PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University football team will return to the friendly confines of Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium Saturday (Oct. 31) to host MIAA rival Missouri Southern State University.

Kickoff is set for 2:04 p.m. (CDT) with the action to be broadcast online on ESPN3 at http://es.pn/1GG61u1 as the NCAA Division II Game of the Week. 

Pittsburg State, the winningest all-time NCAA Division II program, is 5-3 on the season. The Gorillas posted a 24-19 road win over the University of Nebraska-Kearney in their last action on Oct. 24. The Gorillas are seeking their 200th all-time MIAA victory against the Lions.

Missouri Southern is 1-7 on the season.  The Lions have lost four straight games, including a 34-30 home decision against Lindenwood University last Saturday (Oct. 24) at Joplin, Mo.

Hall of Fame Ceremonies
Pittsburg State University will induct 11 new members into its Athletics Hall of Fame Friday evening (Oct. 30). The group will be honored during enshrinement cermonies at 6:30 p.m. at the Crimson & Gold Ballroom in the Overman Student Center and recognized at halftime of the Gorillas game against Missouri Southern.

The Hall of Fame class includes former football players Marvin Ackerson (1954-56), Paul Schleicher (1956-59) and Matt Howard (1998-2001), former volleyball players Gloria Ilariogun (2000-03) and Dina (Wathan) Blevins (2000-03), former men's basketball player Ed Cain (1955-56),  former track & field athlete James McCarty (1994-97) and the 1963 Mile Relay Team comprised of Jerry Brown, Steve Ireland, Bill Leaphart and David Palmer.

The Coaches
Tim Beck is in his sixth season as head coach at Pitt State with a 52-17 (.754) 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 sixth meeting vs. the Lions.  He is 4-1 vs. Missouri Southern.

Denver Johnson is in his first season directing the Lions program after serving four years at assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at the University of Tulsa. Johnson (Tulsa, '81) has 13 years of experience as a head coach, including three years at Murray State (1997-99) and nine seasons at Illinois State (2000-08). He has a 70-73 (.490) career record, including a 1-7 mark this season at Southern. This will be his first meeting vs. Pitt State.

The Pitt State – MSSU Series
This will be the 48th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the Lions in a series that dates back to the 1968 season – Southern's first year as a four-year school. Pitt State holds a commanding 37-9-1 advantage in the series.

The Gorillas are 19-3-1 vs. the Lions in Pittsburg and 18-6-0 vs. the Lions at Joplin.

Last year, seventh-ranked Pitt State scored 41 unanswered points after an early 3-0 deficit and rolled to a 41-10 victory over Missouri Southern on Nov. 1.

The Gorillas claimed their fifth straight victory, while snapping the Lions two-game win streak. A modest crowd of 6,978 fans took in the contest at Fred G. Hughes Stadium.

Quarterback Anthony Abenoja passed for 267 yards and three touchdowns, including a pair of scoring strikes to wide receiver Gavin Lutman. Backup quarterback Ramsey Hamilton also rushed for a pair of scores and place kicker Connor Frazell booted a pair of first-half field goals.

Safety Jason Peete registered a pair of interceptions against Southern's Scott Lathrop.

The Miner's Bowl Match-Up
While Pitt State and Southern have played every year since 1968, the two teams began competing for the Miner's Bowl Trophy in 1986.

While the series has produced its share of close contests and memorable moments, the Gorillas have dominated the series, winning 27 of the 29 meetings. All told, Pitt State has averaged a 35-14 victory in the 29 meetings.

The clash always brings out the area fans. The Miner's Bowl game has averaged 8,242 fans in the last 20 meetings – 8,725 fans the last seven times the game has been played in Pittsburg.

Gorillas at Home
Pitt State holds a 342-124-12 (.728) record in 478 games inside Carnie Smith Stadium (including postseason). The Gorillas have won 142 of their last 161 regular season home games, posting a 142-18-1 record (.885) over the last 31 seasons.

Southern is 10-23 (.303) in its last 33 road games dating back to the 2009 season, including an 0-4 record in road games this season.

PSU's Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 280 of its last 332 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 280-50-2 (.846) mark during the past 31 seasons (1985-2015). PSU is 151-18-1 at home, 125-23-1 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 689-336-48 overall record, winning 66.4 percent of their 1,073 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 665 victories, followed by Hillsdale (614), Carson-Newman (611) and Central Oklahoma (605).

Missouri Southern has a 238-248-7 (.490) record in 48 seasons of intercollegiate play.

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 724 scoring drives (608 TDs, 116 FGs) and averaged just 2:52 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    39 scoring drives (33 TDs, 6 FGs)    2:55 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 129 games (including five of eight games this season), posting a 59-5 (.922) record in those games. By contrast, Pitt State is 36-29 (.554) in games it doesn't score on its opening drive during the same span.

LePage Assumes Starting Quarterback Role
Redshirt sophomore Thomas LePage has started the last two games at quarterback for the Gorillas after freshman John Roderique, Jr. suffered a season-ending leg injury.

LePage has played in seven games for the Gorillas.  For the season he has completed 19 of 47 passes (.404) for 121 yards and one touchdown; and he's carried the ball 51 times for 85 net yards and one TD. 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 (Mo.) 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.

Roderique completed 94 of 157 passes (.599) for 1,264 yards (210.7 ypc) and nine TDs in six games for the Gorillas.  He also carried the ball 80 times for 466 yards (5.8 ypc, 77.7 ypc) and nine scores. Roderique, a Webb City, Mo., native transferred to Pitt State in January after two seasons at FCS member Sam Houston State University where he redshirted in 2013 and did not use any eligibility in 2014.

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 on Oct. 10.

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 424 career carries for 2,494 yards (5.88 ypc) and 29 touchdowns. He has rushed the ball 113 times for a team-leading 528 yards (4.7 ypc) and five scores this season.
Seybold needs 116 yards to pass Justin Johnson (1995-97, 2609 yds.) for 11th place and he needs 158 yards to crack the top 10 list and pass Joey Tobin (1989-93, 2651 yds.).

With his TD vs. UNK, Seybold broke into the top 10 on the career rushing touchdown list. He is tied with Mark Smith (2005-08) for 10th place on the list with 29 TDs.

In addition to his rushing totals, Seybold has been a key receiving target for the Gorillas. He has 16 catches for 174 yards (10.9 ypc) and three TDs this season; and he's made 55 career receptions for 525 yards (9.5 ypc) and seven scores.

Wilson Continues to Assert Himself
Junior defensive end Heath Wilson continues to assert himself up front on the the Pitt State defense.

The Wagoner, Okla., native made five tackles with a QB sack against Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday. For the season, Wilson had made 33 stops (17 solo) with a team-leading 9.5 tackles-for-loss and 6.0 quarterback sacks.

Wilson, a first-team All-MIAA and honorable mention All-America selection as a sophomore in 2014, has made 110 tackles with 27.0 tackles-for-loss and 15.0 quarterback sacks in 33 career games for the Gorillas.

Scouting the Lions
Offensively, Missouri Southern is averaging 19.2 points and 339.6 yards of total offense on the season, while the Lions are surrendering 37.6 points and 471.4 total yards per game.

Sophomore quarterback T.J. Feeton has started five of eight games, completing 98 of 198 passes (.521) for 1,135 yards and four TDs with seven INTs.

Senior running back Will Gregory has carried the ball a team-leading 129 times for 546 yards (4.2 ypc) and four scores.

Junior wide receiver Terell Crawford has made a team-leading 39 catches for 432 yards (11.1 ypc) and three scores, while junior wide receiver Chad Nolan has 16 catches for 381 yards (23.8 ypc) and four TDs.

Senior linebacker Kyjuan Tate has made a team-leading 80 tackles (25 solo) with 5.5 tackles-for-loss, 2.5 quarterback sack and two forced fumbles, while junior cornerback Ricky Green has made 45 tackles (25 solo), four interceptions and nine pass breakups.

Sophomore Brock Renken has converted seven of 12 (.583) field goal attempts, while junior Stetson Broce has punted 49 times for a 38.9-yard average with nine kicks inside the opponent 20 yard line.36.0-yard average with 11 kicks inside the opponent 20 yard line.