PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University football team will travel to Kearney, Neb., Thursday (Sept. 8) when the Gorillas will face MIAA rival University of Nebraska-Kearney, the No. 11 team in NCAA Division II.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (CDT) at UNK's Ron & Carol Cope Stadium.

The Gorillas opened the 2022 campaign with a 21-10 home victory over the University of Central Missouri last Thursday (Sept. 1). Sophomore quarterback Chad Dodson Jr. passed for 378 yards and three touchdowns and the Pitt State defense limited the Mules to 33 net rushing yards on 30 carries in the contest.

The Lopers, ranked No. 14 in the preseason national poll, pulled away late for a 24-7 season opening road win over Missouri Southern State University last Thursday at Joplin, Mo. Redshirt senior quarterback T.J. Davis rushed for a game-high 129 of UNK's 331 team rushing yards in the contest.

UNK posted a 10-3 record in 2021, finishing as the MIAA runner-up and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

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 an 11-5 (.688) record leading the Gorillas and a 15-5 (.750) 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 third match-up against UNK. He is 0-2 vs. the Lopers.

Josh Lynn is in his sixth season as head coach at UNK and his 10th year as a collegiate head coach. Lynn has a 28-22 (.560) record in his short tenure leading the Lopers and a 55-47 (.539) 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 sixth meeting vs. Pitt State. He is 2-3 against the Gorillas.

Gorillas on the Road
Historically, Pitt State has posted a solid record in road games. The Gorillas have posted a 107-34-1 (.757) record in its last 142 road games (including post-season play) dating back to the start of the 1994 season.

The Gorillas are 43-11 (.796) in their last 54 road games dating back to Oct. 23, 2010, including a 7-2 record in two seasons under head coach Brian Wright.

The Pitt State - Nebraska-Kearney Series
This will be the 25th meeting between the Gorillas and the Lopers in a series that dates back to the 1974 season, but it will be just the 10th meeting between the two squads since 1988.

Pitt State holds a 15-9 edge in the series, but UNK has won the last two meetings.

Last year, UNK scored 21 unanswered second half points to rally for a 28-17 road victory over No. 23 Pittsburg State on Sept. 11, spoiling the Gorillas home opener at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.

T.J. Davis tossed three touchdown passes and rushed for a fourth score to lead the Lopers. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 198 yards through the air and added a game high 25 carries for 105 yards on the ground.

Pitt State (1-1, 1-1 MIAA) fell behind 7-0 in the first quarter, but the Gorillas charged back with 17 second quarter points to take a 17-7 lead at the intermission. Jaden Snyder booted a 26-yard field goal for Pitt State. Tyler Adkins added a three-yard run and Mak Sexton found Jalen Martin open for a 17-yard touchdown pass to close out the scoring.

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 730-359-48 overall record, winning 66.3 percent of their 1,137 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 enter the 2022 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 (654), Carson-Newman (644) and Central Oklahoma (642).

UNK has a 555-354-27 (.607) record in 100 seasons of intercollegiate play.

PSU's Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 313 of its last 381 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 313-66-2 (.824) mark during the past 37 seasons (1985-2022). PSU is 165-28-1 at home, 144-29-1 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. passed for a career high 387 yards and three touchdowns in the Gorillas season opening win vs. Central Missouri. Dodson completed 21 of 40 passes in the contest.

The Jacksonville, Fla., native has completed 66 of 107 passes (.617) for 1,036 yards and 10 touchdowns in seven career games played for Pitt State. He is 2-0 as Pitt State's starting quarterback. He completed 20 of 31 passes for 294 yards and three TDs in the 2021 regular season finale vs. Fort Hays State.

Redshirt senior wide receiver Bryce Murphy caught three passes for a game high 112 yards and two touchdowns in the season opener against the Mules. The Neosho, Mo., native posted his second career 100-yard receiving game.

Murphy has made 76 career receptions for 1,134 yards (14.9 ypc) and nine touchdowns. He needs 448 more receiving yards to break into Pitt State's all-time top 10 list for career receiving yards. Murphy also needs 16 more receptions to crack the Gorillas' top 10 list for career receptions.

Graduate linebacker P.J. Sarwinski posted a team-leading eight tackles (five solo) with 0.5 tackles-for-loss in the season opener.

Sarwinski made a team high 84 stops (51 solo) with 12.0 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 quarterback sacks in 2021, earning honorable mention NCAA Division II All-America honors.

The Galena, Kan., native now has posted 112 career tackles with 12.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.5 quarterback sacks.

Redshirt junior cornerback Rico Payton posted a game high three pass breakups and one tackle against UCM last Thursday.

The St. Louis, Mo., native made 12 tackles, one interception and six pass breakups in nine games played in 2021.

He has started five of 21 career games played for Pitt State, posting 27 tackles, one interception and 13 pass breakups.