Paul McIntosh doesn’t sound like a backup.

The red-shirt freshman, who took the reigns of the Southern Illinois-Carbondale (No. 1 in The Sports Network poll, No. 2 in Coaches poll) offense Oct. 24 when junior starter Chris Dieker went down with an injury, sounds confident when talking about his team’s chances in the playoffs.

“We’ve played big games this season so (the playoffs) are going to be like that,” said McIntosh, who has gone 4-0 as a starter this season. “I’m just going to take it like a normal game, you can’t put too much pressure or over-analyze it. We know what we have to do, we just have to try to go out and get the job done.”

McIntosh has gotten the job done so far for the 10-1 Salukis, and it will be the combination of him and senior running back Deji Karim who will be the focus of Eastern’s (No. 19, No. 17) defense when the two teams meet at 1 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the Football Championship Subdivision Playoffs.

“What was impressive (about McIntosh) when he came in is that there was no hesitation, no fear in his eyes,” Salukis’ first-year head coach Dale Lennon said about his youngster. “For him it was just like ‘Give me the play,’ and he went to work.”

McIntosh has done a workmanlike job of guiding the nation’s fifth-ranked scoring offense. Of course, having Karim, the nation’s second-leading rusher behind him can’t hurt.

“(Karim) is obviously a huge game-changer,” McIntosh said. “He can break something at any time and is a huge weapon on offense. That ability alone makes him a huge asset, it makes the offense a lot more dangerous.”

But while the Salukis get noticed for their high-powered, option-based offense, the defense can be just as dangerous. Led by senior linebacker Brandin Jordan, the Salukis are holding opponents to 16 points per game and have forced 26 turnovers on the season while racking up 31 sacks.

Jordan, a finalist for the Buchanan Award, given to the top defensive player in the FCS, has 69 tackles, five sacks and one interception on the season. He said he remembers playing the Panthers as a sophomore and thinks this year’s squad is a lot better.

“I remember them from my sophomore year,” he said. “They’re a good team, better than that year. Their quarterback and running back are some of the best in the nation.”

The Salukis won the 2007 contest 30-11.

Lennon said his unit is aware of how good the Eastern offense can be and it all starts with Panthers’ senior quarterback Jake Christensen.

“Offensively, Christensen is the key,” Lennon said. “When he’s playing well, that’s a scary offense with what they’re capable of doing. They have a good combination of run and pass and can hurt you with either.”

The winner of Saturday’s game will play either William & Mary or Weber St. on Dec. 5.

Collin Whitchurch can be reached at 581-7944 or cfwhitchurch@eiu.edu.