TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State RiverHawks (0-3, 0-3 MIAA) will head to Kansas for a battle with the undefeated (RV) Emporia State Hornets (3-0, 3-0 MIAA). Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Sept. 26 at Welch Stadium (7,000) in Emporia, Kansas.

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 Emporia State have met 12 times in the history of the two programs . . . the RiverHawks own a 7-4-1 all-time record against the Hornets . . . the two programs tied 0-0 in the first meeting in 1938, but the Redmen picked up a 25-0 win in 1939 and would go on to own ESU during the 50's . . . the Hornets would finally clip NSU 15-6 in 1989 . . . Northeastern State exacted revenge in 1990 with a 34-22 victory . . . ESU has taken all three meetings since the two became members of the same conference in 2012.
 
Series History (NSU Leads 7-4-1)

Date	Winner	Score
2014	ESU	42-35 (2ot)
2013	ESU	45-24
2012	ESU	30-20
1990	NSU	34-22
1989	ESU	15-6
1957	NSU	25-6
1956	NSU	27-12
1955	NSU	30-12
1954	NSU	6-0
1952	NSU	14-7
1939	NSU	25-0
1938	Tie	0-0

 
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 0-14 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.
            ESU's GARIN HIGGINS (Emporia State, '92) is in his ninth season with the Hornets . . . he has compiled a 45-46 record during his tenure . . . he completed his seventh season at his alma mater by leading Emporia State to a 9-2 record and the school's first NCAA Playoff appearance since 2003 . . . he has  92-49 record in 12 years as a head coach after going 38-40 in his first seven seasons at ESU . . . he was named the 21st head football coach at Emporia State on December 15, 2006 . . . he has orchestrated one of the great turnarounds in Emporia State history . . . the Hornets have gone 19-4 over the last two years after going 19-36 in his first five seasons . . . the 19 wins in back to back seasons are the most 19-5 in 1988-89, while Higgins was a quarterback for Emporia State . . . the Hornets had one of the best turnarounds in the country in 2012 . . . they improved by five wins over last year's 5-6 record and finished in second place in the rugged MIAA . . . Higgins offense set several school records in 2012 as the Hornets racked up ten wins for the first time since 1989, when Higgins was suited up as quarterback . . . Higgins compiled a 51-9 record (.857) as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State University before becoming the co-offensive coordinator at NCAA Division II member Minnesota State in 2005 . . . prior to returning to ESU he was the offensive coordinator at Northeastern State.
 
SACK PARTY .  .  . Northeastern State has already recorded 10 quarterback sacks through three games in 2015, which ranks 19th in the country and third in the MIAA . . . the RiverHawks had four sacks against both Pittsburg State and Missouri Western State, while registering two sacks against Fort Hays State . . . the last time NSU posted multiple four-sack games in a single season was in 2010, when the team finished with 22 total sacks . . . enjoying the party the most is senior linebacker Irving Steele, who is currently seventh in the country and second in the MIAA with 4.0 sacks . . . he posted 2.5 against MWSU, which was the most in a single game by an NSU defensive player since Travis Boswell registered 3.0 on August 27, 2011 . . . if Steele registers at least one more half sack this season, it will be the most in a single campaign since Boswell finished with 7.0 in 2011.

VIDEOBOARD UPGRADE SCHEDULED FOR OCT. 3 UNVEILING .  .  . Northeastern State University Director of Athletics Tony Duckworth has announced that a new videoboard will be installed at Doc Wadley Stadium . . . funded completely through private dollars, the new project is estimated to cost $100,000 . . . the 16' x 9' videoboard with 32' branded top banner and 8' x 9' backlit advertising panels is scheduled to debut at NSU's Oct. 3 home football game against Northwest Missouri State . . . Duckworth said the project cost was greatly reduced because there is already a current structure in place . . . one of the major difference fans will notice right away will be a larger videoboard that goes from standard definition to high definition . . . with the recent turf installation project completed this past summer, NSU has now invested approximately $500,000 in upgrades to Doc Wadley Stadium this year.
 
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.
 
CLOSE CALLS .  .  . Northeastern State has yet to win a game during the Rob Robinson era (0-14), 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 over the last two weeks, 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.
 
THIRD-DOWN FAILURES, FOURTH-DOWN DOMINANCE .  .  . NSU is currently one of just 13 teams in all of NCAA Division II that has yet to concede a fourth-down conversion in 2015 . . . NSU opponents have attempted five fourth downs but have failed on all five this season . . . offensively, the RiverHawks are 5-for-9 (55.6) on their own fourth-down attempts, which ranks 45th in the nation . . . on the flip side, the NSU offense has been subpar on third downs, converting just 16 percent (7-for-45) of its chances to rank last in the MIAA . . . the NSU defense has held opposing offenses to just 31 percent (12-for-39) on third-down tries, which ranks third in the MIAA and 38th in the nation.
 
BEND BUT DON'T BREAK D .  .  . The RiverHawks defense has been outstanding once opposing offenses reach NSU's 20-yard line . . . opponents have scored just 53 percent (9-for-17) of the time in NSU's redzone, and NSU ranks 13th in the nation in redzone defense . . . opposing offenses have scored touchdowns just 29 percent of the time when they reach NSU's redzone (5-for-17) . . . 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 62 of 71 (87 percent) extra-point attempts over the last four years.
 
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.
 
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.