Riding Momentum, Football Embarks on Road Swing With Battle at Valpo Saturday

10/12/2023 3:00:00 PM

By: By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations

GAME NOTES (PDF) | SCHEDULE PAGE (LIVE STATS, LIVE VIDEO, AUDIO)

MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Riding the momentum of a crucial victory over Dayton, Morehead State football starts a three-game road swing with a battle at PFL foe Valparaiso Saturday. The Eagles and Beacons kick off at 2 p.m. ET in northern Indiana.

The game can be heard on the Eagle Sports Radio Network with WIVY-96.3 FM serving as flagship station. Chuck Mraz and Jason Blanton will be on site for the radio call. Fans can also hear it on MSUEagles.com, WGOH-100.9 FM/1370 AM and WMST-106.9 FM/1150 AM. The game will stream live on ESPN+.

Morehead State has won 14 of the previous 16 meetings with Valparaiso, and the Eagles are 13-2 all-time in games at Valpo. The Beacons edged the Eagles 40-35 in Morehead last fall. In the last seven meetings played at Brown Field, the Eagles have scored 27+ points in all seven.

THE SERIES

Record vs. Valparaiso: MSU leads 23-5

First Meeting: 9/21/96 MSU won 24-0 at Valpo

Last Meeting: 10/22/23 Valpo won 40-35 at MSU

Eagles' Record vs. Valpo in Morehead: 10-3

Eagles' Record vs. Valpo in Valparaiso, Ind.: 13-2

Streak: Valpo, 1 win

GAME NOTES

• Morehead State ranks eighth in the nation in the FCS in red zone offense. The Eagles get points on 94 percent of their trips inside the opponent 20-yard line.

• The Eagles' 31-7 victory over rival Dayton on Oct. 7 was the largest margin of victory for MSU in the series. With just eight total wins now over Dayton since 1996, the previous high was a 50-39 win in 1999.

• Carter Cravens earned his second PFL Offensive Player of the Week nod this week. The Eagle QB threw for 291 yards and was responsible for three TDs in the 31-7 win over Dayton.

• Linebacker Keenan Wolf is the PFL Defensive Player of the Week. He nearly tied his career high in total tackles (16) with 15 against Dayton. Wolf also caused a fumble and had a pass breakup. He had 18 tackles entering the game and nearly equaled that against the Flyers.

• Quarterback Carter Cravens leads the PFL and ranks among the top 30 FCS signal callers in several stats categories. He's the top QB in the league in passing yards (1,230), passing yards per game (246.0), passing TDs (10), total offense (285.2/game) and points responsible for (66).

• Receiver Ryan Upp has become the top target for Carter Cravens. In the last three games, Upp has 21 catches for 281 yards (93.6/game). He had a career high 130 yards against Drake two weeks ago.

• Ryan Upp and Kyle Daly have definitely been the go-to men in the receiving game. Of the Eagles' 94 completions, those two have combined for 50 catches (53 percent of the total).

• Linebacker Jahleel Holmes leads the defense with 44 total tackles and also has a team-best 4.5 tackles for loss. Holmes has recorded nine tackles in three consecutive games.

• MSU's five turnovers gained against Dayton was the most in a game in three seasons. Cornerback Kaleb Lyons had two interceptions, and three of the five takeaways occurred either in the end zone or inside the five-yard line on Dayton possessions.

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