Storylines
- The Lindenwood football team will be home this Saturday for its Homecoming Contest. The Lions will take on Emporia State at 1 p.m. at Hunter Stadium.
 
- The Lions enter the game with a 2-4 record this season. Last weekend, Lindenwood turned the ball over five times and it fell to Missouri Western by a 40-8 score.
 
- Emporia State comes to St. Charles, Mo. with a 3-3 mark in 2017. Last Saturday, the Hornets snapped a two-game losing streak with a 44-7 win over Northeastern State.
 
- The Hornets bring one of the top offenses in the country to Hunter Stadium. Emporia State is ninth in the nation with 320.5 passing yards a game, and it is ranked 13th with 478.3 total yards of offense. Lindenwood is currently 27th in the nation in pass defense, allowing just 170.2 passing yards a game.
 
- The Lions are averaging nearly 500 yards of total offense in three home games this season, with 488.7 total yards of offense a game. The team is scoring 33.3 points a game at Hunter Stadium in 2017. Lindenwood will be going against an Emporia State defense that is eighth in the MIAA by allowing 400.5 yards a game.
 
- Lindenwood is 0-5 all-time against Emporia State, including an 0-2 mark at Hunter Stadium. The Lions have been competitive with the Hornets lately, with the last two games being decided by just a single touchdown.
 
- Last season, Emporia State squeaked by the Lions by a 35-28 score in Emporia, Kan. Lindenwood led 7-0 at halftime, but the game turned into an offensive battle in the second half. The Hornets scored every time they touched the ball, including a game-winning touchdown with 15 seconds left in the game.
 
- The Lions are 19-8 all-time in their Homecoming contests. Lindenwood has played Emporia State once on Homecoming, as it fell to Hornets in 2013.
 
Lions Offense
- Lindenwood is currently seventh in the MIAA in total offense (394.2), and ninth in scoring offense (27.8).
 
- Najee Jackson ranks sixth in the MIAA with 211.0 passing yards a game, and he is also sixth with nine touchdown passes. Jackson is fifth in total offense with 240.3 yards a game.
 
- Calen Campbell needs 36 rushing yards to join the school's 1,000-yard rushing club. He is already tenth in the program's career record book in that category.
 
- Lindenwood's top two running backs, Shakeem Wharton and Calen Campbell, are averaging 98.3 rushing yards a game and have combined for nine rushing touchdowns. The pair is averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
 
- Deantrell Prince is second in the MIAA with 87.5 receiving yards per game. He is third with 33 receptions and sixth with four receiving touchdowns.
 
- Lindenwood is tied for first in the MIAA by allowing just nine sacks on the season.
 
Lions Defense
- Lindenwood is currently ranked seventh in the MIAA in total defense (396.0), and fifth in scoring defense (26.7).
 
- The Lions have only allowed over 200 passing yards in a game once this season. Lindenwood's average of allowing 170.2 passing yards a game is on pace to be the fourth-lowest in program history.
 
- Nate Blanchard returned to the starting lineup against Missouri Western and had a career-high 15 tackles.

- Ace Rogers ranks first in the MIAA and fourth nationally with three fumble recoveries this season.
 
- Ricky McCoy is one of seven players in the MIAA with multiple interceptions this season. He picked off passes against Pittsburg State and Fort Hays State. McCoy also leads the team with six passes defended.
 
- Darrius Williams and Drew Seers are both on pace to collect over 100 tackles this season. Williams currently has 59, two more than Seers.
 
- Jonathan Harris currently leads the team with 3.0 sacks this season. He is also tied for the team-high with 4.5 tackles for loss.
 
Lions Special Teams
- Bakari Triggs is averaging 33.4 yards per kickoff return, the best mark in the MIAA and the sixth-best in NCAA Division II. His kickoff return touchdown last week was the first in the MIAA this season.
 
- Triggs went over 1,000 kickoff return yards for his career last week. He is 47 yards away from being second on Lindenwood's career list.
 
- Travis Spraul is seventh in the MIAA with 5.5 points a game. He is four-of-six on field-goal attempts, and has not missed on 21 PAT attempts this season.
 
- Michael Crowder is eighth in the conference with a 38.9 punting average. He is one of two punters without a touchback this year.
 
Team Notes
- Lindenwood will be on the road after the Emporia State contest as it travels to No. 1 Northwest Missouri. That game will be on Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. in Maryville, Mo.

Scouting The Hornets
- Emporia State opened the season ranked fourth in the NCAA Division II national ranking. It is currently 3-3, with two of the three losses coming in the final 20 seconds of the game.
 
- Emporia State leads the nation by having just three turnovers this season, with one interception and two fumbles.
 
- Braxton Miller is in the top-10 nationally with 315.5 passing yards a game. He has thrown 16 touchdowns and no interceptions this year.
 
- Justin Brown and Louis Dailey are both averaging over 77 receiving yards a game. The duo has combined for 11 receiving touchdowns in 2017.

- Landon Nault is the team's leading rusher. He has 67.7 rushing yards a game, and has scored six rushing touchdowns.
 
- Gabe Cleveland leads the defense with 62 tackles. Tre'Vaun Ammons leads the team with 5.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss.
 
- The Hornets have forced five turnovers this season. Logan Thompson has one of three interceptions, and he has also broken up two passes.
 
- Emporia State is first in the MIAA and fifth in the nation with a 39.89 net punting average. Justin Marcha is second nationally with a 45.4 punting average.