Storylines
- The Lindenwood football team looks to improve to 2-1 on its home field this weekend. The Lions will host Missouri Western on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Mo.
 
- Lindenwood is currently 1-4 on the season and it has lost its last four contests. Last week, the Lions fell to Fort Hays State by a 37-6 score. Lindenwood's only points came late in the first quarter and cut the Tigers' lead to one. Fort Hays State would not allow another score after that, and it put up 23 more points in its win.
 
- Missouri Western comes to St. Charles with a 3-2 overall and MIAA record. The Griffons snapped a two-game losing streak last week with a 45-14 victory over Northeastern State.
 
- Lions linebacker Connor Harris made NCAA history last weekend when he set the NCAA All-Division record for career tackles. His second tackle against Fort Hays State set the new standard, and he ended the contest with 565 career stops.
 
- Missouri Western has won both games in the all-time series with Lindenwood. The Griffons won the first game in 2014 by a 26-9 margin in St. Charles, and they won last year's showdown by a 34-14 margin in St. Joseph. Both games were close at the break, but Missouri Western has outscored Lindenwood by a combined margin of 40-0 after halftime in the two contests.
 
- Lindenwood is in the middle of a five-game stretch in which it is playing the top five defenses in the MIAA. The Griffons enter play this week allowing just 23.6 points and 362.0 total yards a contest.
 
- The rushing game for both teams could be a key factor in Saturday's contest. Lindenwood's offense averaged 4.5 yards per carry in its first three contests, but just 1.7 yards the last two weeks. Missouri Western's defense is eighth nationally by allowing just 78.6 yards a game, and it is allowing just 2.4 yards a carry. On the other side of the ball, the Griffons' offense is 13th nationally by rushing for over 250 yards a contest, and averaging 5.1 yard a carry. Lindenwood's defense is holding opponents to 4.0 yards a rush this season, the eighth-best mark in the conference.
 
Lions Offense
- Lindenwood ranks eighth in the MIAA in scoring offense (26.8), and it is eighth in the MIAA in total offense (370.8).
 
- The wide receiving trio of Kendell Sparks, Deantrell Prince, and DeSean Warren have combined for 84.9 percent of the team's receptions, and 91.3 percent of the team's receiving yards this year.
 
- DeSean Warren is second in the MIAA with 467 receiving yards, and 93.4 receiving yards a game. He is on pace for the second-highest average in program history. His 31.1 yards per catch is second in the nation, and would shatter the previous school record.
 
- Kendell Sparks is fourth nationally with 8.2 receptions per game. He needs just nine receptions to enter Lindenwood's top-10 list for single-season catches.
 
- Lindenwood's quarterbacks have thrown a touchdown pass in seven straight games, tying for the second-longest stretch since the program moved to the NCAA level.
 
- Derek Gurnea is one of two Lions to start every game this season on the offensive line. He is the most experienced lineman on the team, starting 20 games and appearing in 23 during his career.
 
Lions Defense
- Lindenwood's defense ranks ninth in the MIAA in scoring defense (36.4), and is 12th in total defense (482.8).
 
- Connor Harris extended his streak of double-figure tackle games to 21 against Fort Hays State. In his career, Harris has averaged 18.0 tackles a game against Missouri Western.
- Lindenwood's defense set season-highs against Fort Hays State with 9.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks. Nick Granberry led the team with 3.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks.
 
- Bakari Triggs ranks second in the nation with 2.8 passes defended a game, and he is 10th with 0.8 interceptions a contest. He is one interception away from entering Lindenwood's top-10 single-season list. Others on the national leaderboard include Connor Harris being third in tackles, and Ben Jackson tying for seventh in fumble recoveries.
 
- Three Lions currently have over 200 career tackles. Besides Harris, Roderick Ryles has 240 tackles, and Clint Koons has 216 stops.
 
Lions Special Teams
- Allen Thigpen had a good punting game last week. He averaged 42.2 yards per punt on 10 punts, and Fort Hays State had just 10 punt return yards. Thigpen had three punts downed or fair caught at the 10-yard line or better.
 
- Kendell Sparks is third in the MIAA by averaging 26.3 yards on kickoff returns.
 
- Nate Blanchard and Roderick Ryles lead the team with six special teams tackles. Blanchard has three on kickoff and three on punt coverage, while Ryles has all six on kickoffs. Connor Harris leads the team with four tackles on punt coverage.
 
Team Notes
- The Lions will go on the road on Oct. 15 for a 2 p.m. contest at nationally-ranked Emporia State.
 
- On Oct. 22, Lindenwood will induct its 2016 Hall of Fame class. This year's class includes former quarterback Philip Staback, and the 1989 football team.