THE GAME . . . The Northeastern State RiverHawks (1-4, 1-4 MIAA) will return home to face the Emporia State Hornets (4-1, 4-1 MIAA) Saturday, Oct. 8 . . . kickoff at Doc Wadley Stadium/Gable Field in Tahlequah is set for 2 p.m.  . . . the game can be heard live locally on KEOK 102.1 FM 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.

THE MATCHUP . . . NSU is looking to snap a 3-game losing streak . . . the RiverHawks lost last week at Missouri Western, 45-14 . . . Emporia State has reeled off four consecutive wins after dropping its season opener to NW Missouri State . . . the Hornets are ranked No. 18 in this week's AFCA poll . . . this will be the 14th meeting in the history of the series dating back to 1938 ... after a tie in the first game, NSU won the next six ... the Hornets have won the last four meetings and five of the previous six games.

Series History (NSU leads 7-5-1)
Date        Winner    Score
1938        Tie           0-0    
1939        NSU        25-0    
1952        NSU        14-7  
1954        NSU        6-0  
1955        NSU        30-12    
1956        NSU        27-12    
1957        NSU        25-6
1989        ESU        15-6
1990        NSU        34-22
2012        ESU        30-20
2013        ESU        45-24
2014        ESU        42-35 (2ot)
2015        ESU        55-14

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 4-23 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 competely 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.

ESU's Garin Higgins (Emporia State, '92) is in his 10th season as head coach and is 56-51 at ESU . . . he ranks third in wins at ESU . . . has compiled a career record of 108-60 in 15 seasons as a head coach . . . led the Hornets to the Kanza Bowl in 2012 . . . the NCAA playoffs in 2013 & the national quarterfinals in 2015 . . . had a 51-9 career record as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma, including two trips to the national championship game . . .  Higgins was a quarterback for Emporia State from 1987-90 and was on the 1989 national runners-up team . . . was offensive coordinator at Northeastern State before accepting the head coaching job at his alma mater.