insist it's an aberration.

The Illinois State football team certainly hopes last week's defensive performance against Western Kentucky does not repeat itself Saturday when the No. 5-ranked Redbirds meet No. 7 Southern Illinois in a 2:30 p.m. homecoming contest at Hancock Stadium.

"We had a tough week last week on defense," said Siskowic. "We need to have a real good week of practice. We watched film as a group Sunday and we kind of had an awakening about how it really wasn't what they did as far as physically dominating us.

"It was us not reading our keys, us not getting in our gaps and us not following our assignments. We are going to turn that around. Everybody is going to do what they are supposed to this week. It's just too big of a week not to."

ISU (4-1, 1-0 in the Gateway) gave up a season-high 465 yards of total offense in a 28-27 victory over Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers had four rushes for 15 yards or more and five pass plays for 20 yards or more.

"I'm going to chalk it up to a bad game and hope that's what it was," Johnson said. "We made mistakes we hadn't made in earlier games. Things we had done pretty well, we did poorly. We had breakdowns in the secondary and most of it was missed assignments. The majority of what we saw on film ought to be easily corrected if the kids bear down."

The Southern offense figures to provide a stern test. The Salukis (5-0, 2-0) lead the Gateway in scoring offense (43.6 points), rushing offense (271.6 yards) and total offense (429.6 yards).

Revenge? Maybe

The Salukis no doubt remember quite clearly last season's 61-35 loss to ISU at Carbondale. Southern was ranked No. 1 in the nation at the time, but the Redbirds led by 40 points at one juncture.

"It could benefit them, but I don't really think it will," Siskowic said. "A lot of the things they did last year we're going to see again. We know how to stop them and we know we can stop them. We just need to go out and execute.

"There's a revenge factor for them. They can do all that and hoot and holler. But that's not going to take it out to the field. What happens on the field and us executing our assignments and reading our keys is going to be the difference in the game."

The Salukis have not been obsessing over last season's loss, according to offensive tackle Andrew Kernes.

"That game is over and done with," said Kernes, a Bloomington High School graduate. "This is a new year with new players. It's just another game on the schedule."

Tickets available

The number of reserved tickets available for Saturday's game has dwindled to about 200.

General admission tickets will be available at the gate Saturday. A crowd of approximately 15,000 is expected.