Complete Game Notes
Game 8: Lincoln (1-6, 1-6 MIAA) at No. 14 Northwest Missouri (6-1, 6-1 MIAA)
Date/Time: Saturday, Oct. 26 - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Maryville, Mo.
Stadium (Capacity): Bearcat Stadium (6,500)
Tickets: Available at Site
Streaming - http://www.themiaanetwork.com
Audio - Available on Facebook
Audiocast - https://www.facebook.com/BlueTigerAthletics
Live Stats - https://bearcatsports.com/sidearmstats/football/
Series - Northwest Missouri leads, 15-7-1

THE KICKOFF 
The Lincoln football team faces its toughest test of the season thus far on Saturday (Oct. 26) when the Blue Tigers travel to Maryville, Mo. to take on Northwest Missouri. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. CT for this matchup between Lincoln and the No. 14 team in the country according to this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II rankings.

The Blue Tigers are riding some momentum after beating Northeastern State, 27-9, in the annual Homecoming game last Saturday (Oct. 19). The Bearcats, meanwhile, will try to rebound from their first loss of the season after falling on the road to Nebraska Kearney, 24-17, last week.

Lincoln fans will be able to watch the game on The MIAA Network (http://www.themiaanetwork.com) and can listen to LU play-by-play caller James Stanley's call of the game on Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/BlueTigerAthletics).

QUICK HITS 
- This will be the 24th meeting between the Blue Tigers and the Bearcats in a series that dates back to 1968. LU won the first three games and five of the first six, but Northwest Missouri leads the all-time series, 15-7-1.

- Northwest Missouri has won the past two games in the series, both of which were played in Jefferson City. The teams last met in 2011, with the Bearcats winning, 73-7.

- Lincoln's last victory against Northwest Missouri came in 1988, when LU edged NWMSU at home, 18-17.

- This will be LU's first game in Maryville, Mo. since 1987, when NWMSU secured a 35-18 victory.

- A victory for Lincoln would be its first road win over an MIAA program since beating Central Missouri, 20-7, in 1975.

- Lincoln is seeking its first road win, and its first league road win, since beating William Jewell, 23-14, as a GLVC program on Oct. 20, 2018.

- Lincoln is seeking back-to-back conference wins for the first time since ending the 2013 campaign with victories over Northeastern State and Southwest Baptist in the MIAA.

- The Blue Tigers enter this week's game with an all-time record of 261-460-25.

- Malik Hoskins was named the interim head coach of the Blue Tigers in May 2019 and enters the week with an LU record of 1-6 and an overall record of 4-13.

- After a five-year absence, Lincoln has returned to the MIAA for its 24th season as a football-playing member. The Blue Tigers, who were an associate member of the GLVC from 2014-18, previously played in the MIAA from 1970-89 and from 2011-13. The MIAA is the fifth different conference in which the Blue Tigers have been a member, joining the Midwest Athletic Association, the Great Lakes Football Conference, the Central States Football League and the GLVC.

- This is the 89th season of Lincoln football. The Blue Tigers first fielded a team in 1920 and played every year until 1943, when Lincoln took a year off due to World War II. LU then played each season from 1944-1989. The football program was disbanded at that point, but was brought back in 2000.

BLUE TIGERS TO WATCH
OFFENSE - Hosea Franklin is on fire this season, averaging an MIAA-best 143.0 rushing yards per game with 1,001 total yards on the year. Franklin has three of the conference's top-four single game rushing performances in 2019, including gaining 251 yards against Washburn in the opener.

CJ Closser and Dre'Shon Alston each caught TD passes from Chancellor Johnson in his first start as Lincoln's quarterback. Tori Hicks made a pair of touchdown catches against Missouri Southern, and Franklin has made eight catches for 54 yards. Rashaad Harris leads LU with 11 receptions for 65 yards while Alston is next with 64 receiving yards.

DEFENSE - The Blue Tiger defense made a huge impact in the season opener, forcing Washburn into seven turnovers. LU had three interceptions and forced and recovered four fumbles. The LU defense continued its opportunistic ways against Missouri Southern, tallying another pick and two more fumble recoveries.

Cody Alexander has three interceptions, including one he returned 81 yards for a score in the victory over Northeastern State, and is fifth among the Blue Tigers with 39 tackles. Hasan Muhammad-Rogers has two fumble recoveries and a pick, while Piere' Jones has broken up three passes and has a fumble recovery to go with 13 tackles, and Quan Mason has a trio of quarterback hurries.

Bri'on Sanders, who has forced two fumbles on the year has 44 tackles on the year while Chavon Gross, who has three picks and a forced fumble, leads the team with 53. Thomas Burton has forced two fumbles and notched 17 tackles, and Cody Bagby has a fumble recovery while Vontavious Thacker has a hurry. Thacker and TeAndre Skinner each have 40 tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Reagan Harrell has had 12 punts pin opponents inside their 20-yard line and four kicks travel at least 50 yards, including one which went 71 yards, and averages 38.4 yards per kick. On kickoffs, Javier Moreno is averaging 52.0 yards while, in the return game, the Blue Tigers are led by Muhammad-Rogers with 17.9 yards on kickoffs and 4.8 yards on punts.

NORTHWEST MISSOURI AT A GLANCE
It will be a strength-on-strength matchup for Lincoln on Saturday, as Hosea Franklin, the MIAA's leading rusher, takes on the league's best rushing defense in Northwest Missouri. The Bearcats allow just 97.3 yards per game on the ground compared to 250.7 yards through the air. The Bearcats alternatively are third in the MIAA in rushing at 215.7 yards per contest while ranking ninth in passing offense at 213.1.

Braden Wright has made plays as both a passer and as a rusher, throwing for 1,307 yards and 14 touchdowns while gaining 359 yards on the ground with five more scores. Justin Rankin has four rushing scores and leads Northwest Missouri with 580 net yards, while in the air attack, NWMSU is led by Imoni Donadelle with 20 grabs for 381 yards and five touchdowns.

The Bearcat defense has 23 sacks and 54 tackles for loss in 2019, with Blake Bayer, the team's tackling leader with 51 total takedowns, owning 7.5 TFLs on the year. Spencer Phillips also has 7.5 tackles for loss, including 3.5 sacks, and Zach Howard has 5.5 tackles for loss and a team-high 4.5 sacks. Trey Washington has four of NWMSU's 12 interceptions, and Sam Roberts has 10 of the Bearcats' 28 quarterback hurries.

Parker Sampson is 10-for-13 on field goals with a long of 53 yards, and averages 55.5 yards on kickoffs with 21 touchbacks. Mike Hohensee has had six punts go at least 50 yards, including one that traveled 64 yards, while Imoni Donadelle has a kick return for a score.

THE COACHES
Malik Hoskins was elevated to the position of interim head coach after spending the past two seasons serving as Lincoln's offensive coordinator. This is Hoskins' second stint as an interim head coach, as he held that title at Lane in 2015. Before coming to Lincoln, Hoskins coached at Bacone, where he worked with six offensive players who earned some form of all-conference recognition. In 2018, Hoskins was selected to attend the NCAA/NFL Coaches Academy due to his commitment to player development.

Rich Wright was named the 20th head coach of NWMSU in December of 2016 after spending the previous six years as the team's defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Wright has been on the staff at Northwest Missouri since 2004 and has helped the program win four national championships and 10 MIAA titles.

BROKEN RECORD:  Hosea Franklin started 2019 on a record-breaking note by rushing for 251 yards against Washburn on Sept. 5. That total broke a nearly 50-year-old record, surpassing the 245 yards gained by Leo "The Lincoln Locomotive" Lewis in the early 1940s. Franklin averaged 12.6 yards per carry, the third-most by any NCAA DII player during the first week of the season.

MORE TO COME?: Hosea Franklin has already crossed the 1,000-yard threshold with 1,001 yards on the ground in 2019, and he has a few more marks in his sights. Franklin needs just 266 yards to surpass Morris Henderson's 2013 record of 1,266 rushing yards in a season. Henderson also set the record for yards per carry in a season at 6.8 in 2013. Franklin's average per carry in 2019? 6.8.

LET'S BE FRANK: No running back in the MIAA is off to a hotter start than Hosea Franklin, as the sophomore leads the conference with 143.0 yards per game. Franklin, the only MIAA running back averaging over 100 yards per game, also leads the conference in total rushing yards (1,001) and ranks third in all-purpose yards (150.7).

NATIONAL LEADER:  Hosea Franklin is off to a hot start, ranking third in Division II in both total rushing yards and rushing yards per game (132.0). Franklin, who additionally rates 13th nationally in all-purpose yardage (140.5), is also eighth in the country in yards per carry (6.8).

NATIONAL DEFENSE:  Several other Blue Tigers are rated highly in the NCAA Division II rankings, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Cody Alexander, whose 81-yard pick six rates as the third-longest in DII this season, is second in the nation with three fumble recoveries, and is tied with Chavon Gross for 37th nationally with three interceptions. Gross is ninth in the country in solo tackles (6.3), and Bri'on Sanders is 36th nationally with two forced fumbles.

THE RUNDOWN:  Bolstered by an outstanding opening night by Hosea Franklin, LU currently boasts the fifth-best rushing attack in the MIAA. LU, which is also 34th in the nation, is averaging 204.4 yards per game on the ground. Franklin's 6.8 yards per carry are eighth nationally.

TAKE ME AWAY:  Opportunistic would be the best way to describe the Lincoln defense's performance thus far in 2019, as the Blue Tigers have picked off seven passes and both forced and recovered 10 fumbles. The 17 takeaways are the third-most in the MIAA and the 15th-most in NCAA Division II this season, and Lincoln rates fifth nationally in fumbles recovered.

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU:  Lincoln has been sharp on fourth down on both sides of the ball, ranking second in the MIAA in both fourth down defense and fourth downs converted. LU has allowed opponents to pick up a first down on fourth down just 28.6-percent of the time, the 19th-best mark in NCAA Division II. On the offensive side of the ball, Lincoln is 37th nationally with a 60.0-percent success rate on fourth down.

PUNT ON IT:  Reagan Harrell has given Lincoln a boost as the team's punter, averaging 38.4 yards per kick with a long of 71 yards. His longest punt, achieved against Nebraska Kearney, is just five yards short of the Lincoln record of 76 yards. Harrell's average, meanwhile, ranks fourth in the MIAA and 69th in the country. Harrell has been backed up by a special teams unit that allows just 5.3 yards, the 44th-fewest in Division II.

ON THE AIR:  Blue Tiger football is back on KJLU, as all six of Lincoln's home games will be broadcast this year. LU fans can also listen to four of the Blue Tigers' five road games online, as Lincoln play-by-play announcer James Stanley will provide an audiocast for the games at Washburn, Pittsburg State, Northwest Missouri and at Central Missouri. The road games will be audiocast through Facebook Live at https://www.facebook.com/BlueTigerAthletics.

IT'S A CLASSIC:  Tickets are now on sale for the Show Me Classic, a basketball game at Chaifetz Arena between Lincoln and Harris-Stowe. Visit www.lubluetigers.com/smc2019 to reserve your seats for the Nov. 22 match-up.

GEAR UP FOR THE GAME:  LU fans can get everything they need for the game at www.BlueTigersStore.com, the official online store for LU athletics. Everything from jerseys to office supplies can be found on the site, with a portion of all sales going to benefit Lincoln athletics.

UP NEXT:  The Blue Tigers open November at home next Saturday (Nov. 2) against Fort Hays State, with kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CT.