The Lindenwood football defense held Central Missouri's offense below its season averages in yards and points, but the No. 25 Mules were still able to come away from Hunter Stadium on Saturday with a 31-0 victory over the Lions.
 
Lindenwood's defense was especially dominate early in the game. The Mules scored on their second drive, but overall they punted or turned it over on downs in four of their first five possessions. In the second quarter, Central Missouri took advantage of a Lindenwood turnover for a short 10-yard touchdown drive, but the No. 2 scoring offense in the MIAA could not manage any more points in the first half.
 
In the third quarter, Central Missouri had a 68-yard drive on its first possession that ended in a field goal. The next two times they had the ball, the Mules took advantage of two short fields to go up 31-0. That was the final score of the game as Lindenwood's defense forced three more punts in the fourth quarter.
 
While the Lions defense was trying to keep the game close, Lindenwood's offense struggled in the wet playing conditions. The Lions were just two-of-22 on third and fourth-down plays, and they turned the ball over three times.
 
Lindenwood's best drive came after receiving the ball to start the second half, down 14 points. Two straight plays over 20 yards got the ball deep into Mules' territory, but Lindenwood ended up turning it over on downs. That would be the team's only trip to the redzone as it was shut out for the contest.
 
Central Missouri ended the game with 469 yards of total offense, with 203 rushing yards and 266 passing yards. The Lions had 243 yards of total offense, with 166 coming through the air.
 
Connor Harris finished with a team-high 15 tackles and he also had two pass breakups. Chaz Fulton had 10 stops and assisted on a sack. Roderick Ryles, Steven Pace, and Jonathan Harris all had eight tackles. Ryles also broke up two passes and Harris had a sack.
 
DeAngelo Strickling had 62 rushing yards and averaged 4.8 yards per carry. Tre' Roby had 54 receiving yards and Greg Coble had 50. Mason Bendigo threw for 166 yards on the day.
 
Game Notes: Lindenwood falls to 3-6 on the season and in the MIAA … Central Missouri is now 7-2 overall and in the MIAA … the Lions are now 0-4 this season against nationally-ranked teams … Connor Harris extended his double-figure tackle streak to 14 games and he has 26 in his career … Connor Harris now has 464 career tackles, fifth-most in MIAA history … Roderick Ryles surpassed 200 career tackles in a Lindenwood uniform … Lindenwood has its final road game of the season next week when it travels to Central Oklahoma for a 2 p.m. contest.