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

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-9, 0-9 MIAA) stay on the road for a matchup with the Washburn Ichabods (3-6, 3-6 MIAA) this weekend. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (CT) Nov. 8 at Yager Stadium (7,200) in Topeka, Kansas.

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.

GAME NOTES
THE MATCHUP  .  .  .  Northeastern State and Washburn have met just four times in the history of the two programs . . . the two squads played a home-and-home series in 1987-88, and both teams picked up home triumphs . . . Washburn earned a 23-21 win in 1987, but the Redmen were victorious in the return matchup 35-30 . . . the only other two meetings between NSU and WU came over the last two years, when the Ichabods handed the RiverHawks 24-20 and 48-3 losses . . . NSU coach Rob Robinson was on the winning end of both of those games, as he was serving as Washburn's offensive coordinator at the time.
 
Series History (WU Leads 3-1)

Date	Winner	Score
2013	WU	48-3
2012	WU	24-20
1988	NSU	35-30
1987	WU	23-21

 
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 an 0-9 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.
            WU'S CRAIG SCHURIG (Colorado Mines, '87) is in his 13th season with the Ichabods . . . he has compiled a 90-57 record during his tenure . . . In 12 seasons as the Ichabods' head coach, Craig Schurig has built one of the most respected programs in the MIAA with three NCAA playoff appearances as well as the 2005 MIAA title coming on the heel's of a 2007, 2009 and 2011 runner-up finish in the conference race . . . through his first 11 seasons, in addition to three NCAA playoffs and a conference title, Schurig has led the Washburn football program to the 2004 Mineral Water Bowl Championship and the 2010 Kanza Bowl Championship . . . as quarterbacks coach, he helped NSU QB coach Dane Simoneau throw for more than 4,000 yards setting a school record and a national finalist award for the Harlon Hill Trophy as the best player in NCAA Division II, the first national finalist in Washburn history . . . Simoneau would go on to be a five-time consensus All-American at quarterback as well as the MIAA's Offensive Player of the Year, the first Ichabod to win the award . . . in his eleven seasons at Washburn, the Ichabods have had 18 different players earn 51 different All-American accolades, two MIAA Most Valuable Defensive Players, an MIAA Offensive Player of the Year,  four MIAA Freshman of the Year awards and 145 players receive all-MIAA honors . . . he has been equally on task with players in the classroom with 225 Ichabods named to the MIAA Academic Honor Roll, including three Academic All-Americans.
 
POWELL PACES THE OFFENSE .  .  . Junior wide receiver Garrett Powell has been a bright spot for the Northeastern State offense this season . . . he currently leads the MIAA in receptions per game (6.1) and ranks 35th in the nation in that category . . . he is also fifth in the league in receiving yards per game (76.1) and 66th in the NCAA . . . he has 55 receptions this season for 685 yards and five touchdowns . . . he is the fourth player in NSU's NCAA era to post 50 receptions in a single season . . . the other three to accomplish the feat are Trey McVay (58 in 2010, 82 in 2011), Jarrett Byers (51 in 2006, 57 in 2008) and Milton Harris (59 in 2003) . . . Powell leads NSU in scoring (30 points) and all-purpose yards (696) . . . he also serves as NSU's primary punter, and he ranks eighth in the league and 58th in the country in yards per punt . . . he has 56 punts for 2,169 yards (38.7) . . . he has six that have gone 50 yards or more and he is third in the MIAA in punts that have landed inside the 20-yard line (13).
 
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 (70) and solo tackles (53) . . . his solo tackle total ranks 20th in the country and second in the MIAA this season.
 
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 . . . the RiverHawks were also one of five teams across the nation (Lincoln, Clarion, Southern Nazarene, Cheyney) to not make a field goal through the first eight weeks of the season . . . the RiverHawks are 1-for-6 on field-goal attempts this year after making their first field goal of the season against Central Oklahoma last week . . . 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 has missed tries against Missouri Southern, Central Missouri and Central Oklahoma . . . his lone made field goal came against UCO . . . Williams also had a try blocked by MSSU.
 
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.
 
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.