By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations
GAME NOTES (PDF) | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO
MOREHEAD, Ky. -- The Morehead State football team makes its longest trip of the season on Friday and Saturday when the Eagles head to the west coast to face San Diego. Kickoff is Saturday at 5 p.m. ET from Torero Stadium.
The game can be heard live on WIVY-96.3 FM in the Morehead area or live via links on MSUEagles.com. The contest will also air live on USDToreros.com.
Morehead State (2-4/1-2 PFL) will be looking to snap a two-game losing skid in which the Eagle offense has been held to six points.
QUOTING COACH TENYER
On preparing for the San Diego trip -- "We have been making sure our team is prepared mentally and physically this week. It's about a four-hour plane trip out there, so we want to make sure we are getting the proper rest during the week and getting prepared to play in a little bit different climate."
On fixing mistakes from last week (44-6 loss to Butler) -- "Things could have been a lot different if we had just held on to the ball last week. There were a number of small mistakes that are fixable, but no team is going to be successful turning the ball over six times."
On what is working well right now - "We have some individual players who are making plays and standing out. Our special teams have been very strong, especially our kick coverage and return teams. We would like to get some more production out of our kicking game."
GAME NOTES
THE SAN DIEGO SERIES
Morehead State is still searching for its first win against San Diego, trailing 10-0 in the series. The Eagles have dropped all five games ever played in San Diego.
ONE TOWN.ONE TEAM
Morehead and the region have shown tremendous support for the Eagle football program, and in fact MSU has led the Pioneer Football league in attendance for four consecutive seasons. Last year, MSU averaged 5,736 and averaged 5,539 in the first three games in 2017.
COMEBACK KIDS
Morehead State erased a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Dayton on Sept. 23. It marked the largest overall rally to win since being down by as many as 16 against Valparaiso on Oct. 25, 2014 (MSU rallied to win 48-47). It also marked just the third fourth-quarter comeback since 2007 and the biggest rally solely in the fourth period since erasing a 25-13 disadvantage to win 26-25 at St. Francis (Pa.) on Sept. 3, 2005.
NO. 1 RETURN MAN
Sophomore
Jaunyea Tarver leads the nation (FCS) in combined kick returns with 634 yards. Tarver has 28 kickoff returns for a 22.8-yard average.
BIG FOOT SIGHTING
Redshirt freshman punter
Bradley Boone's 42.9-yard punting average leads the PFL and ranks 14th in the country. He has blasted eight punts of more than 50 yards and landed eight inside the 20-yard line. The punt unit has also forced eight fair catches.
KICK IT AWAY FROM US
MSU only has eight punt returns in 2017, but the Eagles lead the PFL in return average at 14.1. Freshman
Landon Hurst averages 15.4 yards per return but does not have enough to qualify for league rankings. He would be the PFL leader.
A NEW PAGE
Redshirt junior QB
Lawson Page ranks 36th in the nation in passing efficiency at 140.7. The Shelbyville, Ky., native has two games with four touchdowns, including the come-from-behind 34-28 victory over Dayton. Page's 1,264 total passing yards ranks 32nd in the nation. Page did not attempt a pass last year as MSU's third and fourth down situational QB.
GOING, GOING LONGJunior wide receiver Jarin Higginbotham leads the conference in yards per catch at 21.6. Higginbotham has 11 catches of more than 20 yards so far in 2017, which also leads the PFL. He also is tied for the league lead with five TD catches.
MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD
Senior wide receiver
Christian Robinson caught a career-best eight passes for a career-high 149 yards and three touchdowns against Dayton. The three scores tied a program record for TD catches in a game as he became the ninth player to do so.
JEROMING THE BACKFIELDSophomore linebacker Jerome Brooks leads the Eagles and ranks 30th in the nation in tackles for loss per game (1.4). Brooks has 8.5 stops in the backfield and a team-best 39 tackles overall. He had three tackles behind Dayton's line of scrimmage.
YOU GOT COOK'ED
Senior cornerback
Braylyn Cook leads all active players with 41 career passes defended and nine interceptions. He has three picks this season, including picks in two of the last three games. Cook ranks first in the PFL in passes defended and second in interceptions.
LIAM IS BACK
Redshirt senior offensive left tackle
Liam Maloney returned to the lineup in the second half of last week's game. Maloney had served a half-season suspension for violation of university policy. He was a preseason all-conference pick by College Sports Madness.
NICK HAS THE KNACK
Junior defensive lineman
Nick Flores has 21 total stops this year but six have been for losses.
