ST. JOSEPH – Griffon Football (1-2) heads out for the first of two straight road games this week with the team playing at Northeastern State (0-3) on Saturday. The Griffons will be looking to extend their streak of five straight wins away from St. Joseph on NSU's homecoming.
 
SETTING THE STAGE

• Missouri Western plays the first of two straight road games and it might be a good thing. The Griffons have won their last five games away from Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium. Their last loss away from home came on Sept. 15, 2018 at Central Missouri.
• MWSU is 9-0 all-time against Northeastern State, including a 66-16 win in St. Joseph last year.
• The Griffs' last trip to Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was a 65-17 win in 2017 that gave Matt Williamson his first road victory as head coach of the Griffons and sparked a three-game win streak.
• After a narrow 24-17 win in Tahlequah in 2015, MWSU has outscored the RiverHawks 176-45 in the last three meetings.
• The two teams have one common opponent through three weeks: Central Missouri. MWSU lost 48-45 in overtime last week to the Mules while NSU 70-7 to UCM two weeks ago.

 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS

• MWSU rallied from a 31-0 deficit more than halfway through the third quarter to force overtime against Central Missouri. The Griffs missed a field goal in overtime and UCM made one to win 48-45.
• The Griffs are on pace to have their most prolific passing season since 2009. With an average of 270 passing yards per game, the Griffons are on pace for 2,970 yards which would eclipse every season since the 3,151 Drew Newhart and Barron Bradshaw combined for 10 years ago.
• That passing average has come against three-straight ranked opponents to open the season.
• Three Griffs accomplished feats not seen in a few years last week. Wyatt Steigerwald's 336 passing yards made him the first Griffon 300-yard passer since 2016. Devon Holmes' 117 receiving yards were the most since Eli Cunningham had 130 in 2017. Trey Vaval became the first Griffon to return a kickoff for a TD since Dom Thomas did it in 2013.
• Vaval leads the MIAA and ranks second in the nation, averaging 45 yards per kick return.
• Steigerwald is fourth in the conference with 803 passing yards and ranks second with eight touchdown passes. He's sixth in the nation and second in the MIAA with 66 points responsible for.
• Holmes is fourth in the conference in receiving yards with 263 receiving yards and second with 19 catches.
• Markel Smith's 248 rushing yards are third-most in the MIAA.
• DJ Stirgus' seven passes defended lead the MIAA and rank fifth in the nation.

 
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN STATE

• The RiverHawks lost 58-3 at Pittsburg State last week and have been outscored 179-24 this season.
• NSU is giving up close to 60 points per game while scoring eight.
• Emporia State, Central Missouri and Pittsburg State totaled 1,635 yards of offense against NSU for an average of 545 yards per game. Northeastern State totaled 568 yards of offense through its first three games.
• The RiverHawks have only been penalized for 89 yards this season, fewest in the MIAA.
• Ty Nichols leads the team with 19 tackles and has six pass break ups.
• Lane Yoder has 18 tackles and two sacks.

 
MISSOURI WESTERN HEAD COACH MATT WILLIAMSON

• The 1996 MWSU graduate and two-time All-MIAA defensive lineman is 12-14 in his third season as a head coach.

NORTHEASTERN STATE HEAD COACH J.J. ECKERT

• In his first season at his alma mater, Eckert is 0-3. Eckert went 85-61 as a head coach at Garden City Community College and Kilgore College. His father, Tom, is a member of the Northeastern State Hall of Fame and coached at NSU for 16 seasons.