WATCH: St. Andrews Live Stream
LISTEN: 1075FM EKB with Joe Kinzer on play-by-play
LIVE STATS: NAIA DakStats
IN-GAME UPDATES: Twitter | Instagram
GAME NOTES: UPIKE at St. Andrews
THE MATCHUP: These are two different teams meeting on Saturday. UPIKE has thrown for 841 yards and ran for 378 while the Knights have 762 rushing yards and just 245 through the air. Accuracy is one thing holding back the Knight's passing attack. Even with attempting over 90 less passes than the Bears, St. Andrews still has thrown more interceptions at 5-4. One area of concern and element to watch for both teams are third-down conversions where UPIKE is just 15 of 49 (30.6%) and St. Andrews is worse at 11 for 44 (25%).
THREE WINS TO A RECORD: Allan Holland Jr., is the longest tenured head coach in program history with this being his fourth season. Three wins is all that stands between him becoming the winningest coach in program history as well. Jerry Mynatt went 19-12 from 2003-05.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS: The Knights will be playing their third straight game at home on Saturday, with the most recent being a 38-20 loss to Faulkner last weekend. St. Andrews' lone win came the week before when the first-year program topped second-year program Cincinnati Christian 48-25. The Knights have been a part of drastically different types of games, losing 43-7 at Lindsey Wilson in the program's first game before dropping a 3-0 decision at Webber International the next week.
St. Andrews is a team built on defense as it ranked 22nd nationally in allowing 340.8 yards per game while also tallying an NAIA 10th-best 3.4 sacks per contest. When it needs offense, St. Andrews primarily keeps the ball on the ground where it runs for nearly 200 yards per game. Through four games, the Knights haven't thrown more than 11 passes, including putting it in the air just three times with one completion at Lindsey Wilson.
UPIKE IN THE NAIA: The Bears ranks 67th in total offense at 304.8 yards per game and 49th in total defense, allowing 392.5 yards. Stopping the run is what UPIKE does best, allowing an NAIA 26th-lowest 133 yards per contest. Penalties have hurt the Bears at tmes, ranking ninth nationally with 95 yards of flags called per game, but the Bears' punting game has helped with field position at the 41 yards per attempt are the 11th most nationally.
Individually, Romon Morris is third in the NAIA with three interceptions, Taeron Brown is 31st in tackles per game at 8.8 and Arites Clark 39th in total receiving yards, hauling in 280.
THE SCHEDULE AHEAD: This game marks the start of Mid-South Conference Appalachian Division play for UPIKE, which will continue for the next four weeks. Of those games, one is at Cumberlands which is receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 on Oct. 14 and another is at home against third-ranked Reinhardt on Oct. 28.
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