THIS WEEK IN GRIFFON FOOTBALL
Missouri Western (5-4) at Nebraska Kearney (4-5)
Saturday, Nov. 3 – 11 a.m.
 
ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Football looks for its third-straight road win, Saturday, when the Griffons travel to Kearney, Nebraska for a rare morning kickoff.
 
Missouri Western will be looking for redemption, following a 34-14 home loss to Pittsburg State last week and a 14-3 loss in the2017 season opener at Nebraska Kearney. It will be the Griffons' first morning kickoff since hosting Missouri Southern at 11 a.m. on the final game of the 2015 regular season.
 
FIVE THINGS TO WATCH

• This week MWSU faces the MIAA's top rushing offense at 267 yards per game. The Griffons did well last week against the then-second-ranked MIAA rushing offense by holding Pittsburg State to 125 rushing yards on 46 carries. Can they do it again?
• All-around this week's match-up looks a lot like last week with the line of scrimmage key for both teams. The Griffons rank second in the MIAA in rushing yards and rush defense while Nebraska Kearney leads the MIAA in rushing yards and ranks third in rush defense.
• Missouri Western will likely focus on maintaining possession after five uncharacteristic turnovers last week led to 20 Pittsburg State points which was the difference in the game.
• Will UNK pass the ball? Nebraska Kearney has attempted just 171 passes all season, 48 fewer than Pittsburg State which has attempted the second to the fewest passes in the MIAA, and 208 less than MIAA-leading Emporia State.
• Laundry on the field: Missouri Western averages 101 penalty yards per game, close to 30 yards per game more than the next closest team, Central Missouri. Nebraska Kearney is the second least penalized team in the MIAA at 54 yards per game.

 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS

• Missouri Western hasn't been held under 260 yards rushing since Central Missouri limited the Griffons to 98 on the ground in week three.
• The Griffons have racked up yards on the ground with a five-headed monster in the backfield. Shamar Griffith (583), Dom Marino (549) and James Bailey Jr. (547) all rank in the top-11 in rushing yards in the MIAA. Derek Gray Jr. has 287 yards on the ground and a score while Donnell Hawkins has 163 rushing yards with a rush TD and two receiving touchdowns out of the backfield.
• The Griffon offensive line hasn't just paved the way for, "insert name" on the ground, they've kept Dom Marino off his back. Missouri Western's six sacks allowed are the fewest in the MIAA, five less than Nebraska Kearney which has attempted 60 fewer passes.
• Missouri Western continues to lead the MIAA in punt return average at 13.7 yards per return with the dangerous duo of Brandin Dandridge and Carlos Thompson. MWSU has returned two punts for touchdowns this season.
• Missouri Western also leads the MIAA with a 42.5 third down conversion rate.

 
SCOUTING THE LOPERS

• Nebraska Kearney has ran the ball almost three times more than it has passed it this season and leads the MIAA with 267 yards per game. The Lopers are third in average per rush at 5-yards per carry.
• All those runs keep the ball out of the opponents' hands, as UNK ranks second in the MIAA in time of possession at 32:55 per game.
• UNK ranks third in the MIAA in total defense (328/game) and fifth in scoring defense (22/game), just one spot ahead of MWSU in both categories.
• Darrius Webb leads the MIAA in rushing with 806 yards, averaging 89.6 per game. He's rushed for nine touchdowns this season.
• The run first, second and sometimes third approach hasn't kept the Lopers from scoring. They're averaging 30.4 points per game, third most in the MIAA.

 
THE SERIES

• UNK leads all-time 17-11
• The Lopers' 14-3 win in Kearney last year snapped a string of eight-straight for the Griffs in the series
• Nebraska Kearney hasn't won consecutive games in the series since reeling off seven-straight between 1982 and 1988

 
MISSOURI WESTERN HEAD COACH MATT WILLIAMSON

• The 1996 Missouri Western graduate and two-time All-MIAA defensive lineman is 9-11 in his second season as a head coach

 
NEBRASKA KEARNEY HEAD COACH JOSH LYNN

• In his second year at UNK, the Eastern New Mexico alum is 7-16 after going 36-27 in six previous seasons as a head coach – five at Eastern New Mexico and one at New Mexico Military Institute