PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State University football team will travel to Maryville, Mo., Saturday (Oct. 21) to battle MIAA rival Northwest Missouri State University in week eight action. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (CDT) at Bearcat Stadium.

Pitt State climbed one spot to No. 2 in this week's AFCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll [for complete poll, see page 4], after posting a 31-21 victory over Missouri Southern State University last Saturday (Oct. 14) at Joplin, Mo. The Gorillas (7-0) are one of 14 remaining unbeaten teams in Division II.

Pitt State captured the 2022 MIAA Championship while posting a 12-1 record a year ago. The Gorillas advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II national playoffs before falling to eventual national champion Ferris State, 17-14.

Northwest Missouri is 4-3 on the season (3-3 MIAA). The Bearcats are coming off a hard fought 27-23 road win over Missouri Western State University last Saturday at St. Joseph, Mo.

The Coaches
Brian Wright is in his fourth 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. In 2022, Wright led the Gorillas to a 12-1 record and an 11-0 unblemished MIAA Championship, garnering 2022 MIAA Coach of the Year honors. He led Pitt State to a 12-1 record as the Gorillas made their 19th all-time trip to the NCAA-II postseason.

Wright has a 29-6 (.829) record leading the Gorillas and a 33-6 (.846) 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 NWMSU. He is 1-1 against the Bearcats.

Rich Wright is in his seventh season directing Northwest after serving the previous six years as the Bearcats defensive coordinator. Wright (Dana College, '95) joined the NWMSU coaching staff as defensive line coach and special teams coordinator in 2004. He has a 55-16-0 (.775) career coaching record.

This will be his sixth meeting vs. Pitt State. He is 3-2 against the Gorillas.

The Pitt State - Northwest Series
This will be the 56th meeting between the Gorillas and the Bearcats in a series that dates all the way back to the 1932 season. Northwest holds a 29-26-0 advantage in the competitive series. The Gorillas are 8-10-0 against the Bearcats at Maryville, Mo., but the two teams have met just four times at Bearcat Stadium since the 2001 season.

Last year, seventh-ranked Pitt State jumped out to a 21-3 halftime lead but needed final minute heroics down the stretch to hold off No. 9 NWMSU, 24-22, on Oct. 8 at Carnie Smith Stadium.

Chad Dodson Jr. completed 15 of 29 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns in the first half to build an 18-point cushion.

The Bearcats rallied in the second half with a pair of touchdowns to make it a 21-16 game with 8:21 to play in the contest.

The Pitt State defense, which twice stopped the Bearcats on fourth down in Gorillas territory in the game, came up big down the stretch. Brandon Stegall registered a sack on NWMSU quarterback Mike Hohensee on a 4th-and-1 play at the Pitt State 41 yard line with 4:42 to play in the game.

The Gorillas then drove to the NWMSU 28 yard line to set up a 45-yard field goal to give Pitt State a 24-16 edge with 2:25 to go.

 The Bearcats then worked the ball downfield with backup QB Braden Wright scrambling into the end zone for a touchdown, drawing the Bearcats to within two points, 24-22, with 13 seconds remaining in regulation.

Hohensee re-entered the game for the two-point conversion attempt. His pass to tight end Cole Hembrough took him to the back line of the end zone and was ruled incomplete to allow the Gorillas to hold on.

Pitt State's Devon Garrison recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt by the Bearcats to seal the win..

Pitt State, NWMSU in the MIAA
Pitt State and Northwest have enjoyed unparalleled consistent success in the MIAA during the past three decades.

Pitt State, which has won 19 consecutive MIAA games dating back to the 2021 campaign, has posted a 254-65-1 (.820) record against its MIAA opponents since joining the conference in 1989. The Gorillas have won 13 MIAA titles since joining the conference, including the 2022 MIAA crown last year.

Northwest has posted a 219-24-0 (.901) record in MIAA action since the start of the 1996 season.The Bearcats have won 34 MIAA titles in the school's history.

Either Pitt State or Northwest has won outright or shared the MIAA crown 29 times in the last 33 seasons (1989-2022, no MIAA title awarded in 2020).

All-Time Winningest Programs
Pittsburg State is the all-time winningest NCAA Division II football program. The Gorillas, who are competing in their 116th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 748-360-48 overall record, winning 66.8 percent of their 1,156 all-time games.

Pittsburg State is one of just nine 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.

Tuskegee is second on the Division II all-time list with 712 victories, followed by Hillsdale (660), Carson-Newman (653) and Central Oklahoma (651).

NWMSU has a 629-412-33 (.601) record in 108 seasons of intercollegiate play.

PSU's Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 330 of its last 398 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 330-66-2 (.832) mark during the past 38 seasons (1985-2023). PSU is 173-28-1 at home, 153-29-1 on the road and 4-9-0 at neutral sites in the regular season during that span.

Gorillas on the Road
Historically, Pitt State has compiled an impressive record in road games. The Gorillas have posted a 116-35-1 (.766) record in its last 152 road games (including post-season play) dating back to the start of the 1994 season.

The Gorillas are 52-12 (.813) in their last 64 road games dating back to Oct. 23, 2010, including a 16-3 (.842) record in four seasons under head coach Brian Wright.

NWMSU has compiled a 28-3 (.903) home record since the start of the 2017 season under head coach Rich Wright.

Scouting the Gorillas
Junior quarterback Chad Dodson Jr. improved to 20-1 (.952) as the Gorillas starter following Pitt State's week seven road win vs. Missouri Southern.

Dodson completed 12 of 19 passes for 83 yards and one touchdown in the contest. He has completed 123 of 181 passes (.680) for 1,367 yards and 11 TDs.

The Jacksonville, Fla., native has completed 371 of 606 (.612) career passes for 4,941 yards and 47 touchdowns. He ranks third in Pitt State history for career TD passes and sixth for career passing yards.
Dodson earned third-team All-MIAA honors in 2022, passing for 2,975 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Senior tight end Devon Garrison caught seven passes for a career high 111 yards and two touchdowns against Emporia State on Oct. 7 – his first career 100-yard game.

For the season, Garrison has 25 grabs for a team-leading 415 yards (16.6 ypc) and four touchdowns. He ranks second in NCAA Division II to date in tight end receiving yards and tight end scoring. Garrison also ranks eighth in the MIAA in receiving yards, averaging 59.3 yards per game.

For his career, the Elk River, Minn., native has 69 catches for 1,141 yards (16.5 ypc) and 13 touchdowns. He needs 144 yards to pass Blaise Bauer (1985-88) for the Pitt State career receiving record for a tight end. Bauer caught 44 passes for 1,284 yards.

Sophomore safety Jordan Rogers leads the MIAA and ranks second in NCAA Division II this season with five interceptions. The Bellmead, Texas, native logged a takeaway in each of Pitt State's first five games, including a "pick six" against NSU on Sept. 30.

For the season, Rogers has made 19 tackles (14 solo) with 4.0 tackles-for-loss, 1.0 quarterback sack and three pass breakups. He missed the MSSU game due to injury.

Freshman placekicker Austin Schmitt is 10-for-12 on field goal attempts on the season. He currently leads the MIAA and ranks in a tie for fifth place in D2 in field goals per game (1.4 pg).

The Grain Valley, Mo., native also has connected on all 25 of his PAT trys. He's scored a team-leading 55 points to date (7.9 ppg).