NORTHEASTERN STATE (2-2, 2-2 MIAA)
vs. Central Missouri (0-4, 0-4 MIAA)
Saturday, October 2 -- 2 p.m.
Gable Field at Doc Wadley Stadium (Tahlequah, Okla.)
All-Time Series: Northeastern State leads 9-7

TAHLEQUAH -- Coming off their second consecutive road win, the RiverHawks will face Central Missouri for the 17th time in program history.  

TOP STORYLINES

1 | Saturday's Homecoming Game will be the 103rd for Northeastern State University and the first since 2019.  The campus did have Homecoming in the spring of 2020, but it was surrounded around the Green and White Scrimmage.  Northeastern State has faced Central Missouri twice on Homecoming in 1978 (W, 50-14) and 2014 (L, 56-14).

2 | Northeastern State is coming off a game offensively where they had 528 yards, their most since 2018.  Isaiah Davis and Keon Moore both had 100-yards on the ground; it is the first time NSU has had two 100-yard running backs in a game since 2011.  

3 | Triumphant Olatunji was named MIAA Football Special Teams Athlete of the Week Monday.  The sophomore had the longest kick return this season in the MIAA Saturday 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).

4 | Mark Wheeland leads the MIAA with five touchdown catches this season and had a career game at Lincoln with 127 yards on nine receptions.  Despite having zero catches in week one, Wheeland is seventh overall in the MIAA with 252 receiving yards.

5 | Saturday's contest will open up a two-game homestand for Northeastern State, with Central Oklahoma visiting for the President's Cup on Thursday evening.  The meeting against UCO will be the only college football game in Oklahoma that day. 

NSU QUICK HITS
>> Madison Wrather has started 26 consecutive games on the RiverHawks' offensive line which is the longest streak among student-athletes on the NSU roster.  

>> Keon Moore had his first 100-yard rushing day last week 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 eight longest. 

>> Through four games, 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.

>> NSU's tight end Matt Amos has his longest career pass reception against Lincoln for 62 yards.  His catch was the second-biggest play this season for NSU and tied for the fifth longest reception this year in the MIAA.

>> Mark Wheeland has caught a touchdown in each of the last three games and has 19 receptions this season.

>> Redshirt freshman Grant Elerick is 2-1 as Northeastern State's scoring quarterback. 

>> Jacob Frazier has appeared twice this season and is 10-for-13 in pass attempts.

>> 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 fifth-most and highest total since Nov. 2003 at Central Oklahoma. 

>> Northeastern State's defense is tied for third in the MIAA with eight sacks this season.  Through the entirety of the 2019 season, they had five.  COVID-freshman Blake Corn is tied for second in the MIAA with 2.5 sacks. 

>> Marques Williams leads the MIAA with 42 tackles this season and has 31 solo take-downs, which is also an association high.

>> Damani Carter had a career day at Lincoln with five tackles and had one solo sack, and shared a second one which combined were good for a 15-yard loss.

>> Taoheed Karim is tied for fourth in the MIAA with three pass breakups.  He has also deflected three passes. 

>> Tim Davis is a sixth-year member for the RiverHawks and averaged 38.9 yards per punt through four weeks.  The graduate student forced six fair catches, with a 57-yard punt good for sixth-longest in the MIAA this season so far. 

>> Tyler Crawford NSU's starting kicker, was a late addition to the team after transferring from Nebraska at the start of camp.  A Broken Arrow native, Crawford played three games for the Cornhuskers in 2020 and was their starting punter to finish the season. 

>> Northeastern State is third in the MIAA in average kickoff returns (19.9) and sixth in punt return yardage (8.3).

THE SERIES WITH THE MULES
>> Northeastern State is 5-3 against Central Missouri at home. 
>> NSU won the first nine contests of the series, while UCM has won the last seven.

ABOUT THE MULES
>> Central Missouri will come to Tahlequah 0-4 and with five consecutive overall losses that carry over from the week-11 in the 2019 season.   1996 was the last time the Mules have lost five consecutive contests.  1988 is the last time they went 0-4 to start the year; UCM would end up being MIAA Co-Champions that season.

>> The Mules opened the season ranked and were a preseason pick to win the MIAA.  

>> On defense, UCM is 11th, allowing 485.8 yards per game.  The yardage is nearly split down the middle, with teams running and passing for almost 250-yards per game. 

>> Offensively, the Mules' have scored mainly through the air with just one rushing touchdown this season.  They have 1051 passing yards compared to 444 on the ground. 

>> UCM's roster features eight from Oklahoma.
 
>> Logan Twehous has seen most of the snaps in the last two weeks and went 25-for-44 with three touchdowns and 312 passing yards at home against Nebraska-Kearney.

>> Cameron Saunders is third in the MIAA in receiving yardage with 19 receptions and 373 yards. 

>> UCM's defense has six sacks and 22 tackles for losses this season.  Chima Dunga has 22 tackles, two sacks, and a game-high six tackles for loss.