PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University football team will return to Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium Saturday (Sept. 17) to host MIAA rival Northeastern State University for the Gorillas Family Day game. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (CDT).

The Gorillas are 2-0 on the young season after posting a 35-28 road win over No. 11 University of Nebraska-Kearney last Thursday (Sept. 8) at Kearney, Neb. Pitt State opened the 2022 campaign with a 21-10 home victory over the University of Central Missouri on Sept. 1.

The Gorillas debuted at No. xx in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) NCAA Division II Top 25 poll released Monday (Sept. 12).

NSU is seeking its first win of the season. The RiverHawks (0-2) dropped a 30-13 home decision to Missouri Southern State University last Saturday (Sept. 10) at Tahlequah, Okla. NSU fell, 42-17, on the road against Emporia State University in its opener on Sept. 1.

The Coaches
Brian Wright is in his third 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; and he guided Pitt State to an 8-3 mark in 2021. He has a 12-5 (.706) record leading the Gorillas and a 16-5 (.762) mark as a collegiate head coach.

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

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 NSU. He is 1-0 vs. the RiverHawks.

NSU's J.J. Eckert is in his fourth year leading his alma mater. He has a 2-22 (.083) record. Eckert (NSU, '97) spent the previous 12 seasons as head coach at Kilgore College, compiling a 72-53 record in the NJCAA ranks for the Rangers. Prior to that, he served as head coach at Garden City Community College for two years (2005-06). This will be his third meeting vs. Pitt State. He is 0-2 vs. the Gorillas.

Gorillas at Home
Pitt State holds a 360-137-12 (.719) record in 509 games inside Carnie Smith Stadium (including postseason). The Gorillas have won 159 of their last 191 regular season home games, posting a 160-31-1 record (.836) over the last 37 seasons.  

NSU has posted an 4-36 (.100) road record since the start of the 2014 season.

The Pitt State - Northeastern State Series
This will be the 37th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the RiverHawks in a series that dates back to the 1912 season.

Pitt State holds a 22-12-2 advantage in the series. The Gorillas have won all 10 of the contests between the two schools since 1970.

In the last meeting on Sept. 18, 2021, Pitt State capitalized on a 21-point third quarter to break open a 20-6 game and pull away for a 48-13 road win over Northeastern State at Doc Wadley Stadium.

Mak Sexton completed 15 of 18 passes for 136 yards and a touchdown, while Chad Dodson Jr. was three of five passing for 104 yards and two scores in the contest. Caleb Lewis carried the ball eight times for 40 yards and two touchdowns.

The Pitt State defense limited NSU to 284 yards of total offense in the contest.

All-Time Winningest Programs
Pittsburg State is the all-time winningest NCAA Division II football program. The Gorillas, who are playing in their 115th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 731-359-48 overall record, winning 66.3 percent of their 1,138 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 entered the 2022 campaign ranked 30th among all college football programs in all-time victories.

Tuskegee is second on the Division II all-time list with 699 victories, followed by Hillsdale (655), Carson-Newman (645) and Central Oklahoma (643).

NSU has a 447-462-30 (.492) record in 104 seasons of intercollegiate play.

PSU's Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 314 of its last 382 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 314-66-2 (.824) mark during the past 37 seasons (1985-2022). PSU is 165-28-1 at home, 145-29-1 on the road and 4-9-0 at neutral sites in the regular season during that span.

Scouting the Gorillas
Sophomore quarterback Chad Dodson Jr. was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week Monday (Sept. 12) for his efforts in the Gorillas 35-28 road win over Nebraska-Kearney last week.

Dodson (5-11, 191) completed 20 of 29 passes for 301 yards and four touchdowns, including the game winning 72-yard connection to wide receiver Bryce Murphy with 12 seconds remaining in the game.

The Jacksonville, Fla., native has completed 86 of 136 passes (.632) for 1,337 yards and 14 touchdowns in eight career games played for Pitt State.

He is 3-0 as Pitt State's starting quarterback.

Redshirt senior linebacker Morgan Selemaea (5-11, 201) posted a team-leading 11 tackles against the Lopers Saturday.

The Harrisonville, Mo., native has successfully returned from a knee injury that prematurely ended his 2021 campaign. He has 14 tackles (11 solo) on the season.

A three-time All-MIAA performer, Selemaea has made 34 career starts for the Gorillas. He has compiled 202 career tackles (114 solo) with 25.5 tackles-for-loss, 13.0 quarterback sacks, six interceptions and 15 pass breakups.

Senior wide receiver Bryce Murphy has caught a team-leading nine passes for 231 yards (25.7 ypc) and three touchdowns on the season.

The Neosho, Mo., native has posted back-to-back 100-yard receiving contests. He currently ranks second in the MIAA in receiving yards (115.5 ypg) and tied for third place in the conference on scoring (9.0 ppg).

Murphy has made 82 career receptions for 1,253 yards (15.3 ypc) and 10 touchdowns. He needs 329 more receiving yards to break into Pitt State's all-time top 10 list for career receiving yards. Murphy also needs 10 more receptions to crack the Gorillas' top 10 list for career receptions.