TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-2, 0-2 MIAA) are set to host the Missouri Western State University Griffons (1-1, 1-1 MIAA) in the MIAA TV Game of the Week. The contest will also be part of Family Weekend at NSU. Kickoff is set for 2:37 p.m. Sept. 19 at Doc Wadley Stadium (8,300).

Neil Harwell (play-by-play) and Marc Boerigter (color) will provide commentary on the TV broadcast. The MIAA TV Game of the Week can be viewed in Oklahoma on Cox Communications, which serves the Tulsa and Oklahoma City markets. The game can also be heard live on KEOK 102.1 FM in Tahlequah with Bill Huddleston (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  .  .  .  The RiverHawks and Griffons have met five times since the first meeting in 1994, and Missouri Western State owns an unblemished 5-0 mark in the series . . . Saturday's matchup will be the fourth meeting between the two programs as members of the same conference . . . NSU traveled to St. Joseph each of the past two seasons and suffered big losses in both (54-10 in 2013 and 30-0 in 2014) . . . the last time MWSU traveled to Tahlequah was in 2012, when the visitors picked up a 45-31 triumph . . . the Griffons won the first meeting between the two programs 33-13 in 1994 . . . that was the season-opening contest the year NSU won the national championship . . . Missouri Western State also won 44-7 in 1995.
 
Series History (MWSU Leads 5-0)
Date    Winner    Score
2014    MWSU    30-0
2013    MWSU    54-10
2012    MWSU    45-31
1995    MWSU    44-7
1994    MWSU    33-13

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 0-13 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.
            MWSU's JERRY PARTRIDGE (Missouri Western State, '85) is in his 19th season as head coach of the Griffons . . . he owns a 140-72 overall record, and he became Missouri Western's all-time wins leader on September 30, 2006 . . . his current total of 140 career victories ranks third on the MIAA all-time list . . . he was honored as the 2000 and 2012 MIAA Coach of the Year . . . Partridge has coached more than 235 players named All-MIAA and 30 All-Americans . . . he owns the single season school record for wins with 12 and has won nine games or more in seven out of the last 12 years . . . he has also led the team to its first four NCAA Playoff  appearances (2006, 2010, 2011, and 2012), which included hosting the first ever playoff game on November 20, 2011 against rival Northwest Missouri State . . . he also led the Griffons to their first NCAA Playoff victory against Minnesota-Duluth at home in 2012 by a score of 57-55 in triple overtime . . . he guided the Griffons into the NCAA quarterfinals with a victory over Henderson State the following week by a score of 45-21 in Arkadelphia, Arkansas . . . under Partridge, the Griffons were the MIAA Champions in 2012 and were co-champions of the MIAA in 2003 . . . Partridge served as a graduate assistant coach at both the University of Notre Dame and the University of Missouri . . . he was a member of the Notre Dame coaching staff when the Fighting Irish won the 1988 national title by winning the Fiesta Bowl under Head Coach Lou Holtz.
 
RIVERHAWKS DEBUT NEW TURF UPGRADE .  .  . Northeastern State Director of Athletics Tony Duckworth selected Hellas Construction to provide and install new Matrix® Turf at Doc Wadley Stadium for the 2015 season . . . the new playing surface replaced the first iteration of field turf that was installed at Gable Field in 2005 . . . the newest edition to the stadium features top-of-the-line turf which is currently utilized most notably by the Dallas Cowboys, Baylor University and the University of California . . . the design features the same NSU logo that currently dons center court inside the NSU Event Center, and the end zones have a black background with "NORTHEASTERN STATE" and "RIVERHAWKS" in large, white lettering outlined in NSU green . . . Hellas defines Matrix® Turf as the finest synthetic turf system available . . . from the advanced fibers, down through the patented REALFILL™ and reinforced backing – each component is part of an authentic, artificial turf system . . . Matrix® Turf has undergone decades of in-depth research and intense testing, resulting in countless innovations that make each Matrix synthetic turf field stronger and more reliable than ever before . . . Matrix® Turf is also held to a higher standard when it comes to testing for strength, safety and overall performance . . . each Matrix® Turf field is designed to provide a superior athletic experience at all levels of competition.
 
THE QB/WR DUO RETURNS .  .  . NSU is in Year 2 of the Kevin Pantastico era . . . the junior quarterback returned after an inaugural campaign that saw him finish fourth in the MIAA in passing yards per game (196.9) and sixth in total offense (193.4) . . . he finished 193-for-375 for 2,166 yards . . . he also had eight touchdowns to go with 14 interceptions, while starting all 11 games . . . Pantastico has the luxury of throwing to one of the top receivers in the league in Garrett Powell . . . the senior wideout ranked second in the MIAA last season in receptions per game (5.7) and fourth in receiving yards per game (72.8) . . . he appeared in 10 games and finished the campaign with 57 receptions for 728 yards and five touchdowns.
 
RECONSTRUCTING THE O-LINE .  .  . Northeastern State struggled up front in 2014 with an offensive line that started seven different combinations in the first seven games of the season . . . NSU entered 2015 with a projected starting offensive line that featured three players who were not on the roster last season . . . the RiverHawks have beefed up the interior with the addition of Jordan Baldwin (LT), Brian Hobbs (C) and Lance Cox (RG) . . . Tyler Easter returns to start at right tackle and Brian West returns to start at left guard . . . the new-look offensive line features five juniors that average 302 pounds and are an average height of 6-foot-2 . . . redshirt freshman Dakota Ritchie (6-4, 275) was the team's starting left tackle last season before suffering a season-ending injury in the first game.
 
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 19 of 38 (50 percent) field goals since the beginning of the 2012 season, and they are just 1-for-10 (10 percent) since 2014 . . . additionally, Northeastern State has converted 60 of 69 (87 percent) extra-point attempts over the last four years.
 
SOLVING THE KICKING 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 2014 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 were 1-for-7 on field-goal attempts last year, with the lone conversion coming in Week 9 against Central Oklahoma . . . both players who attempted field goals in 2014 are no longer with the program, and Eddie Garcia has been added to the mix to help the special teams . . . Garcia is a junior college transfer from El Camino College who earned All-National Central Conference Second Team honors a season ago . . . he went 13-for-15 on field-goal attempts with a long of 45 last season, and he also was 24 of 26 on point-after attempts.
 
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.
 
2015 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 three 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.
 
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE  .  .  . Season ticket packages are now on sale for the six-game home portion of the football schedule . . . prices begin as low as $45 per person for an adult general admission ticket . . . season chair back seats begin at $75 each for adults and $25 each for children ages 4-14 . . . season ticket holders receive the benefit of sitting in comfortable chair back seats for NSU's six home MIAA contests where they can watch future NFL players competing in the finest NCAA Division II conference in the nation . . . they also receive excellent view of the halftime show featuring the NSU Band . . . the 2015 campaign marks the third year of the $25 single-game Family 4-Pack, which includes two general admission adult tickets and two general admission student tickets (ages 4 through high school) . . . the Family 4-Pack may be purchased at any time and used at any regular season home game . . . all Northeastern State home football games are played at Doc Wadley Stadium and will be contested on the new Matrix® Turf installed this summer . . . also for convenience, the Athletics Department will continue utilizing online ticketing for football and basketball . . . online ticketing allows for advanced ticket sales . . . all fans are required to show a ticket prior to entering an NSU football or basketball contest . . . NSU students and faculty/staff are allowed free admittance, but NSU ID's are not accepted as a form of entry . . . for questions regarding ticket options, please contact Brynn Hamner at 918.444.3901.
 
TICKETS REQUIRED FOR ENTRY IN 2015-16 .  .  . 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 third-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 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.