PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University football team will travel to Kearney, Neb., Saturday (Oct. 24) to face MIAA rival University of Nebraska-Kearney.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (CDT).

Pittsburg State, the winningest all-time NCAA Division II program, is 4-3 on the season. The Gorillas will look to halt an uncharacteristic two-game losing streak against the Lopers. Pitt State dropped a 31-14 home decision to third-ranked Northwest Missouri State University last Saturday (Oct. 17). No. 18 Emporia State University beat Pitt State, 46-42, two weeks ago (Oct. 10).

The Gorillas slipped out of the most recent AFCA/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll following the back-to-back losses. Pitt State has lost consecutive regular season games just seven times in 243 games since joining the MIAA and NCAA Division II in 1989.

Nebraska-Kearney is 0-7 on the season.  The Lopers dropped a 28-10 decision to Lindenwood University at St. Charles, Mo., last Saturday (Oct. 17).

The Coaches
Tim Beck is in his sixth season as head coach at Pitt State with a 51-17 (.750) career record.  

Beck led his alma mater (PSU, '88) to the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship three seasons ago, 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.  In 2011, 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.

In 2012, the Gorillas opened the season 5-0 before finishing the year 7-3 overall, while in 2013 Pitt State posted the program's 20th all-time 10-win season during a 10-2 campaign.

Last year, the Gorillas shared the MIAA regular season title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA-II playoffs during an 11-2 campaign.

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).

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 second meeting vs. the Lopers.  He is 1-0 vs. Nebraska-Kearney.

UNK's Josh Lamberson is in his first season leading the Lopers, after serving for five seasons as offensive coordinator at MIAA rival Central Missouri.  Lamberson (NWMSU, 2006) is seeking his first coaching victory. This will be his first meeting vs. Pitt State.

The Pitt State – Nebraska-Kearney Series
This will be the 18th meeting between the Gorillas and the Lopers in a series that dates back to the 1974 season, but it will be just the third meeting between the two squads since 1988.

Pitt State holds a 10-7 edge in the series with a 6-3 mark in games played at Kearney.

The Gorillas and Lopers met for 15 consecutive years, between 1974-88, when they were conference foes in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (1974-75) and Central States Intercollegiate Conference (1976-88).

In the first meeting as MIAA adversaries, Ninth-ranked Pitt State overcame a 21-13 third quarter deficit to score the game's final 23 points and claim a 36-21 victory over upset-minded Nebraska-Kearney on Oct. 25 in Pittsburg.

Quarterback Anthony Abenoja passed for 377 yards, including a pair of second-half touchdown passes, to help lead the comeback for Pitt State.

UNK (2-6, 2-6 MIAA), which saw its modest two-game winning streak snapped in the contest, utilized big plays to make the Gorillas trail for 33 minutes, 31 seconds of play clock in the contest.

Gorillas on the Road
Pitt State has posted a 75-23-0 (.765) record in its last 98 road games (including post-season play).

The Gorillas posted a school and MIAA record 20 straight road wins between the 2010 and 2014 seasons before dropping a 24-21 overtime decision to Minnesota State in the second round of the NCAA-II playoffs on Nov. 29, 2014.

During the last 22 years (1994-pres.), the Gorillas are an equally impressive 86-25-1 (.772) on the road.

PSU's Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 279 of its last 331 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 279-50-2 (.846) mark during the past 31 seasons (1985-2015). PSU is 151-18-1 at home, 124-23-1 on the road and 4-9-0 at neutral sites in the regular season during that span.

All-Time Winningest Programs
Pittsburg State is the all-time winningest NCAA Division II football program.  The Gorillas, who are in their 108th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 688-336-48 overall record, winning 66.4 percent of their 1,072 all-time games.

Pittsburg State is one of just 20 NCAA Division II institutions to have recorded 500 all-time victories and the Gorillas are just one of five schools to have reached the 600-win plateau.  Tuskegee is second on the all-time list with 664 victories, followed by Hillsdale (613), Carson-Newman (610) and Central Oklahoma (604).

Nebraska-Kearney has a 526-318-27 (.619) record in 92 seasons. The Bearcats rank 18th in Division II in all-time victories.

Quick Strike Offense
The Pitt State offense has exhibited a penchant for being a "quick strike" unit.

During the last 11 seasons (2005-15), the Pitt State offense has generated 720 scoring drives (605 TDs, 115 FGs) and averaged just 2:53 of elapsed time per drive.

2005    97 scoring drives (86 TDs, 11 FGs)    2:40 elapsed time    2011    78 scoring drives (60 TDs, 18 FGs)    2:54 elapsed time
2006    79 scoring drives (72 TDs, 7 FGs)    2:14 elapsed time    2012    51 scoring drives (40 TDs, 11 FGs)    2:58 elapsed time
2007    64 scoring drives (55 TDs, 9 FGs)    3:02 elapsed time    2013    83 scoring drives (70 TDs, 13 FGs)    2:29 elapsed time
2008    69 scoring drives (61 TDs, 8 FGs)    3:23 elapsed time    2014    74 scoring drives (53 TDs, 21 FGs)    3:06 elapsed time
2009    49 scoring drives (44 TDs, 5 FGs)    3:21 elapsed time    2015    35 scoring drives (30 TDs, 5 FGs)    3:04 elapsed time
2010    41 scoring drives (34 TDs, 7 FGs)    3:04 elapsed time

The Gorillas have been highly successful when they are quick out of the gates.  Pitt State has scored on its opening drive 64 times (54 TDs, 10 FGs) in the last 128 games (including five of seven games this season), posting a 59-5 (.922) record in those games. By contrast, Pitt State is 35-29 (.547) in games it doesn't score on its opening drive during the same span.

LePage Makes First Start at Quarterback
Redshirt sophomore Thomas LePage made his first start at quarterback for the Gorillas last week against Northwest Missouri.

LePage completed 13 of 27 passes (.481) for 76 yards and a touchdown against the Bearcats. He was intercepted four times.  The Jefferson City, Mo., native also rushed the ball 14 times for 27 net yards with three quarterback sacks.

LePage ha s played in all seven games for the Gorillas.  For the season he has completed 14 of 33 passes (.424) for 85 yards and he's carried the ball 35 times for 43 yards. He completed four of seven passes (.571) for 28 yards with an interception in six games in 2014.

LePage was the first-team Missouri Class 6A All-State quarterback as a senior at Jefferson City High School in 2012, before signing with Pitt State.  He passed for 1,650 yards and 15 TDs and rushed for 628 yards and nine scores his senior season.

Cushon Joins 2,000-Yard Receiving Club
Pitt State senior wide receiver Marquise Cushon became just the fourth player in school history to eclipse 2,000 receiving yards last week.

The Kansas City, Mo., native has 116 career receptions for 2015 yards (17.4 ypc).  He has a team-leading 24 catches for 309 yards (12.9 ypc) on the season.

Cushon needs just 54 yards to pass Gavin Lutman for third place on the Gorillas' career receiving yards list. Lutman caught 130 passes for 2,068 yards between 2010-14. Cushon needs eight receptions to pass Ronnie West for third place on Pitt State's career receptions list. West caught 123 passes between 1990-91.

Seybold 12th in Career Rushing
Senior running back Jeff Seybold, Jr. ranks 12th on Pitt State's all-time rushing list.

The Lincoln, Neb., native has 411 career carries for 2,445 yards (5.95 ypc) and 28 touchdowns. He has rushed the ball 100 times for a team-leading 479 yards (4.8 ypc) and four scores this season.

Seybold needs 165 yards to pass Justin Johnson (1995-97, 2609 yds.) for 11th place and he needs 207 yards to crack the top 10 list and pass Joey Tobin (1989-93, 2651 yds.).

Seybold also needs one more rushing touchdown to break into the top 10 on that list. Mark Smith (2005-08) is 10th on the list with 29 TDs.

In addition to his rushing totals, Seybold has been a key receiving target for the Gorillas. He has 15 catches for 174 yards (11.6 ypc) and three TDs this season; and he's made 54 career receptions for 525 yards (9.7 ypc) and seven scores.

Washington Asserting Himself in PSU Secondary
For the third time in as many weeks, Pitt State junior safety Deron Washington posted a double digit tackle total for the Gorillas.

The Raymore, Mo., native made a game-high 12 stops (11 solo) against Emporia State on Oct. 10 after posting a then career-best 11 tackles vs. Missouri Western on Oct. 3. He made 10 stops vs. Northwest Missouri last Saturday.

Washington leads the squad with 64 tackles (39 solo) on the season. He also has made seven pass break-ups. Washington has made 190 tackles (99 solo) and 15 PBUs in 33 career games for the Gorillas.

Scouting the Lopers
Offensively, Nebraska-Kearney is averaging 11.9 points and 264.6 yards of total offense on the season, while the Lopers are surrendering 31.7 points and 401.1 total yards per game.

Senior quarterback Bronson Marsh has completed 68 of 161 passes (.422) for 872 yards (145.3 ypg) and five TDs with six INTs.  He also has rushed the ball 87 times for 204 net yards (2.3 ypc) and one score. Marsh was sidelined in the last game against Lindenwood.

Senior quarterback Tyler McKeone, making his third career start, completed 10 of 14 passes for 84 yards and a TD against the Lions.

Senior running back Romero Cotton has carried the ball 86 times for 295 yards (3.4 ypc) and one scores.

Senior wide receiver Cougar Williams has a team-leading 24 catches for 351 yards (14.6 ypc) and one TD. Sophomore Tityus Mitchell also has 15 grabs for 177 yards (11.8 ypc) and three scores, while junior Preston Foley has eight catches for 175 yards (21.9 ypc) and two TDs.

Junior linebacker Tyke Kozeal has made a team-leading 100 tackles (42 solo) with 8.0 tackles-for-loss, 2.0 quarterback sacks and two PBUs, while junior defensive end Dexter Becker has made 26 tackles (12 solo) with 6.0 TFLs and 3.5 QB sacks.

Sophomore place kicker Brendan Wentling has converted two of six (.333) field goals, while junior Payton Fluckey has punted 43 times for a 36.0-yard average with 11 kicks inside the opponent 20 yard line.