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Game Day Central
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Game Preview
PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University football team, the No. 1 ranked team in NCAA Division II and the defending national champion, will return to Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium to face the University of Central Missouri in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association play Saturdday (Oct. 6).

Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (CDT).

Pittsburg State, the winningest all-time NCAA Division II program, enters Saturday’s action off a bye week.  The top-ranked Gorillas rolled to a 59-17 home victory over Lincoln University in their most recent action on Sept. 29. The Gorillas, who have won nine straight games dating back to the 2011 campaign, improved to 4-0 on the season with the victory over the Blue Tigers.

Central Missouri is 4-1 overall and 4-1 in MIAA play to date.  The Mules posted a 35-10 home win over Missouri Southern in their last action Saturday (Sept. 29).  UCM has won four straight games since a season-opening road loss to No. 18 Missouri Western.

The Coaches
Tim Beck is his third season as head coach at Pitt State. Beck, who has compiled a 23-7 (.767) career record, led his alma mater (PSU, ’88) to the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship, earning national coach of the year honors from Liberty Mutual, the Don Hansen Football Committee and FieldTurf™.

Beck became the school’s 14th all-time head football coach in December 2009, after serving for 23 seasons as an assistant coach for the Gorillas including 16 years as the team’s offensive coordinator from 1994-2009.

In his first season leading the Gorillas, Beck guided Pitt State to a 6-6 record and a victory in the 2010 Mineral Water Bowl.  Last year, Beck led the Gorillas to the program’s second NCAA national championship and the school’s fourth national title overall in a 13-1 campaign. Pitt State captured the MIAA Championship and ultimately the NCAA-II National Championship with a 35-21 victory over Wayne (Mich.) State on Dec. 17, 2011.

During his 16 seasons as offensive coordinator, the Gorilla offense consistently ranked among the finest units in NCAA Division II.
In 2008, Beck was selected the inaugural NCAA Division II Coordinator of the Year by FootballScoop.com, following a vote of his coaching peers.

In 2004, Beck’s offensive unit established itself as the most prolific squad in the history of NCAA football.  PSU shattered a 118-year-old scoring record, scoring an amazing 837 points (55.8 ppg).  His squad also set the NCAA all division records for rushing (5,320 yards) and total offense (8,976 yards).

Beck’s teams led Division II in scoring in two of the last six years (2004, 2006) and ranked in the top two nationally in total offense three times in the last six seasons (2004, 2005, 2006).  His squads ranked among the national rushing leaders every season, leading Division II in 1995 (318.8 ypg) and 2004 (354.7 ypg).  Beck’s “multiple choice” option attack also compiled 16,483 passing yards (216.9 ypg) and 143 aerial touchdowns during the last six years.

Pitt State averaged a staggering 38.8 points and 442.5 yards of total offense per game during his tenure as offensive coordinator.

Prior to assuming the offensive coordinator’s role, Beck served two years as Pitt State’s defensive coordinator (1992-93).  He became a full-time assistant on the Pitt State staff in 1989, after serving first as a student assistant (1987) and then as a graduate assistant (1988).

This will be Beck’s third meeting vs. the Mules. He is 1-1 vs. UCM.

Central Missouri’s Jim Svoboda begins his third season directing the Mules program and his ninth year as a collegiate head coach.
Svoboda (Northwestern, Iowa, 1983) has a 23-8 (.742) record at UCM and a 75-27 (.735) career mark in nine seasons as collegiate head coach.  Svoboda came to UCM after three seasons as assistant head coach at Division I-FCS Montana State.

Prior to that, he served as quarterbacks coach at UCLA from 2004-06 and offensive coordinator at MIAA rival NW Missouri State from 1994-2003.  He served as head coach at NAIA member Nebraska Wesleyan from 1987-93, compiling a 52-19 record.
Svoboda is 1-1 vs. Pitt State.

The Pitt State-Central Missouri Series
This will be the 50th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and Mules in a series that dates all the way back to the 1916 season.  Pitt State holds a decided 39-8-2 (.816) advantage in the series, including a 19-5-0 record against UCM in Pittsburg.

The Gorillas have defeated the Mules in 13 of the last 15 meetings in “The Pitt”, but UCM did score a 37-20 victory the last time out in Pittsburg on Sept. 18, 2010.

Last year, quarterback Zac Dickey accounted for four touchdowns – two rushing and two passing – as No. 4 Pitt State claimed a 38-17 road win over UCM at Warrensburg, Mo., on Oct. 22, 2011.

Gorillas in “the Pitt”
The Gorillas have compiled a 331-118-12 (.750) record at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium since the facility opened in 1924.

The Gorillas are 163-18-1 (.898) at home during the past 28 seasons (1985-2012). Pitt State is 141-12-1 (.919) in 154 regular season home games and 22-6 (.786) in 28  post-season home games during that span.

PSU’s Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 253 of its last 296 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 253-41-2 (.858) mark during the past 28 seasons (1985-2012).
PSU is 141-12-1 at home, 107-22-1 on the road and 4-7-0 at neutral sites in the regular season during that span.

Pitt State in the AFCA Top 25 Poll
Pitt State has been ranked in Division II’s top 10 95 times in the last 171 polls and the Gorillas have been ranked in the top 25 poll in 147 of 171 weeks overall (dating back to the 1999 season).

Pitt State snapped an uncharacteristic streak of 22 weeks outside the top 25 when the Gorillas debuted at No. 25 in the first regular season poll of the 2011 season.  PSU finished the 2011 season ranked No. 1 in the country and the Gorillas have been ranked No. 1 in the first six polls of 2012.

The Gorillas had been ranked among the top 25 teams in the AFCA Top 25 Poll for 106 consecutive weeks, including preseason and final polls, before falling from the national list for the first time on Nov. 6, 2007. Pitt State was the only Division II program to be ranked in all 106 polls since the AFCA began administering the Top 25 poll in 1999.

Bye, Bye Bye Week
Pitt State come off a bye week to face an opponent for just the seventh time since the Gorillas joined the MIAA and NCAA Division II 23 years ago in 1989 this Saturday against UCM.

The Gorillas are 4-2 in those games, with a 2-2 record in regular season play.

Last year, Pitt State dropped a 43-25 decision to Washburn on Nov. 5, 2011, after sitting idle the week before.  The Gorillas defeated UCM, 38-17, in their previous action on Oct. 22.

Prior to that contest, the last time Pitt State had a regular season bye – the Gorillas posted NCAA second-round wins over Washburn (31-22) in 2011 and Colorado Mines (70-35) in 2004 – was during the 1997 campaign.  That year, PSU defeated Emporia State, 32-22, on Sept. 20 after sitting idle for three weeks following a season-opening 9-8 win over FCS member Missouri State on Aug. 28.

Bye Week Breakdown
Date,         Opponent                Result             Date,         Previous Game                 Result
9/18/93,     @Mo. Southern        L, 3-20            9/4/93,       @North Dakota State         L, 16-35
9/21/96,     @Central Missouri   W, 14-12         9/7/96,       @Eastern Illinois                 L, 31-41
9/20/97,     vs. Emporia State    W, 32-22         8/28/97,     @Missouri State                 W, 9-8
11/20/04,   vs. Colo. Mines $     W, 70-35       11/6/04,        vs. NW Missouri State       W, 21-17
11/5/11,     vs. Washburn           L, 25-43        10/22/11,     @Central Missouri              W, 38-17
11/26/11,   vs. Washburn $        W, 31-22       11/12/11,      vs. Missouri Southern        W, 51-28

$=playoff game

Ground Game PSU’s Bread and Butter…
Pitt State’s success can be directly linked to its ability to rush the football.

Since the 1986 season, PSU has rushed for 200-plus yards in 275 of 325 overall games.  The Gorillas have posted a 244-30-1 (.889) record when they eclipse 200 yards rushing.  Pitt State is an even more impressive 134-6-0 (.957) when it eclipses 300 yards rushing.

By contrast, PSU is just 21-28-1 (.430) in the handful of games when it has been held below 200 yards rushing.

Since 1986, PSU has rushed the ball for the highest yardage total among all NCAA Division II programs, with 93,953 yards (including postseason competition) for an average of 289.1 yards per game.

… But Don’t Overlook PSU Passing Attack
While it’s no secret Pitt State’s offensive success has been predicated on running the football, the Gorillas have unleashed a potent passing attack to compliment their stalwart running game.

Since the start of the 2004 season, the Gorillas have passed for 19,250 yards and 161 TDs, averaging 200.5 passing yards and 1.7 touchdown passes per game in the last 96 outings.

Pitt State opened the 2012 campaign by passing for 378 yards, the eighth-best team total in school history and the Gorillas currently rank 21st nationally averaging 292.3 passing yards per game to date.

QUICK STRIKE OFFENSE
The Pitt State offense has exhibited a penchant for being a “quick strike” unit.

During the last eight seasons (2005-12), the Pitt State offense has generated 504 scoring drives (433 TDs, 71 FGs) and averaged just 2:53 of elapsed time per drive. [Overtime scoring drives not included in elapsed time figures.]

2005    97 scoring drives (86 TDs, 11 FGs)  2:40 elapsed time   
2006    79 scoring drives (72 TDs, 7 FGs)    2:14 elapsed time   
2007    64 scoring drives (55 TDs, 9 FGs)    3:02 elapsed time   
2008    69 scoring drives (61 TDs, 8 FGs)    3:23 elapsed time   
2009    49 scoring drives (44 TDs, 5 FGs)    3:21 elapsed time
2010    41 scoring drives (34 TDs, 7 FGs)    3:04 elapsed time
2011    78 scoring drives (60 TDs, 18 FGs)  2:54 elapsed time
2012    27 scoring drives (21 TDs, 6 FGs)    2:36 elapsed time

The Gorillas have been highly successful when they are quick out of the gates.  Pitt State has scored on its opening drive 44 times (37 TDs, 7 FGs) in the last 91 games, posting a 42-2 (.955) record in those games. By contrast, Pitt State is 25-22 (.532) in games it doesn’t score on its opening drive during the same span.

Pitt State Displays Prolific Offense
The Pitt State offense has asserted itself as one of the top units in NCAA Division II the past nine seasons (2004-12).

Pitt State’s high octane “multiple choice” offense ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 nationally in both scoring and total offense in three of the last seven seasons.

In 2004, PSU staked its claim as the most prolific offense in the history of NCAA football, leading Division II in scoring (55.8 ppg), rushing (354.7 ypg) and total offense (598.4 ypg).

Pitt State broke the NCAA’s 118-year-old all-time all division scoring record with 837 points, besting the old mark of 765 points set by Harvard in 1886.  The Gorillas also broke the all-time NCAA all division records for rushing (5,320 yards) and total offense (8,976 yards) in 2004.

Oklahoma set the previous rushing record (5,196 yards) in 1971, and Texas Tech held the previous total offense mark (7,576 yards) in 2003.

In 2005, Pitt State ranked second nationally in scoring and total offense, averaging 46.8 points and 536.0 total yards per game.  The Gorillas also ranked seventh nationally in rushing, averaging 295.2 yards a game.

In 2006, Pitt State led NCAA Division II in scoring and ranked No. 2 nationally in total offense, averaging 44.8 points and 454.8 total yards per game in 2006.

In 2007, the Gorillas ranked 21st nationally in scoring and 19th nationally in total offense, averaging 37.4 points and 454.2 total yards per game. In 2008, Pitt State ranked 18th nationally in scoring (35.5 ppg) and 21st in the nation in total offense (432.6 ypg).

In 2009, the Pitt State offense averaged 29.4 points and 434.4 total yards per game, while the Gorillas averaged 22.8 points and 357.7 total yards per game in 2010.

In 2011, the Gorillas ranked sixth nationally in scoring (40.2 ppg) and 19th in the country in total offense (448.5 ypg).

The Gorillas currently rank sixth nationally in scoring (46.5 ppg) and 17th in the country in total offense (471.5 ypg).

Pitt State All-Time Winningest Division II Program
Pittsburg State is the all-time winningest NCAA Division II football program.  The Gorillas, who are in their 105th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 659-326-48 overall record, winning 66.1 percent of their 1,033 all-time games.

Pittsburg State is one of just 17 NCAA Division II institutions to have recorded 500 all-time victories and the Gorillas are just one of two schools to have reached the 600-win plateau.  Tuskegee is second on the all-time list with 632 victories, followed by Hillsdale (598), Central Oklahoma (590) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (583).

      Team                          Wins
  1. Pittsburg State             660

  2. Tuskegee                     632
  3. Hillsdale                       599
  4. Central Oklahoma        591
  5. Texas A&M-Kingsville  583

(Includes games as NAIA members)

Abenoja, Brown Rank Among National Leaders
Sophomore quarterback Anthony Abenoja and junior wide receiver/return specialist John Brown each rank among the NCAA Division II national leaders in several statistical leaders after three weeks of play.

Abenoja (6-3, 218) enters Saturday’s action against Lincoln ranked 12th nationally in total offense (328.3 ypg), 15th nationally in passing yards (311.0 ypg) and 17th in the country in passing efficiency (164.39 rating).

The Overland Park, Kan., native has completed 64 of 95 passes (.674) for 933 yards and six touchdowns with three interceptions.  He’s also carried the ball 24 times for 52 yards (2.2 ypc) and two scores.

Abenoja earned MIAA Offensive Player of the Week honors in his first career start vs. Northeastern State on Aug. 30 when he completed 26 of 36 passes for a school record 378 yards and two TDs.

Brown (5-11, 171) enters Saturday’s contest leading Division II in all-purpose yards (263.7 ypg).  He also ranks 17th nationally in receptions (7.3 pg) and fifth in the country in receiving yards (128.7 ypg).  In special teams play, the Homestead, Fla., native ranks 12th nationally in punt returns (17.5ypr) and 23rd nationally in kickoff returns (27.7 ypr).

Brown earned MIAA Special Teams Player of the Week honors against NSU when he totaled 270 all-purpose yards against the River Hawks.

He followed that up with a 312-yard performance against UCO, just missing the top five all-time all-purpose yard games in school history.

Brown climbed into fourth place on Pitt State’s career receiving chart with his 119-yard effort against SBU on Sept. 15.  He now has 83 career catches for 1,602 yards (19.3 ypc), and he needs 70 receiving yards pass Jermaine Carpenter for third place on the list.

PSU Single Game Passing    C-A    TDs    Yards    Opponent, Date
    1.    Anthony Abenoja          26-36    2        378        @ Northeastern State, Aug. 30, 2012
    2.    Andy Majors                 20-28    2        358        @ Southwest Baptist, Oct. 15, 2005
    3.    Andy Majors                 23-49    2        334        vs. Delta State, Aug. 27, 2005

PSU Career Receiving                            Rec    Yards
    1.    Ronnie West, 1990-91                    123    2521
    2.    Gene Wayenberg, Jr., 1980-81         75    1827
    3.    Jermaine Carpenter, 2003-04           69     1671
    4.    John Brown, 2011-pr.                        83    1602

Dreiling eclipses 300 career tackles
Junior linebacker Nate Dreiling climbed to sixth place on Pitt State’s career tackle charts after making seven stops against Southwest Baptist on Sept. 15.
Dreiling (6-4, 229) has posted double-digit tackles in 20 of 30 career games for the Gorillas.

The Hutchinson/Victoria, Kan., native now has 326 career tackles. He needs 34 stops to move past Andrew Poling (1996-99) for fifth place on PSU’s all-time tackles chart.
Dreiling also recorded his 10th career interception against the Bearcats.

PSU Career Tackles                    Total
    1.    Chris Brown, 1992-95        470

    5.    Andrew Poling, 1996-99    359
    6.    Nate Dreiling, 2011-pr.       326

Odds & Ends
    •    The Pitt State defense has registered two or more interceptions in
        seven of its last nine games and the Gorillas have registered 2+
        INTs in 11 of the last 18 contests dating back to the start of the
        2011 season.
    •    Pitt State has displayed a balanced offensive attack.  The Gorillas
        have run the ball 59 percent of the time (168 attempts), while
        passing the ball 41 percent of the time (116 attempts).

Scouting the Mules
Offensively, the Mules are averaging 33.0 points and 421.6 total yards per game this season, generating 298.8 yards through the air and 122.8 yards per game on the ground.

Central Missouri led 14-10 over Missouri Southern last week after the first quarter. Then, the Mules rattled off 21 unanswered points for a 35-10 victory over the Lions at Warrensburg.

Sophomore running back LaVance Taylor has carried the ball 79 times for 422 (84.4 ypg) yards through the first five games, ranking fifth in the MIAA in rushing

Senior quarterback Colter Smith (6-5, 240) has completed 120 of 185 (.649) passes for 1381 yards with 11 TDs and nine INTs this season.  Smith ranks third in the MIAA and 25th nationally in total offense (292.4 ypg). He ranks third in the league in passing yards (276.2 ypg).

Junior wide receiver Ronrei Lloyd has been Smith’s favorite target. He has hauled in 29 catches for 475 yards (95.0 ypg) and four touchdowns.

Senior linebacker Joe Carter (6-1, 215) leads the Mule defense with 37 tackles, three tackles for loss and one interception.

Senior defensive end Latavious Davis (6-3, 250) has recorded a team high 8.5 tackles-for-loss and 6.0 sacks.  Davis leads the MIAA in QB sacks and is tied for second in the league in TFLs.