Storylines 
- The Lindenwood football team will travel to St. Joseph, Mo. for the first time in program history this week. The Lions will take on Missouri Western at Spratt Stadium at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
 
- Lindenwood is 1-2 on the season, and looking to break out of a two-game losing streak. The Lions opened the season with a victory over Washburn, but has since fallen to Pittsburg State and Fort Hays State. Missouri Western is currently 2-1 on the year, with a one-point loss at Central Missouri, and wins over Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State.
 
- Both the Lions and Griffons played most of their games from behind last week, but only the Griffons were able to come from behind to get the win. Lindenwood allowed two first-quarter touchdowns to Fort Hays State and eventually fell by a 30-7 margin. Missouri Western trailed 17-10 midway through the final quarter against Northeastern State, but scored two touchdowns in nine seconds for a 24-17 victory.
 
- Missouri Western won the only previous meeting in the series between the Lions and Griffons. Last year in St. Charles, Missouri Western's defense scored 16 points in a 26-9 win over Lindenwood.
 
- Prior to this week's game, Lindenwood has visited every MIAA stadium except for two since joining the league in 2012. The Lions will cross one stadium off its list this week at Missouri Western, and will visit their final stadium in two weeks at Northwest Missouri.
 
- Lindenwood enters play this week ranked third in the MIAA in pass defense by allowing 185.0 passing yards a game. It will be going against one of the top passing teams in the conference this week as Missouri Western is third in the MIAA with 289.0 passing yards a game.
 
- The Lions offense has had a balanced offensive attack this season, ranking sixth in the conference in rushing and seventh in offense. It will look to exploit a Missouri Western defense that is one of the best in the MIAA, ranking second in total defense and third in scoring defense.
 
- Turnovers continue to be a key statistic in Lindenwood's games. Both the Lions and Griffons have turned the ball over seven times this year. Missouri Western's defense though has forced six more turnovers than Lindenwood.
 
Lions Offense
- Lindenwood is ninth in the MIAA in scoring offense (18.3), and it is ninth in total offense (344.3).
 
- The Lions have rushed for over 100 yards in four straight games going back to last season. That streak ties for the program's longest since moving to the NCAA level.
 
- Running back Calen Campbell is averaging 5.9 yards per carry this season, which ranks seventh in the MIAA among players with at least 15 rushes on the year.
 
- Wide receiver Tre' Roby has touchdown receptions in two straight games. He leads the team's starting wide receivers with 17.4 yards per catch.
 
- Quarterback Jesse Scroggins has opened up his Lindenwood career by throwing a touchdown pass in each of his first three games.
 
Lions Defense
- Lindenwood is 11th in the MIAA in scoring defense (33.3), and is sixth in total defense (383.3).
 
- Lindenwood's run defense held Fort Hays State to 2.7 fewer yards per carry and 106 fewer yards per game than its season average.

- Connor Harris is tied for fifth in the nation, and is tied for first in the MIAA, with 15.0 tackles per game. He has recorded at least 13 tackles in every game this season, and has double-figure tackles in eight straight games.
 
- Connor Harris is now up to 356 career tackles. Among current NCAA Division II players, only one, Logan Genz of Arkansas Tech, has more. Genz, a senior, currently has 367 tackles.
- Clint Koons and Roderick Ryles also had double-figure tackles last week. It was Koons' third game and Ryles' eighth game with double-figure tackles.
 
Lions Special Teams
- Tre' Roby leads the MIAA and is 25th in NCAA Division II in punt return average. He is averaging 12.2 yards per return, including a long of 51.
 
- Bakari Triggs returned kickoffs for the first time last week, and finished with a team-high 109 all-purpose yards. All of his yards came on three kickoff returns.
 
Misc. Notes
- Lindenwood returns home on Oct. 3 for a contest against Emporia State. The game will be the MIAA Television Network Game of the Week, with a kickoff time of 2:37 p.m.
 
- Lindenwood is outscoring its opponents 41-38 in the second halves of games this year. The Lions are being outscored 62-14 in the first 30 minutes of their games.
 
About Missouri Western
- Missouri Western is led by a defense that has not allowed over 18 points yet this season. All of its games have been decided by 10 or fewer points.
 
- Running back Raphael Spencer leads the offense with 96.0 rushing yards a game and two rushing touchdowns.
 
- Four Griffons have 26 or more tackles this year. Jorge Beltcher leads the team with 28 tackles and 3.0 sacks. The defense has eight interceptions in three games, including three by Michael Jordan.