PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University football team will make its 2021 home debut Saturday (Sept. 11) when the Gorillas play host to MIAA rival University of Nebraska-Kearney. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (CDT) at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.

The Gorillas opened the 2021 campaign with a 35-16 road victory over preseason No. 13 ranked University of Central Missouri last Thursday (Sept. 2). Redshirt sophomore quarterback Mak Sexton passed for four touchdowns and rushed for a fifth score in the victory.

The win helped Pitt State debut at No. 23 in this week's American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division II Top 25 poll.

The Gorillas, one of only 10 NCAA Division II football schools to play a limited schedule last fall due to the Covid-19 pandemic, posted a 2-2 record in 2020.

Nebraska-Kearney is 1-0 on the young season after claiming a 38-0 shutout over Missouri Southern State University in its 2021 season opener at Kearney, Neb. on Sept. 2. Redshirt junior quarterback T.J. Davis rushed for a game-high 149 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Lopers potent offensive attack.

UNK posted a 2-0 record while playing an abbreviated schedule in 2020, including a 31-26 season opening victory over the Gorillas in Pittsburg on Oct. 31, 2020.

The Coaches
Brian Wright is in his second season as head coach at Pittsburg State.

He was hired as the program's 15th all-time head coach on December 7, 2019. Wright led the Gorillas to a 2-2 record during the abbreviated 2020 season. He has a 7-2 record as a collegiate head coach.

Wright came to Pitt State after serving the past four seasons as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Toledo.

In his four seasons with the Rockets, Wright helped guide offenses that have been among the best in the Mid-American Conference while boasting four NFL draft picks.

Prior to coming to Toledo, Wright coached at Florida Atlantic for four seasons as the Owls' offensive coordinator. He stepped in as interim head coach for the final four games of the 2013 season, leading the Owls to four consecutive victories and bowl eligibility (6-6) for the first time since 2008.

Prior to his stint at Florida Atlantic, Wright spent two seasons at Montana State as the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach.

Before heading west to Montana State, Wright served nine years at perennial FCS power Youngstown State.

Wright joined the Penguins' staff in 2001 as quarterbacks coach, also working as offensive coordinator from 2005-09. He began his collegiate coaching career at Walsh (Ohio) University as a graduate assistant in 1995-96.

After a year as a graduate assistant at YSU in which the Penguins won the NCAA Division I-AA national title, Wright returned to Walsh in 1998 and served until 2000. 

Saturday's action will mark Wright's second match-up against UNK. He is 0-1 vs. the Lopers.

Josh Lynn is in his fifth season as head coach at UNK and his ninth year as a collegiate head coach. Lynn has an 18-19 (.486) record in his short tenure leading the Lopers and a 45-44 (.506) overall mark.

Lynn (E. New Mexico, 2000) posted a 27-25 record in five seasons leading his alma mater, Eastern New Mexico (2012-16).  This will be his fifth meeting vs. Pitt State. He is 1-3 against the Gorillas.

The Pitt State - Nebraska-Kearney Series
This will be the 24th meeting between the Gorillas and the Lopers in a series that dates back to the 1974 season, but it will be just the ninth meeting between the two squads since 1988.

Pitt State holds a 15-8 edge in the series, but UNK snapped a 12-game winning streak by the Gorillas in the series with a 31-26 win on Oct. 31, 2020 in Pittsburg.

The Lopers built an 11-point fourth quarter lead then held off a furious Pitt State comeback bid down the stretch last year.

Quarterback Mak Sexton tossed a 31-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Christian Carter for the game's final margin with 1:47 to play in the game.

The Gorillas thought they recovered the ensuing onside kickoff attempt, but the Lopers (1-0) were credited with a timeout just prior to the onside attempt. One play later, UNK running back Dayton Sealey was hit by Pitt State linebacker Luke Jennings at the PSU 40 and Jennings recovered the ball with 1:42 remaining to give the Gorillas a final possession on offense.

Sexton, who passed for a career high 398 yards and three touchdowns in the contest, led Pitt State down the field. He completed strikes of 13 yards to tight end Devon Garrison and nine yards to wide receiver Dylan White, before running back Tyler Adkins broke loose for a 17-yard gain on a 3rd-and-one play down to the UNK 21. Sexton, who finished the game 25 of 46 passing, wasn't able to connect on the final four pass attempts and the Lopers held the Gorillas on downs with 44 seconds remaining.

All-Time Winningest Programs
Pittsburg State is the all-time winningest NCAA Division II football program. The Gorillas, who are entering their 114th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 722-356-48 overall record, winning 66.3 percent of their 1,126 all-time games.

Pittsburg State is one of just seven NCAA Division II institutions to have recorded 600 all-time victories and the Gorillas became just the 33rd program – the first Division II institution – across all levels of college football to reach the 700-win plateau. The Gorillas rank 30th among all college football programs in all-time victories.

Tuskegee is second on the Division II all-time list with 696 victories, followed by Hillsdale (647), Carson-Newman (643) and Central Oklahoma (639).

UNK has a 545-351-27 (.605) record in 99 seasons of intercollegiate play.

Gorillas at Home
Pitt State holds a 356-135-12 (.720) record in 503 games inside Carnie Smith Stadium (including postseason). The Gorillas have won 156 of their last 186 regular season home games, posting a 156-29-1 record (.841) over the last 36 seasons. 

UNK has posted a 9-9 (.500) road record during the past four seasons under head coach Josh Lynn.

PSU's Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 312 of its last 384 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 312-70-2 (.815) mark during the past 37 seasons (1985-2021). PSU is 165-29-1 at home, 143-31-1 on the road and 4-10-0 at neutral sites in the regular season during that span.

Scouting the Gorillas
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Mak Sexton garnered MIAA Offensive Player of the Week honors for his play in Pitt State's season opener against No. 13 Central Missouri.

Sexton (6-1, 206) had a hand in all five Pitt State touchdowns against No. 13 Central Missouri last Thursday (Sept. 2).

Sexton, making his sixth career start, passed for 232 yards and four touchdowns and added a seven-yard scoring jaunt in the contest. He has passed for 2,935 yards and 25 touchdowns in 16 career games.

Senior defensive end Kaden Roy (6-5, 245) made seven tackles, including 1.0 tackle-for-loss, and a pass break-up in the win against the Mules.

The Webb City, Mo., native has made 131 career tackles (69 solo) and 9.5 tackles-for-loss in 39 career games for the Gorillas.

Roy made a team-leading 86 tackles (42 solo) with 7.0 tackles-for-loss as a junior in 2019.

Senior cornerback Dallis Flowers (6-2, 190) recorded an interception and a pass break-up in his Pitt State debut last Thursday vs. UCM.

Flowers, a graduate transfer, joined the Gorillas in August after earning NAIA All-America honors the past two seasons (2019-20) at Grand View University.

The Chicago native made 33 tackles and five interceptions in 2019; and he helped the Huskies to a pair of conference titles.

Senior running back Tucker Horak posted his second career 100-yard rushing game when he carried the ball 17 times for a team-leading 126 yards against UCM.

The Rossville, Kan., native has rushed the ball 265 times for 1,515 yards (5.7 ypc) in 39 career games. Horak also has compiled 1,891 career all-purpose yards.