PITTSBURG -- The Pittsburg State University football team will travel to Warrensburg, Mo., Saturday (Sept. 16) to battle MIAA rival University of Central Missouri in week three action. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. (CDT) at Audrey J. Walton Stadium.

Pitt State, the No. 3 team in this week's AFCA NCAA Division II Top 25 poll, opened the 2023 campaign with a 34-7 home victory against Washburn University on Aug. 31. The Gorillas scored the game's final 30 points in a 40-14 road win over Central Missouri University last Thursday (Sept. 7).

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.

UCM has opened the season with a pair of victories over Missouri Western State University (45-38) and the University of Central Oklahoma (41-17). The Mules are averaging an MIAA leading 43.0 points per game two weeks into the 2023 campaign.

UCM posted a 4-7 overall record a year ago.

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 24-6 (.800) record leading the Gorillas and a 28-6 (.824) 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 UCM. He is 2-0 against the Mules.

Josh Lamberson is in his second season as head coach at UCM and his fifth year as a collegiate head coach. Lamberson (NWMSU, '05) compiled a 10-36 (.217) career record including a 4-29 mark in three seasons as head coach at MIAA rival Nebraska-Kearney from 2015-17.

He served as associate head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Abilene Christian from 2018-21. Lamberson also served as offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at UCM from 2010-14.

This will be his fifth meeting vs. Pitt State. He is 0-4 against the Gorillas.

The Pitt State - Central Missouri Series
This will be the 60th all-time meeting between the Gorillas and the Mules in a series that dates all the way back to the 1916 season.

Pitt State holds a commanding 45-12-2 advantage in the series. The Gorillas are 22-6-2 vs. the Mules at at Warrensburg, Mo., all-time. 

Quarterback Chad Dodson Jr. passed for 387 yards and three touchdowns and the Pitt State defense limited Central Missouri to 212 yards of total offense as the Gorillas defeated the Mules, 21-10, in the season opener on Sept. 1 at Brandenburg Field/Carnie Smith Stadium.

Dodson tossed a pair of touchdowns to wide receiver Bryce Murphy and added a 71-yard pass and catch connection to wide receiver Kolbe Katsis to spark the Pitt State offense. Dodson completed 21 of 40 passes in the game and compiled the sixth-highest single game passing yardage total in school history.

All-Time Winningest Programs
Pittsburg State is the all-time winningest NCAA Division II football program. The Gorillas, who are embarking upon their 116th season of intercollegiate competition, have compiled a 743-360-48 overall record, winning 66.6 percent of their 1,151 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 709 victories, followed by Hillsdale (658), Carson-Newman (651) and Central Oklahoma (649).
UCM has a 577-532-51 (.519) record in 125 seasons of intercollegiate play.

PSU's Regular Season Success
Pitt State has won 325 of its last 393 regular season games, posting a phenomenal 325-66-2 (.830) mark during the past 38 seasons (1985-2023). PSU is 171-28-1 at home, 150-29-1 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 113-35-1 (.762) record in its last 149 road games (including post-season play) dating back to the start of the 1994 season.

The Gorillas are 49-12 (.803) in their last 61 road games dating back to Oct. 23, 2010, including a 13-3 (.813) record in four seasons under head coach Brian Wright.

UCM has compiled a 5-1 (.833) home record in the past two seasons under Coach Lamberson.

Scouting the Gorillas
Junior quarterback Chad Dodson Jr. improved to 15-1 (.938) as the Gorillas starter following Pitt State's week two road win vs. Fort Hays State.

Dodson completed 26 of 36 passes for 239 yards and two touchdowns in the contest.

The Jacksonville, Fla., native has completed 287 of 486 career passes (.591) for 3,951 yards and 38 touchdowns. He ranks eighth in Pitt State history for career touchdown passes and tied for ninth for career passing yards.
Dodson earned third-team All-MIAA honors in 2022, passing for 2,975 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Redshirt junior linebacker Jack Barkley was selected the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 5 for his play in the Gorillas' season-opening win over Washburn.

Barkley posted a career high 14 tackles (seven solo) against the Ichabods. The Tulsa, Okla., native made 3.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage, including 1.0 quarterback sacks, and added a quarterback hurry to his stat line as well. He added five assisted tackles against FHSU last week.

Barkley has compiled 84 career tackles (40 solo) with 5.5 tackles-for-loss.

Senior tight end Devon Garrison caught five passes for a game high 90 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown grab, vs. FHSU last Thursday (Sept. 7).

The Elk River, Minn., native has made eight receptions for a team-leading 155 yards and a touchdown, averaging 19.4 yards per catch. He currently ranks sixth in the MIAA in receiving yards (77.5 ypg).

For his career, Garrison has 52 receptions for 881 yards (16.9 ypc) and 10 TDs.

Freshman placekicker Austin Schmitt is a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts early in the season, after booting a pair of kicks in each of Pitt State's first two games.

The Grain Valley, Mo., native also has connected on all six of his PAT trys. He's scored a team-leading 18 points to date (9.0 ppg).