GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Oct. 29 • 1 pm CT
Ward Field
Bourbonnais, Ill.

Series History
Overall: St. Francis leads 19-10
First: at St. Francis 37, Olivet Nazarene 16 (10/18/86)
Last: at St. Francis 43, Olivet Nazarene 30 (10/30/22)
Streak: St. Francis has a one-game winning streak.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 55-56 (11th year)
at USF: 55-56 (11th year)

ONU: Eric Hehman
Alma Mater: Taylor University 1994
Career: 80-103 (18th year)
At ONU: 41-29 (7th year)

TOP STORYLINES
• Today's game represents the 30th meeting all-time between the Saints and Olivet Nazarene, which makes it the longest series for the St. Francis program.  The two teams started playing in USF's first year (1986) and have played every year with the exception of a seven-year hiatus from 1992-98 when St. Francis was in NCAA II.
 
• For the second year in a row, the Saints will be seeking to win six straight games in a season.  They are only one of two remaining unbeatens in the MSFA Midwest League and one of only three on either side of the conference.
 
• USF will face its biggest passing threat of the season in Olivet Nazarene.  The Tigers rank among the Top 15 in the nation in no less than four passing categories and also boast the 11th-best offense, averaging 419.9 yards per game.  St. Francis counters with a defense that has registered 13 interceptions (ninth in the NAIA) topped by Angel Mata's five picks.
 
• Both teams are good on fourth down offensively, converting at a 50 percent clip, while USF's defense has allowed opponents to convert just three of its 17 chances.

GAME NOTES
THE HEAD COACH: Joe Curry is in his 11th season as the Saints' head coach, which ties him as the longest serving coach in school history.  He has surpassed program founder Gordie Gillespie, who served as the head coach for eight seasons, and is now tied with Mike Slovick.  Slovick served the program from 1994 through 2004 and mentored Curry at one time.  Curry is also the winningest coach in the program with 55 victories and second in winning percentage (.495).  Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

ABOUT OLIVET NAZARENE: Tight contests have been the story of Olivet Nazarene's season with five of its seven games being decided by eight points or less.  Unfortunately for the Tigers, they are 2-3 in said games.  ONU has also struggled at home (1-2), while going 3-1 on the road.  St. Francis' defensive secondary will face its biggest test of the season against a passing offense that ranks among the Top 15 in the nation in no less than four categories.  The Tigers are eighth in yards per catch (15.4), 13th in yards per attempts (8.2) and 15th in both passing yards per game (266.7) and passing touchdowns with 18.  That has led to the Tiger offense averaging 419.9 yards per game (11th in NAIA), including 443 or more yards in four of its past five game.  ONU is also averaging 34.9 points per game to place 17th in the nation.  Olivet Nazarene has also converted the seventh-most fourth down plays with 14 in 29 attempts (.483) and ranks eighth in punt return average (15.7 ypr).  Cameron Crouch runs the high-powered offense, having completed 95 of his 183 attempts (.519) for 1,512 yards.  He has also thrown for 15 touchdowns opposite just three interceptions.  One year ago, he had three touchdown passes and three picks in a 43-30 loss to St. Francis.  Crouch has three main targets in Brian Jenkins, Jalen Dunnigan and Ryan Morrison-Gravenberg.  Jenkins is the main man, averaging 104.0 yards per game with his 30 receptions – 8 for scores – and 728 yards.  Dunnigan and Morrison-Grevenberg both have 20-plus receptions.  On the ground, Evan Leake is the main ballcarrier with his 110 carries netting 572 yards for a 5.2 average.  Crouch is also a running threat as evidence by his team-high seven rushing touchdowns.  On special teams, Dunnigan is the man to stop there, as well, with his 12.9 punt return and 21.0 kickoff return averages.  Dantrez Smith and Clayton Davis also average better than 20 yards per kickoff return.  Kayde Mahuka handles both punting and kicking responsibilities, averaging 34.7 yards per punt and is 3-of-6 on field goals with a long of 36 yards.  He is 28-of-30 on PATs.  Damien Thornton and Josh Miser head up ONU's defense.  Miser leads the team in both tackles (47) and sacks (4).  Thornton is one behind in the tackle department.   

A LONG TIME RIVAL: The matchup between the Saints and Olivet Nazarene is the longest in the history of the USF program.  Saturday's meeting will be the 30th between the two schools with the Saints having come out on top 19 times.  The two teams met every year for the first six years of the St. Francis program (1986-91) before taking a seven-year hiatus from 1992-98 when the Saints competed at the NCAA II level.  The teams have played continuously since 1999, a span of 23 straight years.

TWICE IS NICE: For the second time in as many years, the Saints will be looking to extend their season winning streak to six games.  Last year, they won six in a row before falling in the regular-season finale. 

ONE OF ONLY TWO LEFT: USF is one of only two remaining unbeatens in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League and one of only three undefeated squads in either side of the league.  The other two are Saint Xavier University and Indiana Wesleyan University.

THAT WAS QUICK: The Fighting Saints needed just nine plays to score four of their five touchdowns in their 34-10 win over St. Ambrose.  The drives covered one, five, two and one play and were set up by a 37-yard punt return from Scott Tumilty, a 31-yard run by Sam Tumilty, a 49-yard interception from Angel Mata and a Jason Hartsfield fumble recovery on a kickoff.

THAT'S A LOT OF POINTS: With his four touchdowns last Saturday, Sam Tumilty now has nine touchdowns in his last two meetings with St. Ambrose.  One year ago, he reached the end zone a school-record five times against the Bees.  For the season, Sam has authored 13 of USF's 16 rushing touchdowns.

WITH GOOD REASON: Sam's fleet feet are one of the reasons that St. Francis is one of the top teams in the nation in scoring touchdowns on red-zone opportunities.  The Saints currently rank eighth with their 19 touchdowns in 26 chances inside the 20-yard line (73 pct.).

A PAIR OF IDENTICAL TWINS: In a weird scoring quirk, the Saints have scored the exact same number of points in a pair of quarters twice over.  USF has rung up 72 points in each of the second and third quarters and 21 points each in the first and fourth quarters.  St. Francis has outscored its opponents 144-63 in the middle frames, while being outscored 88-42 on the bookends.  Over the past four games, the Saints have averaged 36.5 points per contest.

SEASON-HGH SAM: Sam Tumilty turned in his best performance of the season on Saturday, totaling the four touchdowns to go along with his 197 rushing yards on 26 carries and another 135 yards on 11-of-3 passing.  That led to him earning MSFA Midwest League Offensive Player of the Week honors.

GAINING THE SPOTLIGHT: That is what Dezzion Jordan and De'Whon Gavin are doing.  Jordan authored his second touchdown of the season last week and now has 14 receptions for 221 yards, which are both team highs.  One year ago, he caught two passes for just 15 yards.  Gavin has written a similar story with 12 catches for 202 yards in 2022 after not playing last year due to injury and totaling only three catches for 19 yards in 2020.

KEEP RETURNING: The Saints amassed a total of 141 return yards last week set up by 37-yard punt and 59-yard kickoff returns from Scott Tumilty and a 49-yard interception return by Mata.  Tumilty's return moved him into the No. 10 spot in the NAIA in individual kick return average with his 28.3 yards per return.  As a team, USF is sixth in the nation with its 26.0 average.

HERE A PICK, THERE A PICK: USF's defensive unit has recorded interceptions in each of its past six contests with four multi-pick games, including one last week, for a total of 13 on the season to rank ninth in the nation.  Leading the attack is Mata, who is tied for fourth in the nation with his five interceptions.  Three other players in the NAIA are one pick higher.  Mata has authored one interception in each of his last five games and averages 20.2 yards per return highlighted by his 49-yard runback last week.

LUCKY SEVEN: USF's 13 interceptions combined with its five fumble recoveries put the Saints at a plus-seven in the takeaway department this season.

DEFENSIVE DUO: T.J. Neal and Michael R. Johnson both had big games last week topped by their team-leading seven tackles.  Of Neal's seven hits, 2.5 went for loss, including 1.5 sacks.  Johnson was all over the field with his 2.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, 1 interception, 1 pass breakup and 1 quarterback hurry.  For the season, Johnson has a team-best 4.5 sacks with at least one-half sack in each of his last five games.  He also has 8.5 tackles for loss.  Neal has a club-high nine tackles for loss with four being sacks.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE: USF's defense has stopped run-touted offenses each of the past two weeks.  Judson came in boasting the second-leading rusher in the NAIA, while St. Ambrose ranked among the Top 20 as a team.  Both teams came away with less than 90 yards on the ground.  For the season, the St. Francis defense is allowing only 97.6 yards per game rushing and have yielded just five rushing scores.  Last week, St. Ambrose came into the game averaging 33.7 points per game with its quarterback having thrown only two interceptions.  They left Joliet with just ten points, under 300 yards of total offense and having thrown two picks.

SOMETHING WILL HAVE TO GIVE SATURDAY: Opponents have converted just three fourth-down plays in 17 chances against the St. Francis defense this year, while Olivet Nazarene has converted on 14 of its 29 opportunities.

SPEAKING OF WHICH: Both the Saints and Olivet Nazarene are right at about the 50 percent mark on fourth-down conversions.  USF is an even 50 percent at 13-of-26.

NEARLY IMPECCABLE: Brian Maday missed his first PAT kicking last week, but has been near-perfect on the season having gone 23-of-24 in that category, while also delivering three field goals.

FOR THE RECORD: The Saints are 163-224 all time, 134-166 in day games and 78-124 on the road.