TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-5, 0-5 MIAA) will make its longest trip of the season when it heads north to play the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers (0-5, 0-5 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium (6,000) in Kearney, Nebraska.

This will mark the second-straight season that NSU and UNK will meet with identical 0-5 records. Both Rob Robinson and Josh Lamberson are seeking their first career victories as head coaches. The game can be heard live on KEOK 102.1 FM in Tahlequah with Scott Pettus (play-by-play) and Sean Rowley (color) providing commentary. A free audio broadcast can be found at goriverhawksgo.com. The game will 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 Nebraska-Kearney have met five times throughout the years and the Lopers lead the series 3-2 . . . NSU won the first matchup 34-21 in 1960, but UNK exacted revenge a year later (21-14) . . . the Redmen posted a 14-0 victory over UNK in 1980 in the NAIA Championship Semifinals, and NSU went on to lose in the national championship 17-10 to Elon . . . the Lopers have taken the last two matchups, including a 65-10 contest in Kearney in 2011 . . . UNK also defeated NSU 34-7 in Tahlequah last season.
 
Series History (UNK Leads 3-2)
Date    Winner    Score
2014    UNK    34-7
2011    UNK    65-10
1980    NSU    14-0
1961    UNK    21-14
1960    NSU    34-21
 
THE HEAD COACHES  .  .  .  NSU's ROB ROBINSON (William Jewell, '00) is in his second season as the RiverHawks head coach . . . he was named the 19th head football coach in school history on Dec. 19, 2013 . . . he owns a 0-16 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.
            UNK's JOSH LAMBERSON (Northwest Missouri State, '05) is in his first season with the Lopers . . . he has compiled a 0-5 record during his tenure . . . he was named the 17th head football coach in UNK history on Dec. 14, 2014 . . . he has a career record of 80-30 in nine years as an assistant coach at Central Missouri (39-19), Southeastern Oklahoma State (13-9) and Northwest Missouri State (28-2) . . . he spent the past five seasons at UCM, including four as offensive coordinator . . . he also coached wide receivers and was the recruiting coordinator . . . Lamberson worked two seasons at SEOSU as quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator from 2008-10 . . . he also was a graduate assistant at Northwest during the 2006-07 seasons, helping lead the Bearcats to a 28-2 record and spot in two national championship games as the quarterbacks coach . . . Lamberson is no stranger to the MIAA . . . in addition to coaching seven years in the conference, he was an All-American quarterback at Northwest and played in two NCAA Division II national championships.
 
CLOSE CALLS .  .  . Northeastern State has yet to win a game during the Rob Robinson era (0-16), but the RiverHawks have come close to breaking into the win column on multiple occasions since their last victory (Nov. 16, 2013) . . . two of those close calls came last season, when NSU lost to Emporia State 42-35 in double overtime on Sept. 27 and fell 35-16 to Lindenwood on Nov. 15 . . . against the Hornets, NSU tied the game with three minutes to play in regulation and scored first in OT, but ESU was able to convert a 3rd-and-15 with a 30-yard tying touchdown . . . NSU was able to drive down to the ESU four-yard line after the Hornets scored on their next drive, but the home team could not send the contest into a third OT . . . against the Lions, the RiverHawks were able to play to a 7-7 tie at halftime and they trailed just 21-16 heading into the final frame, but Lindenwood scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take the season finale for both clubs . . . the other two close calls have both came this season, when NSU was tied or leading against a pair of teams that won seven games a year ago . . . NSU was tied 13-13 with Fort Hays State and drove deep into Tiger territory twice in the fourth quarter . . . the green and white had a field goal blocked on one possession and was sacked after reaching the FHSU 28 on the next . . . after a successful pooch punt, the Tigers then registered a 93-yard rushing touchdown with 2:19 left to play and added an insurance touchdown to escape with the 14-point victory . . . Northeastern State then led Missouri Western State 17-10 with less than six minutes to play in regulation, but the Griffons tied the game and scored the game-winning touchdown nine seconds apart, capped by an NSU fumble that was picked up by MWSU and returned for a touchdown.
 
SNAPPING THE STREAK .  .  . Northeastern State has not won a contest since the end of the 2013 campaign, and the RiverHawks are looking to snap the nation's fourth-longest active losing streak (16 games) . . . the longest active streak in all of NCAA Division II currently belongs to Cheyney, who has lost 37 consecutive contests dating back to the start of the 2012 season . . . Southern Nazarene is on a 27-game losing streak, and Minnesota-Crookston has lost 20 straight games . . . Northeastern State will have plenty of chances to snap the streak in the back half of the season as the combined record of NSU's final six opponents currently stands at 9-21 (.300) . . . the first five opponents that NSU faced this season are all atop the MIAA standings and are a combined 21-4 (.840) this year . . . NSU's schedule to date has been the seventh most-difficult schedule in all of NCAA D-II.
 
BEND BUT DON'T BREAK D .  .  . The RiverHawks defense has been solid once opposing offenses reach NSU's 20-yard line . . . opponents have scored just 71 percent (24-for-34) of the time in NSU's redzone, and NSU ranks 46th in the nation in redzone defense . . . opposing offenses have scored touchdowns just 50 percent of the time when they reach NSU's redzone (17-for-34) . . . by comparison, the NSU defense conceded scores 83 percent (44-for-53) of the time last season once offenses entered the red zone . . . the RiverHawks allowed redzone touchdowns 74 percent of the time (39 total/3.5 per game) and five field goals.
 
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES .  .  . NSU has struggled in the kicking game since joining the MIAA, and more specifically over the past two seasons . . . the RiverHawks have converted just 20 of 39 (51.3 percent) field goals since the beginning of the 2012 season, and they are just 2-for-11 (18 percent) since 2014 . . . additionally, Northeastern State has converted 65 of 74 (89 percent) extra-point attempts over the last four years.
 
QUITE THE TURNOVER .  .  . The RiverHawks completely overhauled their roster for the 2015 campaign and feature only 23 players who have ever played in a game for NSU prior to this season . . . there are 64 newcomers to the roster and just 32 players who were on the team a year ago . . . the roster breakdown includes nine seniors, 28 juniors, seven sophomores and 52 freshmen . . . of the 64 newcomers, 24 are transfers.
 
ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY .  .  . The RiverHawks posted a 0-11 record in 2014, marking the first time in school history the team lost 11 games in a single campaign . . . only two other teams in school history have finished with double-digit losses (2004, 2008) . . . only one NSU team in school history (2004) has ever finished an entire season without a win or a tie (minimum four games played) . . . Northeastern State is now in its 102nd year of football.
 
NSU SELECTED LAST IN PRESEASON POLLS .  .  .  Northeastern State was picked to finish 12th in both the 2015 MIAA Preseason Coaches' and Media Polls, the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced at the MIAA Football Media Day on August 3. The RiverHawks collected 16 points in the coaches' poll and 47 points in the media poll. They were also selected to finish 12th in both polls last season. Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State locked down the top two spots in both rankings. The Bearcats brought in eight of 12 first-place votes (118 total) in the coaches' poll and raked in 28 of 41 first-place votes (478 total) in the media poll. Pittsburg State earned four first-place votes in the coaches' poll and 13 in the media poll to earn 114 and 455 points, respectively. NSU finished 0-11 overall a year ago and finished 12th in the conference.
 
GO RIVERHAWKS GEAR .  .  . Northeastern State University Athletics partners with Advanced-Online to bring fans 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.
 
THE 2014 SEASON OPENER .  .  . Northeastern State opened the 2014 season against Pittsburg State University for the third year in a row . . . the Rob Robinson debut was seen by the fourth-largest crowd in Carnie Smith Stadium history (10,814) . . . Steffon Herd made his first start on the defensive side of the ball and finished the game with a team-high eight tackles . . . the contest also marked the first time NSU was shutout since Sept. 5, 2009 . . . the NSU defense held Jeff Seybold to a career-low 14 yards rushing . . . Seybold was an All-MIAA First Team member the year ago . . . the RiverHawks also had more fourth-down conversions (3-for-5) than third-down conversions (2-for-16).
 
HOW THEY'VE FARED IN THE NEW LEAGUE  .  .  .  The RiverHawks are in their fourth year as members of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association . . . since joining the NCAA in 1996, NSU has been a member of the Lone Star Conference (1996-2011), an independent (2011-12), and now the MIAA (2012-P) . . . the MIAA is one of the strongest football conferences in the country, as it boasts multiple national champions and squads that routinely make deep runs in the NCAA Championship playoffs . . . the MIAA is home to two of the last four national champions, including Northwest Missouri State (2013) and Pittsburg State (2011) . . . since joining the MIAA, the RiverHawks are 6-30 overall with a 6-29 record against league opponents.