Storylines
-The Lindenwood football team will open up the 2016 season on Thursday night at Hunter Stadium with a 7 p.m. game against Central Oklahoma.
 
-Lindenwood has high hopes entering this year's campaign as it has its largest senior class since moving to the NCAA level. They also return 16 starters, including five defenders who earned all-MIAA honors last season.
 
-Central Oklahoma was one of the hottest teams in the MIAA at the end of the 2015 season. The Bronchos won seven out of their last eight games, including a victory over Southwestern Oklahoma State in the Live United Texarkana Bowl.
 
-Lindenwood has won seven straight season openers, including having a perfect 4-0 mark when opening against a MIAA opponent. Four of those seven games have been decided by six points or less, including last year's last-minute 20-14 win over Washburn.
 
-The Lions are 14-12 all-time in season openers, including a 9-3 record under head coach Patrick Ross. Lindenwood is 19-7 all-time in home openers, including an 11-1 mark since Ross took over the program in 2004.
 
-Lindenwood and Central Oklahoma will be meeting for the fourth time. The Bronchos have a 2-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 2014 win the only time the game was in St. Charles. All three games were decided by at least 17 points, and the average margin of victory is 27.7 points.
 
-Last season, the Lions and Bronchos went into halftime with the score tied at 20. Central Oklahoma came out and outscored Lindenwood 17-0 in the second half for a 37-20 victory.
 
-Head coach Patrick Ross is starting his 13th season as the head coach of the Lions. In any measurements, he is the most successful coach in program history. He enters this season with 90 wins since coming to St. Charles, and he has a .647 winning percentage.
 
Lions Offense
-Sophomore quarterback Mason Bendigo entered fall camp as the No. 1 starter. He started the final seven games of the season last year. In that span, he had a 1.29 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Bendigo threw three touchdowns apiece in wins over Missouri Southern and Nebraska-Kearney.
 
-Calen Campbell is the top returning running back. He appeared in just five games last year, and rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Campbell had a team-high among running backs with 4.3 yards per carry.
 
-The lone returning starting wideout is senior DeSean Warren. Warren was fourth on the team with 265 receiving yards last season, and he averaged 11.5 yards per catch.
 
-Lindenwood returns four of its starting five offensive linemen from last season in Berry Benedick, Derek Gurnea, Akil Williams, and Alex Zendejas. Those four played in all 44 games last season, and combined to start 37 contests.
 
Lions Defense
-Linebacker Connor Harris was named to numerous first-team preseason All-American lists, including by D2Football.com. He is a returning first-team All-American, and MIAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Harris set a NCAA Division II record last year with 16.7 tackles a game.
 
-Connor Harris surpassed the MIAA career tackles record this season and will now shoot for the record for all levels of the NCAA. He enters the season with 495 tackles, 22 away from the NCAA Division II record and 55 away from the record for all levels. Harris is currently tied for 15th in career tackles for all levels of NCAA football, and is third among Division II players.
-The Lions defense returns eight starters from last year's unit. Seven of those eight starters have earned all-MIAA honors at least once during their careers.
 
-Lindenwood returns five of its top six tacklers from a year ago. Besides Connor Haris, Roderick Ryles had 82 stops, Wesley Thomas made 70 tackles, Clint Koons had 60 tackles, and Bakari Triggs collected 54.
 
-Defensive ends Justin Taylor and Jonathan Harris are looking to create havoc in the backfield again this year. Taylor was second on the team last year with 11.0 tackles for loss, and Jonathan Harris tied for the team-high with 4.5 sacks.
 
Lions Special Teams
-Lindenwood's kicking game will have a new look in 2016. Travis Spraul is expected to do most of the placekicking after being a backup last year. Newcomer Allen Thigpen is expected to handle the punting duties after the graduation of first-team All-American punter Matt Klingler.
 
-Lindenwood's return game will also feature several players in new roles. DeSean Warren is expected to contribute in both punt and kickoff return. Wesley Thomas is listed as the top punt returner, and Kendell Sparks will also be on kickoff returns.
 
Team Notes
-Lindenwood starts a two-game road trip on Sept. 8 when it travels to Northeastern State The Lions have six road games this season, and all but one are outside the state of Missouri.
 
-Lindenwood is starting its 27th season of football. It has an all-time record of 142-143-2.