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TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-7, 0-7 MIAA) return home for their annual Homecoming game against the (RV) Central Missouri Mules (5-2, 5-2 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT) Oct. 25 at Doc Wadley Stadium (8,300) in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

The game can be heard live on KEOK 102.1 FM in Tahlequah with Shawn Tiemann 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). Football-only season pass is available for $69.95, and a day pass can be purchased for $9.95.

GAME NOTES 
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  Northeastern State owns a dominant 9-1 all-time mark against Central Missouri . . . the RiverHawks and Mules first met back in 1962, with the green and white earning a 7-0 shutout victory . . . the two teams also met two years ago for the first time as members of the MIAA - and for the first time since 1986 . . . NSU earned its first victory of the season with a 24-23 come-from-behind home triumph over UCM ... the Mules registered their first win in the series a year ago, trumping NSU 51-7 in Warrensburg . . . six of NSU's nine victories have been by a touchdown or less, while the other three were by 62, 30 and 20 points, respectively.
 
Series History (NSU Leads 9-1)

Date	Winner	Score
2013	UCM	51-7
2012	NSU	24-23
1986	NSU	42-22
1985	NSU	14-10
1978	NSU	50-20
1977	NSU	21-13
1974	NSU	14-13
1972	NSU	16-14
1963	NSU	62-0
1962	NSU	7-0

 
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.
            UCM'S JIM SVOBODA (Northwestern College, '83) is in his fifth season with the Mules . . . he has compiled an 36-17 record during his tenure . . . he was named the 28th head football coach of the program on January 15, 2010 . . . he has led the Mules to two postseason appearances and UCM had the second most wins in a two-year period during his first two seasons in Warrensburg . . . he led the Mules to a 6-4 overall mark for the second straight season last year, which included a four-game winning streak to end the year . . . it was the first four-game winning streak to close out a season since 1988 and secured the program's seventh straight winning season . . . in 2012, he led the Mules to a 6-4 mark, including an upset win over No. 3 Northwest Missouri to break a nine-game losing streak in the series . . . he led UCM to a school record 11-3 mark in 2011 . . . he led UCM to its second ever NCAA Playoff appearance, as well as the first home playoff game and first playoff win in school history as the Mules advanced to the NCAA-II National Quarterfinals . . . during Svoboda's time in Warrensburg, the Mules have broken 60 school offensive records and 20 conference offensive records . . . he has coached eight All-Americans and 50 All-MIAA players, including 10 first team selections . . . three Mules have earned Academic All-American honors and 122 players have been named to the conference's Academic Honor Roll.
 
FIELD GOAL WOES .  .  . Northeastern State was one of just two teams in the entire country (Malone University) to not attempt a field goal in the first five games of the season . . . there are currently five teams across the nation that have failed to make a field goal through the first seven weeks (NSU, Lincoln, Clarion, Southern Nazarene, Cheyney) . . . the RiverHawks are 0-for-3 on field-goal attempts this year . . . 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 . . . Beers had a field goal blocked by Nebraska-Kearney and he missed one against Missouri Southern, while Williams also had a try blocked by the Lions.
 
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 (50) and solo tackles (40) . . . his solo tackle total ranks 26th in the country and third in the MIAA 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, 105, and 101 to start the season . . . 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 12 categories . . . NSU ranks low in total offense (154), rushing offense (159), scoring offense (164), scoring defense (152), turnover margin (162), team passing efficiency (157), turnovers gained (158), passes had intercepted (162), passes intercepted (153), third-down conversion percentage (152), fewest penalty yards (153), 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 8 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 seven games this season . . . Brown and Easter are the only two who have started all seven 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.
 
MIAA, NSU PARTNER WITH STRETCH INTERNET FOR 2014 .  .  . The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced a partnership with Stretch Internet® to provide streaming of conference events, beginning in 2014 . . . Stretch partners with the league and members institutions to broadcast all conference football and men's and women's basketball games, as well as selected other conference events . . . fans will be able to view all conference football and basketball games live through almost any internet connected device, including Smart TV's, Apple TV and Google Chromecast . . . the new GameCentral 2.0 platform will also allow fans to access live stats in the video stream . . . the new platform also features archived games and other video content.
 
2014 NSU TAILGATING GUIDELINES .  .  . Entrance will open three hours prior to kickoff and will close to incoming vehicles two hours prior kickoff . . . extreme caution must be taken when driving through the area . . . tailgating assignments consist of the equivalent of thre parking spots . . . each group will get one assigned area . . . each assigned tailgate area will be allowed a maximum of one vehicle . . . areas will be assigned in sequence based on order of arrival . . . it is important to fill the tailgate areas in sequence in order to maximize space in an orderly, safe fashion . . . all participants are expected to respect fellow tailgaters . . . all participants are expected to follow local, state, and federal laws . . . participants who are currently enrolled NSU students are expected to abide by NSU Student Rules and Regulations . . . no tent stakes may be used on parking lot asphalt . . . vehicles will not be allowed to leave the tailgate area until kickoff.
 
TICKETS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY IN 2014-15 .  .  . All fans wishing to attend an NSU home football or basketball contest this season will be required to show a ticket prior to entering the facilities . . . this is the second-straight year ID's have been required at those events . . . NSU students and faculty/staff are allowed free admittance, but NSU ID's are not accepted as a form of entry . . . tickets can be purchased at NSU's ticketing website, goriverhawkstickets.com . . . NSU students and faculty/staff can access goriverhawkstickets.com and secure their free tickets (either printable or downloaded to your smart phone) through their goNSU accounts . . . for questions regarding ticket options, please contact Brynn Hamner at 918.444.3901.
 
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.