NORTHEASTERN STATE (2-8, 2-8 MIAA)
at NEBRASKA-KEARNEY (8-2, 8-2 MIAA)
Saturday, November 13 -- 12 p.m.
Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field (Kearney, Neb.)
All-Time Series: Northeastern State trails 4-6

TOP STORYLINES

1 | Saturday will be the furthest north November road trip for Northeastern State since 1961 which happened to be a non-conference contest against the Lopers.  The 1961 trip for NSU was the first visit to Kearney.

2 | For the first and only time this season, the RiverHawks will be sporting their alternate gray uniforms.   Nov. 12, 2019, at Central Oklahoma is the last time NSU wore their secondary set on the field. 

3 | Saturday will be the final game for NSU seniors #1 Bryce Brown, #6 Darius Hopkins, #9 Damani Carter, #16 Tim Davis, #56 Brady Kropp, and #72 Madison Wrather. 

4 | Marques Williams is 18th in the nation averaging 5.8 solo tackles per game, and is fourth in the MIAA.  In total tackles, he is second in the MIAA, averaging 9.1 per game, which is 30th best nationally. 

5 | Mark Wheeland is fifth in the MIAA with seven touchdown catches this season and has caught for 100-yards in three games.  The junior is ranked 55th nationally in touchdowns.

NSU QUICK HITS
>> Madison Wrather has started 32 consecutive games on the RiverHawks' offensive line, the longest streak among student-athletes on the NSU roster.  

>> Isaiah Davis has two 100-yard rushing games this season and is the first running back since 2012 (Joel Rockmore) to have at least two 100-yard days in the backfield.  He had a second three-touchdown game against Missouri Western, catching two and running against the Griffons. 

>> Keon Moore had his first 100-yard rushing day against Lincoln with 103 on the ground.  Moore had an 84 yard run for a touchdown which was the longest this season in the MIAA.  In the NSU record book, it is eighth-longest. 

>> NSU's tight end Matt Amos has his longest career pass reception against Lincoln for 62 yards.  His catch was the third-biggest play this season for NSU.

>> Dashawn Williams has two of the top-four biggest plays of the season for NSU on one-handed grabs.  He had a 65-yard catch at Missouri Western, the second-longest play of the year for NSU.

>> Redshirt freshman Grant Elerick has 1,109 passing yards this season and leads the team with eight touchdowns

>> Jacob Frazier has appeared in six games this season, is 58-for-96 in pass attempts for 602 yards of offense, and has three touchdown passes.  He took the majority of the snaps in the last three games for the RiverHawks.

>> Northeastern State's seven touchdowns against Lincoln are the most since Oct. 2011 vs. Harding and tied for seventh-most in the modern scoring era (1945-).  The five rushing touchdowns were tied for the fifth-most and highest total since Nov. 2003 at Central Oklahoma. 

>> The Northeastern State defense limited Missouri Western to field goals in five trips to the red zone and 173 passing yards, the lowest this season for the RiverHawks.  Against Northwest Missouri, they forced three turnovers, the most this season for the Bearcats.  Jordan Lamotte ran back an interception for a touchdown against the Northwest offense. 

>> NSU is fourth in the MIAA with 18 sacks this season which is the program's highest total since the 2015 season.

>> Triumphant Olatunji was named MIAA Football Special Teams Athlete of the Week on Sept 27.  The sophomore had the longest kick return this season in the MIAA at Lincoln with a 70 yard run back.  Olatunji is the second NSU football player to earn MIAA Football Special Teams Athlete of the Week honors (Garrett Powell, 2015).

>> Taoheed Karim is tied for third in the MIAA with seven pass breakups. 

>> Tim Davis is a sixth-year member for the RiverHawks and averaged 40.6 yards per punt through nine weeks, which is second-best in the MIAA and 21st in the nation.  The graduate student has kicked an 85-yard punt against Northwest Missouri, which was second-longest in program history, and tied for the longest in NCAA Division II football this season. He is also the national active career leader in the punts per game (7.7).

THE SERIES WITH THE LOPERS
>> Northeastern State is 1-4 all-time when visiting UNK.
>> The Lopers have won the last three games in the series. 

ABOUT THE LOPERS
>> Nebraska-Kearney runs a unique offense compared to the rest of the MIAA with its triple-option style.  

>> Most of UNK's offense comes out of their quarterback TJ Davis who is 19th in the nation with 990 rushing yards and leads the nation in passing efficiency (195.3).  Davis has rushed for 14 touchdowns and thrown for 19 this season.    The redshirt-junior has 2,296 rushing yards and is 201 short of first in quarterback career rushing yards at UNK and two rushing TDs back of first for a quarterback.  His 37 career rushing touchdowns are the third most among active players in NCAA Division II football and 20th overall across NCAA football. 

>> The Lopers are in a postseason battle to get into the NCAA Tournament and are ranked number-7 in Super Region 3.  The top-seven teams at the end of the regular season will qualify; at the moment, the Lopers and Northwest Missouri are the lone MIAA representatives coming in at number-4.

>>  Third down this season, UNK is ranked 11th nationally, moving the chains nearly 50-percent of the time.  Inside the red zone, they are almost perfect this season, going 32-for-35 (91.4-percent), which is seven best nationally.  

>> On the year, UNK has two shutouts, held two other teams under 20 points.  102 of the Lopers points given up this season came to a 66-13 loss at Northwest Missouri and 42 second-half points against Fort Hays State.

>> UNK head coach Josh Lynn faced Northeastern State as a student-athlete at Eastern New Mexico. Lynn and the Greyhounds handed NSU a 20-14 loss at Gable Field. NSU head coach J.J. Eckert was on the staff as a quarterbacks/wide receivers coach for that contest.