complete game notes in .pdf format

Storyline
The Lindenwood football team travels to South Dakota this weekend for its second contest of 2011 against a NCAA Division I program. The first game resulted in a 22-20 victory over Northern Colorado, one of the biggest regular season wins in program history. A victory this week would be even bigger as South Dakota is nationally ranked and has a victory this season over the defending national champions at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.

The Lions are looking to bounce back after a disappointing loss last weekend against Missouri S&T. Lindenwood fell behind by a 19-0 margin after one half, and could not come all the way back in a 19-13 loss. The Lions finished the game with more offensive yards, but three turnovers proved costly, especially a first quarter fumble in the red zone.

South Dakota comes into the game with a 2-2 record, but both losses have come against NCAA Bowl Championship Series teams, including Big Ten Wisconsin last weekend.

The running game could be a key factor in the game. The Coyotes are rushing for nearly 200 yards a game, while Lindenwood's defense is allowing just 68.2 rushing yards. On the other side, Lindenwood's rush offense and South Dakota's rush defense have both struggled during the teams' losses.

A Lindenwood Win Would...
- improve the program to 122-114-2 all-time.
- improve the Lions to 70-20 under head coach Patrick Ross.
- be the program's third all-time win over a NCAA Division I program, including the second this season.
- be the program's first win over a nationally-ranked NCAA Division I team.
- improve the team to 1-1 against teams from South Dakota.

A Lindenwood Loss Would...
- drop the program to 121-115-2 all-time.
- drop the Lions to 69-21 under head coach Patrick Ross.
- be the first time it has dropped back-to-back regular season games since 2006.
- improve South Dakota to 3-0 this year against non-NCAA BCS teams.

Rush Defense
Lindenwood's defense is allowing just 68.2 rushing yards a game and 2.0 yards per carry. If the Lions were eligible to be listed among the NCAA Division II statistical leaders, it would rank No. 14 in that category, including first among MIAA schools.

Day Does Disrupting
Joe Day leads the Lindenwood defense with 6.0 tackles for loss and is close behind the team leader with 2.5 sacks. Over the last two games, Day has 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.

Another Top Transfer
Another top defensive transfer is Christian Golder. Over the last two games, he has 13 tackles and four pass breakups. He is third on the team with 21 tackles.

Leading Tackler
Chris Howard led the Lions last weekend with nine tackles, and he now has a team-high 25 for the season.

Howard needs just 10 more tackles before reaching the 200 milestone for his career.

1,000/1,000 Club
Denodus O'Bryant needs just 31 receiving yards to become the first player in Lindenwood history with 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards.

O'Bryant currently has 1,765 rushing yards and 969 receiving yards. The two-time All-American has 43 touchdowns in his career, including two this season.

100-yards Receiving
Andrew Helmick had the third 100-yard receiving day of his Lindenwood career last Saturday, and the first for a Lion this season. His nine receptions in that game tied for sixth in Lindenwood history for single-game catches.

Helmick has been the team's top receiving threat this year with 22 catches for 282 yards and two touchdowns. He is on pace to break the school record for receptions per game for a season, and to finish in the top five for season yards per game.

Quarterback Play
John Uribe threw for a season-high 298 yards last week against the Miners. It was the second time this season he has been less than ten yards away from a 300-yard passing game.

On the season, Uribe is averaging 253.8 passing yards a game. He has completed just under 60 percent of his passes, has seven touchdowns, and three interceptions.

Special Teams Returner
Mike Bunton has been the top special teams player for Lindenwood this season. He is averaging 32.2 yards on kickoff returns and 18.1 yards on punt returns.

Bunton needs just 75 more punt return yards to break Lindenwood's single-season record.

Field Goal Kicking
James Neal is a perfect four-of-four on field goals this season and 17-of-18 on PATs. He kicked a career long of 44 in the Graceland contest.

Players of the Week
The team players of the week for the Missouri S&T game were Andrew Helmick on offense, Chris Howard on defense, and Morris Keseloff on special teams.

Sean Gracy won the team's Living the D.R.E.A.M. award. That acronym stands for dedication, responsibility, enthusiasm, attitude, and motivation. The award goes to the player who exemplifies those qualities on the practice and game field, around campus, inside the dorm, and in the classroom.

Turning The Ball Over
Lindenwood has lost the turnover battle in three of the four games this season, and has a -3 turnover margin for the year.

In the team's three losses over the last two years, it has lost the turnover battle in all three games. In those three contests, the Lions have a -8 turnover margin.

Third-Down Conversions
In the team's three victories this year, Lindenwood has converted 50 percent of its third-down attempts. Last week against Missouri S&T, the Lions were just two-of-12 on third down.

One reason for that is that the Miners put the Lions in third-and-long situations. Seven of the 12 third-down plays for Lindenwood were eight yards or longer.

Defensively, the Lions are holding opponents to just 32.4 percent conversion on third downs. In three of the four games, the opponents have failed to convert at least twice every three tries.

Red-Zone Success
Lindenwood's red-zone success ended last weekend. The Lions were just two-for-four, while Missouri S&T was three-for-three.

On the season, Lindenwood has scored 89.5 percent of the time, compared to 66.7 percent for the opposition.

Schedule Breakdown
Lindenwood is 1-0 this season against NCAA Division I teams, 1-1 versus NCAA Division II squads, and 1-0 versus NAIA programs. After the South Dakota game, Lindenwood has three games remaining against NCAA Division II teams and three versus NAIA squads.

About the Coyotes
South Dakota is 2-2 on the year, with wins over Eastern Washington and Northwest Oklahoma State, and losses versus Air Force and Wisconsin.

In the two wins, it is averaging nearly 400 yards of offense and allowing 357.5. In the losses, the Coyotes are averaging 270.5 yards and allowing 549.5 yards.

The offense is led by a trio of running backs who have combined for 165.8 rushing yards a game and five touchdowns. Quarterback Dante Warren is averaging 132.2 passing yards, and he has five touchdowns and six interceptions. Will Powell and Jeremy Blount have caught 23 balls for 369 yards and five touchdowns.

Shea Williams has a team-high 31 tackles, Tyler Starr has five sacks, and Jordan Eaton leads with two interceptions.

Last Week
Wisconsin scored 21 points in the final six minutes of the first half and the first 21 ponits of the second half on the way to a 59-10 victory over South Dakota. The Badgers had over 600 yards of offense, compared to 173 for the Coyotes.

Marcus Sims led the South Dakota offense with 64 rushing yards and 14 receiving yards. Shea Williams had nine tackles and a sack.

Head Coach Ed Meierkort
Ed Meierkort is in his eighth season at South Dakota and 19th as a head coach. He has won 50 games at South Dakota and 105 games overall, including 11 years at Wisconsin-Stout.

Up Next
Lindenwood concludes its three-game road trip on Oct. 8 with a trip to Texas A&M-Kingsville.

NCAA II Transition
Lindenwood is in its second year of NCAA Division II candidacy in 2011-12. The school has dropped its NAIA membership and is an independent.

In 2012-13, Lindenwood hopes to enter a provisional year in the NCAA. The Lions will join the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association that season.

In 2013-14, assuming all expectations have been met, the NCAA will vote to make Lindenwood a full member.