The Headline: Northeastern State closes out their 2016 season at rivals Central Oklahoma in what will be the 77th meeting between the two programs and the 19th Battle for the President's Cup.   Both teams have won the cup nine times with NSU holding its rites most recently from 2010-13.   Overall, Central Oklahoma leads the historic series 47-27-2 that started in 1912, with the RiverHawks winning four of the last six over UCO.  The rest of the MIAA concludes their regular season in the league's "Rivalry Week." 

Last Time Out:  The RiverHawks fell behind after two interception passes caught by UCM that were returned back for touchdowns put NSU in a 21-0 hole after the first quarter.  At the half NSU went to the locker room trailing by 31 points..NSU played a stronger second half and a touchdown pass to McKnight from 20 yards out brought the score to 38-7.  Following a UCM touchdown, the RiverHawks used good field position and McKinzy connected with Zac King for short TD completion to make the score 45-14 on the opening play of the fourth quarter...The Mules would return the ensuing kickoff back for 93 yards to go up 52-14 on NSU.  The RiverHawks put together a strong drive on the next possession going 71 yards in 1:38 with Gary McKnight catching a 50-yard touchdown pass...UCM closed the game with a short run from five yards out with 3:34 left on the clock to get the 59-21 final score...Northeastern State had 289 total yards with Central Missouri picking up 436 on Saturday.

Passing Record:  In his first season in a NSU uniform, Dimonic McKinzy is the RiverHawks new single season passing leader with 2,563 yards through ten games.  McKinzy surpassed Johnny Deaton who had 2,520 in 2011 and broke the record on a 50 yard touchdown pass to Gary McKnight on Nov. 5 at home against Central Missouri.  In NSU's NCAA Division II record book, he is already in fifth trailing Deaton who had 4,405 in three seasons.   McKinzy is also tied for the third most TD passes in a season at NSU with 24.  The sophomore from Kansas City, Mo. has three 300 passing yard games and five above 200, against Lindenwood on Sept. 8, he tossed five TD passes with no interceptions. 

The Opponent: Central Oklahoma entered the 2016 season as a savvy selection to finish in the upper half of the MIAA after finishing 2015 7-5 and winning the Live United TexArkana Bowl.   In the preseason polls, UCO was picked 5/6 by the league's coaches and media.  Heading into the final week of the season, the Bronchos have a 2-8 record.  UCO's offense is fifth in the MIAA with 447.6 yards a game which is relied heavily on their running attack which is third in the league at 180 yards per game.   The Bronchos have a three back attack which averages over 50 yards each with Clay Mckenzie headlining at 64 yards per contest.  In their passing attack, UCO uses T.J. Eckert for over two-thirds of their snaps and he has 1,672 passing yards.  Chas Stallard takes the other third of UCO's snaps and has thrown ten touchdown passes; he also is third on their rushing chart averaging over 50 yards a game. 

Tough Slate: On MasseyRatings.com, Northeastern State has the 11th toughest schedule in NCAA Division II football.  Prior to their home contest with UNK, the RiverHawks had the toughest schedule in the nation.

L-Town:  Gary McKnight, junior from Lawton, Okla. is second in the MIAA with 87.8 yards per game and in second with nine touchdown passes this season.  In one season, he is tied for fourth since 1996 when Northeastern State moved to NCAA Division II status in career TDs.   McKnight has 790 receiving yards on 40 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.

12 Unassisted: Senior Kenneth Davis had 12 solo-tackles against #25 Central Missouri which was tied for third most in NCAA Division II football this season.  Davis had a total of 17 tackles in the game which was also a season high for the RiverHawks along with a 1.5 TFL against the Mules.

The Herd: Senior Steffon Herd is second in the MIAA with 62 solo tackles which is 11th 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 242 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 91 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 5-27 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.

UCO's Nick Bobeck (Central Oklahoma '03) has a record of 21-34 in his fifth season leading the Bronchos...own 15-9 mark the during the 2014 and 2015 season in guiding UCO to back-to-back winning years for the first time since 2003-04...played for at UCO and then was a graduate assistant coach for the Bronchos...later compiled a sensational 42-5 record at Navarro as head coach...the Bulldogs won the 2010 national championship along with three regular season Southwest Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC) titles during his tenure there.