The Headline: Northeastern State travels to Missouri Southern State for the eleventh time overall and the third time since joining the MIAA in 2012.   In Joplin, the RiverHawks have won six times and they hold the series lead 13-7 over the Lions.  Last season in their meeting at Doc Wadley Stadium, Northeastern State forced four turnovers, and returned a fumble back for a touchdown to win 31-21.  Saturday's meeting will be the latest these two programs have faced each other and it is only the third October game between the RiverHawks and Lions.
 
Last Time Out: Zac King caught five passes for 93 yards and Dimonic McKinzy threw three touchdowns as Northeastern State beat Nebraska-Kearney 31-21 at Doc Wadley Stadium last Saturday.  The RiverHawks went up 24 points in the contest with NSU's defense stifling the Lopers to only 57 yards of offense in the first half.  Northeastern State had 464 yards of total offense with a season high 171 coming on the ground.  Ra'Keim Abdul made 28 attempts and ran for 93 yards with a touchdown and C.J. Shavers picked up the ball ten times for 56 yards.  McKinzy went 15-for-31 in the air with 293 yards to move four short of the 2000 yard plateau this season; with three remaining games to go he has a shot to surpass Johnny Deaton's program season record of 2,520 that was set in 2011. On the defensive side of the ball, Steffon Herd and Devon Siers both had seven tackles; Siers would have his third interception of the season for 12-yards. Tim Howard and Quincy Dotson both had five tackles and a sack for the RiverHawks.
 
The Opponent: Missouri Southern is sitting in last in the MIAA in both scoring (19.0) and points allowed (43.1).  The Lions have made the fewest rushing attempts in the league with 257 and are on the bottom in yards per game (89.1).   On the defensive side of the ball, MSSU is also on the bottom with three interceptions and four sacks, on third down conversions, teams are moving the chains 48.6% of the time.  At home the Lions have dropped their last seven in a row and have not beaten a team outside of Nebraska-Kearney in Joplin since the 2014 season.  With a 1-7 record, the Lions are in a three way tie with UNK and Lindenwood for last place in the MIAA standings.  Missouri Southern has used a combination of TJ Fleeton and Brayden Scott behind the center; Fleeton has seen the majority of the snaps with 1299 yards passing and eight touchdowns.

Series History: NSU leads 13-7

	Date	PF	Location	PA
W	09-14-1968	45	Tahlequah, OK	0
W	09-13-1969	56	Joplin, MO	7
W	09-26-1970	42	Tahlequah, OK	7
W	09-25-1971	28	Joplin, MO	0
W	09-23-1978	22	Joplin, MO	20
W	09-22-1979	32	Tahlequah, OK	0
W	09-05-1987	21	Joplin, MO	20
L	09-03-1988	19	Tahlequah, OK	22
W*	09-14-1996	9	Tahlequah, OK	28
W*	09-13-1997	16	Joplin, MO	24
W	09-12-1998	10	Tahlequah, OK	0
L	09-11-1999	7	Joplin, MO	28
W	09-02-2000	33	Tahlequah, OK	15
L	09-08-2001	0	Joplin, MO	24
L	09-14-2002	7	Tahlequah, OK	38
W	09-13-2003	15	Joplin, MO	10
L	09-08-2012	21	Joplin, MO	27
L	09-14-2013	14	Tahlequah, OK	17
L	10-18-2014	7	Joplin, MO	34
W	10-17-2015	31	Tahlequah, OK	21
			*Forfeit Win

  
Tough Slate: On MasseyRatings.com the Northeastern State has the fifth toughest schedule to date in NCAA Division II football.  Prior to their home contest with UNK on Saturday, the RiverHawks had the toughest schedule in the nation.
 
In the air: Dimonic McKinzy is having a historic first season with the RiverHawks and through just eight games he is already seventh in NSU career NCAA Division II record book*.  The sophomore from Kansas City, Mo. has a pair of 300 passing yard games and four above 200, against Lindenwood on Sept. 8, he tossed five TD passes with no interceptions.  With 19 touchdown passes, McKinzy is fourth in the NSU NCAA Division II record book as well.
*Since 1996
 
L-Town:  Gary McKnight, junior from Lawton, Okla. is third in the MIAA with 85.6 yards per game and third with seven touchdown passes this season.  In one season, he is tied for seventh since 1996 when Northeastern State moved to NCAA Division II status in career TDs.   McKnight has 599 receiving yards on 27 catches with a pair of three touchdown games.  On Oct. 8, 2016 against Emporia State, McKnight ran back an 85-yard punt which is tied for the third longest in NCAA Division II football this season.
 
The Herd: Senior Steffon Herd is third in the MIAA with 52 solo tackles which is fourth most in NCAA Division II football this season.  The four-year letter winner is averaging just over nine tackles a game and in fifth in NSU's NCAA Division II record book with 224 tackles in the backfield; at home against #18 Emporia State he had 11 solo tackles.
 
The Head Coaches: NSU's Rob Robinson (William Jewell, '00) is in his third season as the RiverHawks head coach…he was named the 19th head football coach in school history on Dec. 19, 2013…he owns a 5-25 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 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 the Washburn staff that completely turned around he 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 Schruig'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.
 
MSSU's Denver Johnson (Tulsa '81) is in his second season with MSSU after serving four seasons at the University of Tulsa as the Assistant Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator…holds a 2-17 record as head coach at Missouri Southern…while with the Golden Hurricane four of his offensive linemen earned first-team all-league accolades…  Johnson was an eighth-round draft choice by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1981…spent two years (1981-82) with the Bucs and three seasons in the USFL, playing two years (1983-84) with the Los Angeles Express and the 1985 season with the Houston Gamblers. Johnson's USFL tenure included playing stints with NFL Hall of Fame quarterbacks Jim Kelly and Steve Young.