NSU Game Notes  I  Live Stats  I  Live Video  I  Free Audio

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-6, 0-6 MIAA) are set for their second MIAA TV Game of the Week this season against the Missouri Southern State Lions (2-4, 2-4 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 2:07 p.m. (CT) Oct. 18 at Fred G. Hughes Stadium (7,000) in Joplin, Missouri.

The game can be heard live on KEOK 102.1 FM in Tahlequah with Scott Pettus and Sean Rowley providing commentary. A free audio broadcast can be found at goriverhawksgo.com. The game will also be streamed live on Stretch Internet (http://portal.stretchinternet.com/nsu/, subscription based). A football-only season pass is available for $69.95, and a day pass can be purchased for $9.95.

The MIAA TV Network can be viewed in Oklahoma on Cox Communications, which serves the Tulsa and Oklahoma City markets. Neil Harwell and Richard Baldinger will call the action. Northeastern State is 0-3 all-time on the MIAA TV Network, losing at Northwest Missouri State (66-6 on Sept. 29, 2012), to Missouri Southern State (17-14 on Sept. 14, 2013) and to Fort Hays State (48-13 on Sept. 13, 2014).

GAME NOTES
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  Northeastern State and Missouri Southern State have met 18 times since the first meeting between the schools in 1968, and the RiverHawks own 12-6 all-time advantage . . . NSU won the first six games, and the Lions picked up their first victory of the series in 1988 . . . Northeastern State collected two forfeit wins in the late 90's, and MSSU owns a 5-2 advantage since 1999.
 
Series History (NSU Leads 12-6)

Date	Winner	Score
2013	MSSU	17-14
2012	MSSU	27-21
2003	NSU	15-10
2002	MSSU	38-7
2001	MSSU	24-0
2000	NSU	33-15
1999	MSSU	28-7
1998	NSU	10-0
1997	NSU	forfeit
1996	NSU	forfeit
1987	NSU	21-20
1988	MSSU	22-19
1979	NSU	32-20
1978	NSU	22-20
1971	NSU	28-0
1970	NSU	42-7
1969	NSU	45-0
1968	NSU	45-0

 
THE HEAD COACHES  .  .  .  NSU's ROB ROBINSON (William Jewell, '00) is in his first season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he was named the 19th head football coach in school history on Dec. 19, 2013 . . . he owns a 0-6 all-time record . . . Robinson spent the previous 12 years under Craig Schurig as a member of the Washburn Ichabod coaching staff, serving as the offensive coordinator for the last four seasons . . . he also directed the running backs from 2007-13 and coached the wide receivers from 2002-06 . . . he served as the recruiting coordinator from 2002-10 and was the academic coordinator from 2010-13 . . . Robinson was an integral member of a Washburn staff that completely turned around the Ichabod program . . . Washburn averaged 3.3 wins from 1989-03 and had just one winning season, but the Ichabods averaged 7.9 wins from 2004-13 and posted 10 straight winning campaigns . . . Robinson is the second former coordinator under Schurig's tutelage to become the head coach of another program, joining Fort Hays State's Chris Brown . . . Robinson spent the 2001 season at Pittsburg State as a graduate assistant, coaching the defensive backs with Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . . the Gorillas won the MIAA Championship that year.
            MSSU'S DARYL DAYE (LSU, '86) is in his third season with the Lions . . . he has compiled a 15-12 record during his tenure . . . Daye was named the 11th HC in the history of Missouri Southern football on December 16, 2011 . . . in his second season at the helm of the Lions, Daye lifted the program to a level unseen in the past 20 years . . . the Lions finished the season 7-3 overall and were 5-3 in the MIAA. Southern also broke a 20-year drought with a 35-21 win at No. 9 Pittsburg State in the season-finale . . . the Lions won for the first time in Pittsburg since 1983 and for the first time against the Gorillas since 1999 . . . nine Lions were named All-MIAA, and 11 players were named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll . . . in all, the Lions ranked in the top 10 nationally in nine different categories, while ranking 14th in turnovers lost . . . in his first season as the head coach with the Lions, Daye led the team to a 6-5 record, its first winning season since 2007 and just the third winning season in the prior 20 years . . . he helped mentor the Division II National Defensive Player of the Year as Brandon Williams broke the Southern sack record and was named to five different All-America teams. Williams was also selected to play in the Senior Bowl . . . Daye came back to Southern after serving two seasons with the NFL's Buffalo Bills as Assistant to the Head Coach . . . he assisted Defensive Coordinator Dave Wannstedt in coaching the inside linebackers and also helped to coach the special teams units . . . prior to his stint with the Bills, Daye served for four years with the Lions as the team's defensive coordinator . . . he was also the special teams coach and also coached the Southern linebackers.
 
TRICKERATION .  .  . The Northeastern State offense has yet to score a point in three road games this season . . . the RiverHawks' special teams, however, got on the board in the second quarter against Northwest Missouri State on Oct. 4 . . . NSU came out in punt formation from NWMSU's 45-yard line midway through the second quarter, and Daniel Murray's snap went to upback Prince McJunkins instead of punter Garrett Powell . . . McJunkins waited momentarily for Peter Udoumoh to get behind the defense, and he found the sophomore defensive back wide open for a touchdown . . . the points were the first in the second quarter by NSU this season and are the only road points for the RiverHawks so far in 2014 . . . Northeastern State has still yet to score in a third quarter this year.
 
SCHEDULE RELIEF .  .  . The RiverHawks played the most difficult schedule of any MIAA program through the first five weeks . . . the teams Northeastern State has faced through the first five weeks of 2014 were a combined 18-7 . . . the 72 percent win percentage was the highest strength of schedule of any team in the conference, and the 22 combined victories currently rank third in the nation for opponent wins . . . the back half of the season for Northeastern State looked dramatically different from the first five contests, as the final six teams on NSU's docket were a combined 12-18 (40 percent) after five weeks . . . the five teams NSU faced to start the year were Pittsburg State (5-1), Fort Hays State (3-3), Missouri Western State (4-2), Emporia State (3-3), and Northwest Missouri State (6-0) . . . the final six opponents are Nebraska-Kearney (1-5), Missouri Southern State (2-4), Central Missouri (4-2), Central Oklahoma (5-1), Washburn (2-4), and Lindenwood (1-5).
 
FIELD GOAL WOES .  .  . Northeastern State was one of just two teams in the entire country (Malone University) to not have attempted a field goal in the first five games of the season . . . both the RiverHawks and Pioneers missed field goals in their sixth game on Oct. 11 . . . there are currently eight teams in the NCAA that have failed to make a field goal through the first six weeks, and NSU and MU are the only two teams in the country to only have attempted one . . . Northeastern State graduated one of the most prolific field goal kickers in school history last season in Drew Patton . . . he finished his career with 39 made field goals and 223 points . . . Dylan Beers and Blake Williams have split time serving as NSU's extra point kicker and kickoff specialist this season . . . the lone missed field goal was attempted by Beers, and it was blocked by Nebraska-Kearney.
 
FROM RECEIVER TO LEADING THE D .  .  . Sophomore Steffon Herd came to NSU as a wide receiver . . . he played in 10 games and made four starts as a redshirt freshman in 2013, and he finished the campaign with 14 receptions for 217 yards . . . due to depth issues in the secondary, new coach Rob Robinson made the decision to convert Herd to safety . . . that decision is paying off in spades, as Herd leads the RiverHawks in both total tackles (44) and solo tackles (35) through six weeks this season . . . his solo tackle total ranks 25th in the country this season.
 
POWER OUTAGE .  .  . Northeastern State has struggled on the offensive side of the ball in five of the first six games this season, specifically in the running game . . . NSU failed to reach 100 yards rushing in four contests, posting totals of 48, 48, 67, 135, 24, and 105 to start the season . . . this past week against Nebraska-Kearney, NSU reached the 100-yard plateau thanks in large part to a 72-yard run by Derrick Moore late in the contest when the RiverHawks were already down 34-0 . . . of 167 NCAA Division II teams, Northeastern State currently ranks in the bottom 15 in 11 categories . . . NSU ranks low in total offense (154), rushing offense (159), scoring offense (162), scoring defense (152), turnover margin (163), team passing efficiency (155), turnovers gained (158), passes had intercepted (158), fewest penalty yards per game (158), fewest penalties per game (158), and red-zone offense (167) . . . Northeastern State was shutout in two of its first three games this season . . . the last time NSU was shutout twice in one season was 1986 . . . the last time NSU began the season with two shutouts in the first three games of the year was 1938.
 
RECONSTRUCTING THE O-LINE .  .  . From left to right, Northeastern State entered the 2014 season with a projected starting offensive line of Ethan James (LT), Jonathan Brown (LG), Ross Dvorak (C), Trevon Lawson (RG), and Tyler Easter (RT) . . . due to a plethora of injuries, the front five looks much different heading into Week 7 of the season . . . the projected starting lineup this week is Brown (LT), Lawson (LG), Anthony Frazier (C), Brian West (RG), and Easter (RT) . . . James was hurt in the preseason and will miss the entire year . . . redshirt freshman Dakota Ritchie started the first game of the year at the left tackle position, but he suffered a season-ending injury in that contest . . . Dvorak was recently ruled out for the season . . . Lawson, Frazier and Chance Douthit have all missed time due to injury . . . NSU has started a different offensive-line unit in all six games this season . . . Brown and Easter are the only two who have started all six games.
 
ROBINSON ON THE RADIO .  .  . Northeastern State football coach Rob Robinson, in conjunction with Lakes Country 102.1 FM, has announced the debut of the new Rob Robinson Coach's Show . . . the weekly show is held at Mazzio's Pizza in Tahlequah on Thursday nights at 6 p.m. . . . it began Sept. 4 and will run through the end of the football season . . . the host of the coaches show is Matt Reynolds . . . Robinson will be live each week highlighting last week's contest and previewing NSU's upcoming MIAA matchup . . . various assistant coaches and players will join the show throughout the season . . . NSU encourages students, faculty and fans to come out and support the RiverHawks football program every Thursday night at Mazzio's . . . Mazzio's is located at 1712 S. Muskogee Avenue . . . all 11 Northeastern State football games will also be broadcast live on 102.1 FM this season.
 
STRETCH INTERNET TO BROADCAST NSU THIS SEASON .  .  . The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced distribution partners and price points for the MIAA Television Network . . . fans can access the web streams through either from the league portal or from goriverhawksgo.com . . . beginning Sept. 4, fans will be able to purchase a day pass for $9.95, and they also have the option of purchasing a football season pass for $69.95 . . . fans may purchase a season pass for volleyball for $44.95 with men's and women's basketball season passes being available for $89.95 each . . . fans wishing to have access to all MIAA web streaming content can purchase an All-Access pass for $149.95 . . . the MIAA also announced several returning distribution partners as well as two new distribution partners who have joined the network for the 2014 season.
•    KSMO-TV which serves 100 percent of the Kansas City market and is available over-the-air on through a cable or satellite provider.
•    Cox Communications KS serving communities across the state of Kansas including Topeka, Pittsburg, and Wichita.
•    Cox Communications Oklahoma serving communities across the state of Oklahoma including the Tulsa and Oklahoma City markets.
•    Eagle Communications which serves western Kansas and parts of central Kansas
•    The News-Press NOW channel in St. Joseph, Missouri. Serving northwest Missouri including the St. Joseph and Maryville markets.  In addition, four of the broadcasts (Sept. 4, Oct. 25, Nov. 8, and Nov. 15) will be simulcast on their Fox 26 KNPN channel.
•    KGCS-TV in Joplin, Missouri. KGCS-TV is a broadcast station licensed to Missouri Southern State University that serves more than 167,000 households across a region including southwest Missouri, as well as parts of southeast Kansas and northeast Oklahoma.
 
GO RIVERHAWKS GEAR .  .  . Northeastern State University Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online and launched a one-of-a-kind online shopping site, goriverhawksgear.com . . . NSU fans have another avenue for acquiring Northeastern State apparel and accessories . . . the store is loaded with options for fans of all ages, ranging from T-shirts, polos and sweatshirts, to home office supplies, drinkware and kitchen essentials . . . every item is branded with official Northeastern State athletics and university logos, and select RiverHawks gear and accessories are customizable . . . the online store can be accessed by simply visiting www.goriverhawksgear.com . . . the shop can also be viewed by clicking on the shopping cart at the top right of www.goriverhawksgo.com, the static graphic underneath the main picture or the rotating horizontal carousel just above the video player.