The Headline: Northeastern State will face #25 Central Missouri in their final home contest at Doc Wadley Stadium in 2016 looking to finish with a winning record on their home turf.  The RiverHawks have split their four games this season in Tahlequah and picked up a 31-21 win on Oct. 15 against Nebraska-Kearney last time at Doc Wadley.  Against Central Missouri at home, the RiverHawks are 5-1 overall and lead the series history 9-3 over the Mules.  Saturday's contest will be NSU's third contest against a nationally ranked team with the RiverHawks facing then-ranked #18 Emporia State at home and top-ranked Northwest Missouri State on the road.

Series history (NSU 9-3)

W/L	Date	PF	Location	PA
W	11-17-1962	7	Warrensburg, MO	0
W	11-16-1963	62	Tahlequah, OK	0
W	09-30-1972	16	Warrensburg, MO	14
W	10-05-1974	14	Tahlequah, OK	13
W	10-01-1977	21	Warrensburg, MO	13
W	09-30-1978	50	Tahlequah, OK	14
W	09-14-1985	14	Warrensburg, MO	10
W	09-13-1986	42	Tahlequah, OK	22
W	10-20-2012	24	Tahlequah, OK	23
L	10-26-2013	7	Warrensburg, MO	51
L	10-25-2014	14	Tahlequah, OK	56
L	10-24-2015	10	Warrensburg, MO	54

Last time out:  Northeastern State came up short in their fourth quarter comeback falling 45-33 on Saturday afternoon at Missouri Southern...The RiverHawks brought a 25-point gap down to five all in the final 15 minutes with an opportunity to win on the road before the Lions scored a touchdown scored on a third down from 45 yards out to tilt the contest in Joplin...Dimonic McKinzy went 25-for-50 in the air with 331 yards, and pair of touchdown passes...NSU rushed the ball for 150 yards with Ra'Keim Abdul having 86 and a touchdown, C.J. Shavers ran for 31 and had a TD; McKinzy also went 64 yards on 12 carries...Northeastern State had a 10-7 edge through the first quarter with Antonio King catching a 20 yard pass for a TD...However, the RiverHawks would not find the end zone until Shavers scored on a two-yard rush in the fourth quarter trailing 38-20.   NSU kept pushing the issue on the Lions and the forced a pair of three-and-outs while driving down the field both times to the end zone to get within five (38-33) with 4:19 left on the clock...On the next drive, the RiverHawks had MSSU on a third-and-five at midfield but the Lion QB broke a pair of tackles to run 46 yards for the touchdown to push the score to eventual final 45-33.

Passing Record:  A NSU All-TIme record could fall on Saturday with Dimonic McKinzy needing 194 passing yards to surpass Johnny Deaton's 2,520 yards that was set in 2011.  McKinzy has been averaging 258.6 yards per game this season to give him a shot of breaking the record in front of the home crowd.

The Opponent: The Mules are playing for a NCAA Postseason Berth and in the latest Super Region III poll they are seventh as the top team with a 7-2 record.  Their contest with the RiverHawks is the final road game of the season where they are 3-0 this season.  UCM is riding a four game winning streak after dropping two in a row at home to Empoira State and Northwest Missouri State.  Central Missouri is third in the MIAA averaging 35.9 points a game and they are fourth in fewest points allowed with 26.1 points per game.  Garrett Fugate, UCM's quarterback leads the MIAA with 301.2 yards per game; he has 2711 yards this season and 24 touchdowns.  On the defensive end, Dylan Albertson is tied for the MIAA lead with five interceptions. 

Tough Slate: On MasseyRatings.com, Northeastern State has the 14th toughest schedule to date in NCAA Division II football.  Prior to their home contest with UNK, 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 nine games he is already sixth in NSU career NCAA Division II record book*.  The sophomore from Kansas City, Mo. has three 300 passing yard games and four above 200, against Lindenwood on Sept. 8, he tossed five TD passes with no interceptions.  With 21 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 second in the MIAA with 86.4 yards per game and fifth 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 691 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 second in the MIAA with 58 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 236 tackles in the backfield; at home against #18 Emporia State he had 11 solo tackles.

Through the uprights: Senior Eddie Garcia has moved up into the top-10 and he is eight in NSU's Division II history with 88 points.  Garcia has kicked 13 field goals for NSU which is also fourth most in NSU's NCAA era.

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 5-26 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.

UCM's Jim Svoboda (Northwestern College '83) has a record of 54-24 (.692) in his seventh season leading the Mules...He has led the Mules to three postseason appearances and is third in UCM's career wins list... The Mules appeared in the postseason in each of Svoboda's first two seasons...UCM made the NCAA-II Playoffs in year one under Svoboda and earned a bid to the Kanza Bowl in his second season... The Mules have set or tied 83 school offensive records and 21 MIAA offensive records during Svoboda's tenure.