Complete Game Notes
Game 10: Lincoln (1-8, 1-8 MIAA) at #10 Central Missouri (9-0, 9-0 MIAA)
Date/Time: Saturday, Nov. 9 - 1:00 p.m.
Location: Warrensburg, Mo.
Stadium (Capacity): Walton Stadium (12,000)
Tickets: Available at Site
Streaming - http://www.themiaanetwork.com
Live Stats - https://ucmathletics.com/sidearmstats/football/
Series - Central Missouri leads, 23-7

THE KICKOFF 
The Lincoln football team closes its 2019 road slate next Saturday (Nov. 9) against a top-10 opponent when the Blue Tigers travel to Warrensburg, Mo. to play Central Missouri. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. CST as the Blue Tigers play a Mule squad that is nationally ranked No. 10 in the American Football Coaches Association's Division II poll.

The Blue Tigers will try to snap a two-game skid, as LU dropped its last road outing to Northwest Missouri before falling to Fort Hays State at home, 66-6, last Saturday (Nov. 2). Central Missouri will be the third ranked team LU will face in 2019 after No. 15 Pittsburg State and No. 14 NWMSU.

Central Missouri is the MIAA's only undefeated team, as the Mules own a 9-0 record after edging Nebraska Kearney, 47-40, on a 63-yard touchdown pass in the final seconds of the contest in Kearney, Neb.

QUICK HITS 
- This will be the 31st meeting between Central Missouri and Lincoln, with the Mules leading the all-time series, 23-7. It's also the first game between the teams since 2011.

- Lincoln has played UCM more than any other team in the MIAA, with 30 meetings in a series dating back to 1957. Among the current members of the MIAA, Central Missoui is LU's most-played opponent, with Northwest Missouri next at 24 contests.

- The Blue Tigers have played only five other programs more than Central Missouri: Langston (64 games), Central State (57), Kentucky State (48), Arkansas-Pinebluff (36) and Missouri S&T (34).

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

- LU is seeking its first win over Central Missouri since 1978, when the Blue Tigers defeated the Mules, 21-6, in Jefferson City. Central Missouri has won 18-straight in the series since that Lincoln victory.

- 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.

- The Blue Tigers enter this week's game with an all-time record of 261-462-25.

- Malik Hoskins was named the interim head coach of the Blue Tigers in May 2019 and enters the week with an LU record of 1-8 and an overall record of 4-15.

- 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 131.0 rushing yards per game with 1,179 total yards on the year. Franklin has three of the conference's top-five 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 10 catches for 52 yards. Hicks leads LU with 13 receptions for 86 yards while Alston has 79 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 second among the Blue Tigers with 55 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 three QB hurries and a safety.

Bri'on Sanders, who has forced three fumbles, has 52 tackles on the year while Chavon Gross, who has three picks and a forced fumble, leads the team with 61. Thomas Burton has forced two fumbles and notched 20 tackles, and Cody Bagby has a fumble recovery while Vontavious Thacker has a pick-six. Thacker also has 51 tackles while TeAndre Skinner is next with 46.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Reagan Harrell has had 13 punts pin opponents inside their 20-yard line and four kicks travel at least 50 yards, including one which went 71 yards, and averages 37.8 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.

CENTRAL MISSOURI AT A GLANCE
Brook Bolles, the Mules' starting quarterback, is one of the top passers in the country, as he leads NCAA Division II with 32 touchdowns and rates third in the country in total passing yards (2,933). Bolles, who has thrown just seven interceptions on the season, has thrown 13 of those scoring passes to Zach Davidson, making that combo the third-best scoring attack in DII this year. Shane Wyatt is fifth nationally in receiving yardage (972), and UCM has the third-rated passing offense in the country (341.7).

Central Missouri has another outstanding offensive threat in Devante Turner, who ranks seventh in Division II in all-purpose yards (169.3) and 10th in combined kick returns (673). Turner, whose 753 rushing yards are the fifth-most in the MIAA, has a punt return for a score, ranking him fifth in the country in that statistic.

On the defensive side of the ball, Central Missouri is led by Codie Bell with 61 tackles and Kolesen Crane, who has 41 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries, a pair of forced fumbles, three QB hurries and two broken-up passes. Azaiah Bello has 5.5 tackles for loss while Ubong Udom leads the team with eight, including seven sacks.

Chris Diddle has made five of UCM's eight field goals, with a long of 40 yards, while Samuel Knowlton is three-for-five on the year. Davidson, also the team's punter, is averaging 41.7 yards per kick with 15 landing inside the 20. Knowlton is averaging 57.6 yards on kickoffs.

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.

Jim Svoboda is in his 10th year as the head coach of the Mules and has led UCM to a 79-34 overall record in that span. During his time with Central Missouri, Svoboda's teams have broken 94 school and 21 conference offensive records, and 24 players coached by Svoboda have earned All-American recognition. Svoboda has also coached 131 All-MIAA players, including 27 first team selections.

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 1,179 yards on the ground in 2019, and he has a few more marks in his sights. Franklin needs just 88 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 averaging 6.4 this year.

LET'S BE FRANK: No running back in the MIAA is having a hotter season than Hosea Franklin, as the sophomore leads the conference with 131.0 yards per game. Franklin, who is the only MIAA running back averaging over 100 yards per game, also leads the conference in total rushing yards (1,179) and is fourth in all-purpose yards (139.3).

NATIONAL LEADER:  Hosea Franklin ranks fourth in Division II in total rushing yards and sixth in rushing yards per game (131.0). Franklin, who additionally rates 21st nationally in all-purpose yardage (139.3), is also 18th in the country in yards per carry (6.4).

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 eighth-longest in DII this season, is third in the nation with three fumble recoveries, and is tied with Chavon Gross for 86th nationally with three interceptions. Gross is 17th in the country in solo tackles (5.7), and Bri'on Sanders is 20th nationally with three forced fumbles.

THE RUNDOWN:  Bolstered by an outstanding opening night by Hosea Franklin, LU currently boasts the sixth-best rushing attack in the MIAA. LU, which is also 43rd in the nation, is averaging 189.8 yards per game on the ground. Franklin's 6.4 yards per carry are 18th 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 eight passes, forced 12 fumbles and recovered 11. The 19 takeaways rank second in the MIAA and are currently the 28th-most in Division II this season, with LU rating sixth nationally in fumbles recovered.

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU:  Lincoln has been sharp on fourth down on both sides of the ball, ranking fourth 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 37.5-percent of the time, the 44th-best mark in NCAA Division II. On the offensive side of the ball, Lincoln is 48th nationally with a 55.6-percent success rate on fourth down.

PUNT ON IT:  Reagan Harrell has given Lincoln a boost as the team's punter, averaging 37.8 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 eighth in the MIAA and 78th in the country. Harrell has been backed up by a special teams unit that allows just 6.3 yards on punt returns, which currently stands as the 53rd-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 three 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 and at Northwest 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 conclude the 2019 season at home next Saturday (Nov. 16) with a 12:00 p.m. CST game against Missouri Western.