Storylines
- The Lindenwood football team takes on the No. 6 team in NCAA Division II this week at Hunter Stadium. The Lions host Pittsburg State at 2:37 p.m. in the televised MIAA Game of the Week.
- The Lions are 3-5 overall on the season and 2-5 in MIAA play. Lindenwood will be taking the field for the first time in two weeks after last week's game against Missouri Southern was postponed.
- Pittsburg State enters the game with an 8-1 overall record and a 6-1 conference mark. The Gorillas earned a 70-0 non-conference victory last weekend against Northwestern Oklahoma.
- The sixth-ranked Gorillas will be the highest ranked NCAA Division II team that Lindenwood has gone up against. Lindenwood is 1-4 all-time against ranked NCAA Division II programs, including an 0-1 mark against top-10 teams.
- Lindenwood's lone win against a nationally-ranked MIAA opponent came in its only previous meeting with Pittsburg State. The Lions had a 41-19 lead at one point and eventually defeated the Gorillas on their home field by a 44-33 margin.
- The Lions won last year's game against Pittsburg State with a big-play offense. Lindenwood had seven offensive plays over 25 yards, including three touchdowns of 80 yards or more.
- Saturday afternoon will be Senior Day at Hunter Stadium. The Lions will honor 12 seniors before the game. Over the last four years, this year's seniors have helped Lindenwood win 28 games and advance to the postseason two times, including last year's Mineral Water Bowl.
- The Lions have a very young team this season with just one starter on offense and three starters on defense being seniors. Twenty-five of the 44 players on this week's two-deep are either freshmen or sophomores.
- Saturday's game will be the final one at Hunter Stadium for Lindenwood cornerback
Pierre Desir, one of the most talented players in program history. The 2012 AFCA All-American is the all-time leader in MIAA history in career passes defended (51) and is second in conference history in career interceptions (25).
Lions Offense
- Lindenwood ranks 11th in the MIAA in scoring offense (24.1) and 11th in total offense (373.8).
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Dillon Miller completed 64.3 percent of his passes against Pittsburg State last year and finished with 226 passing yards. He threw three touchdowns and no interceptions.
- Lindenwood has three wide receivers ranked in the top-10 in the MIAA in receptions per game.
Jordan Gater is fifth (5.7), followed by
Alex Robinson in eighth (5.2), and
Jaron Alexander in ninth (4.9).
- The lone senior starter on offense is offensive lineman
Jose Zuniga. Zuniga played in eight games as a right guard last season and has started every game as a center this year.
- Backup quarterback
Ben Gomez has two 400-yard passing games in his career. The senior holds the school's single-game record of 480 passing yards and six passing touchdowns, both set in 2012 versus Nebraska-Kearney.
Lions Defense
- Lindenwood ranks 10th in the MIAA in scoring defense (36.1) and 10th in total defense (450.1).
- Senior defensive linemen
Thomas Stubbs and
Chris Floyd have been two of the top players in getting into the opponent's backfield. Stubbs leads the team with 7.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Floyd is third on the team wtih 5.0 tackles for loss and second with 2.5 sacks.
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Pierre Desir is one interception away from tying the Lindenwood career record of 14. During his career, he has intercepted two passes in three games against Pittsburg State. Both of those interceptions came in 2009 while Desir was at Washburn.
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Clint Koons leads the team with 54 tackles and could become the second straight true freshmen to lead the Lions in tackles for a season.
Lions Special Teams
- Senior
James Neal enters his final home game with 276 points, the third-highest total for a Lindenwood player. He is second in school history with 179 PATs and 32 field goals.
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Edward Burns leads the MIAA with a 42.3 yard punting average.
Lions Schedule
- As of Nov. 4, Lindenwood and Missouri Southern have not come to a decision on whether to make-up last week's contest.
About Pittsburg State
- The Gorillas are ranked sixth in the latest NCAA regional rankings. The top six make the NCAA Tournament field.
- Pittsburg State quarterback Anthony Abenoja has thrown for 22 touchdowns and rushed for three others. Running back Jeff Seybold and wide receiver John Brown both have double-figure touchdown totals in 2013.
- Nate Dreiling leads the defense with 78 tackles, and he has 7.5 tackles for loss.
MIAA Notes
- Five MIAA teams, Northwest Missouri (2), Pittsburg State (6), Emporia State (10), Washburn (15), and Missouri Western (22) are ranked in the latest AFCA national poll.
- The MIAA Players of the Week were: Northwest Missouri's Trevor Adams (offense), Central Oklahoma's Kenny Allen (defense), and Fort Hays State's Keaton Callins (special teams).
