Coming off a thrilling seven-point PFL win at Davidson, Morehead State football turns its full attention toward the Homecoming game with visiting Valparaiso Saturday. Kickoff is at 2:05 p.m. ET.
The game can be seen live on ESPN+ and heard on the Eagle Sports Radio Network (WIVY-96.3 FM, WMST-106.9 FM and 1150 AM).
The Eagles will look to gain some ground in the PFL, sitting at 1-2 and 2-4 overall. Valparaiso got off the schneid last weekend with a 35-14 win over Butler to collect its first triumph. The Crusaders are 1-5 overall and 1-2 in the league.
QUOTING COACH TENYER
On momentum from the Davidson win
"It took us the full 60 minutes, and we made it little more difficult than it probably should have been. We played so hard, and anytime you go on the road it's a litle different environment. It was a great team effort and brought us closer as a unit."
On the parity in the PFL this year
"I think it's because of the great coaches in this league. Everyone kind of has their own brand, but there are some great coaches. Every school is recruiting at a high level right now. A lof of us are trying to compete for the same student-athletes."
On the matchup with Valparaiso
"They are what we call a 4-2 front on defense, and they play a little bit of 4-3 too. But it's not anything different than what we see against our defense or most other teams in the conference. We just have to put our players in a position to be successful, and that's what we're doing."
GAME NOTES
THE SERIES WITH VALPARAISO
Morehead State holds an 18-5 upperhand in the series with the Crusaders. Prior to last season, the Eagles had won 10 straight meetings in the series dating back to a 42-35 home loss in 2006. MSU has won five straight home games over Valparaiso. The last two games in the series played at Jayne Stadium have been decided by a total of four points.
MONKEY OFF OUR BACKS
Morehead State's 35-28 win at Davidson last Saturday broke an eight-game road losing skid, dating back to the final game of 2016 at Davidson as well.
THE LONE RANGER
Senior quarterback Lawson Page is the only quarterback in the Football Championship Subdivision to record multiple games with at least 200 yards passing and 100 yards rushing, accomplishing that feat in back-to-back games now. It's the third 200-100 game of his career.
RUNNING WILD
Morehead State's 422 rushing yards on Sep. 8 against Mount St. Joseph were the most team rushing yards since setting the school record with 478 against Austin Peay in 2000. Lawson Page owns three 100-yard rushing games now in 2018 and ranks second among PFL QBs in rushing yards per outing. He has 858 career rushing yards to lead all active players and boasts 4,623 career total offensive yards
MOVING ON UP
Senior quarterback Lawson Page is the 11th signal caller in program history to eclipse 3,000 career passing yards. He enters the weekend with 3,765 yards and 31 passing scores. Page is now ranked 10th in program history in career passing yards, needing 272 to move into ninth place.
RISING UP WHEN IT COUNTED
Morehead State's defense held Davidson, the nation's leading rushing team, to 264 yards last week. That was 124 yards below the Wildcats' season average.
JOVAN CAN RUN
Redshirt freshman running back Jovan Smith ranks seventh in the entire FCS among freshman rushers. He averages 68.7 yards per game with two 100-yard games to his credit. Smith also leads all PFL freshman with 6.8 yards per carry. The Louisville transfer had a career-best 21 carries for 127 yards and the game-winning 30-yard TD scamper at Davidson.
WE'RE GLAD FOSTER'S ON THE ROSTER
Sophomore punter/kicker Andrew Foster ranks ninth in the nation and leads the PFL, averaging 43.9 yards per punt. Foster's 73-yard bomb against San Diego tied for the longest Eagle punt since Greg Burke's 73-yarder in 1987. He also had a 71-yard blast against Mount St. Joseph and eight punts over 50 yards this season, including at least one 50+ one each game. Foster's 41-yarder was downed at the one-yard line last week, giving Davidson just 2:10 left in the game to try to drive 99 yards.
THROWING BBs
Freshman cornerback Brandon Barbee collected his first career interception at a crucial time last week, picking off Davidson's Tyler Phelps with 3:22 to go and MSU leading 35-28. He would have had two pickoffs in the game, also intercepting Phelps with 30 seconds left, but a penalty negated the second takeaway.
KANU SAY CLUTCH
Senior safety Sayyid Kanu came up with a career-best three pass breakups last weekend at Davidson, including one with two seconds left at the MSU two-yard line when the Wildcats were attempting to tie the game. Kanu also led the team with nine tackles. Kanu enters the Valpo game with 194 career tackles.
HIGGIE IS BACK
Senior wideout Jarin Higginbotham is back at full strength after missing the Austin Peay game. Just in the last two games, he leads the team with 151 yards on nine catches and has scored against San Diego and Davidson. He is now tied for seventh in career program history with 91 catches and needs just 34 more yards to move into seventh in career yards with 1,699.
NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE
Junior defensive end Vaughn Taylor, Jr., who transferred from FBS school Kansas, has moved into the starting lineup and has four tackles for loss, including two at Butler. He also leads the team with four quarterback hurries.
