GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Nov. 5 • 1 pm CT
Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium
Joliet, Ill.

Series History
Overall: St. Francis leads 5-4
First: at St. Francis 28, Robert Morris (10/12/13)
Last: St. Francis 14, at Roosevelt 0 (11/6/21)
Streak: St. Francis has a one-game winning streak.

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

RU (Interim): Mike Murray
Alma Mater: Illinois Wesleyan University 1984
Career: 15-48 (7th year)
At RU: 3-0 (1st year)

TOP STORYLINES
• The Saints and Roosevelt enter the game ranked in the latest Top 25 poll with the Lakers at No. 16 and the Saints returning for the first time since the preseason at No.25.  Both teams also come in still vying for the MSFA Midwest League title.  Roosevelt sits one game behind the Saints and No. 11 Saint Xavier with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
 
• Saturday's matchup will feature two of the top scoring players in the NAIA.  Roosevelt's Tyler Tenner and St. Francis' Sam Tumilty have both totaled 84 points (fifth in the nation) and have averaged 10.5 points per game (third).
 
• The contest will also feature two of the top defenders in RU's Jalen Perkins and USF's Angel Mata.  Mata boasts the second-most interceptions in the nation with six with Perkins being one behind with five.  On the team front, the Saints have the third-most picks (16) with Roosevelt ranking 11th (14).
 
• Every time Roosevelt has reached the red zone this year, it has scored.  On 30 of those 31 occasions, the Lakers have produced touchdowns.   


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 56 victories and second in winning percentage (.500).  Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

ABOUT ROOSEVELT: Another week, another prolific offense the Saints will have to stop to keep their winning streak intact.  Roosevelt ranks in the Top 10 in the nation in no fewer than five offensive categories, including the No. 1 spot of scoring in the red zone, being a perfect 31-for-31 and producing touchdowns in all but one of those drives.  Rushing is predominantly the way the Lakers go, ranking tenth in the nation in yards per game on the ground (208.3), seventh in yards per carry (5.1) and second in rushing touchdowns with 26.  That has led to RU scoring at a 37.6 points-per-game clip (12th nationally) and averaging 401.0 yards of offense per game (22nd).  The Lakers' passing game has to be monitored, as well, as it averages 7.8 yards per attempt (17th) and 14.0 yards per catch (19th).  RU also converts its third downs at a 43 percent rate, which is 14th-best in the NAIA.  Roosevelt's margin of victory has been no less than two touchdowns in five of its six wins with its only loss coming against Saint Xavier 21-20 on Oct. 1.  Offensively, Luke Wilson runs the show.  He has completed 110 of his 194 passing attempts (56.7%) for 1,542 yards with 13 touchdowns against six interceptions to rank third in the MSFA.  He has two main targets in Blaize Griffin (28 recp., 407 yards, 4 TDs) and Jerrell Calhoun (25-372, 1 TD).  On the ground, Tyler Tenner is the workhouse with his 154 carries netting 887 yards, or an average of 5.8 yards per carry.  He has also scored 14 times on the ground.  Those numbers add up to the seventh-best rusher in the nation (110.9 ypg) and No. 3 ranking with his 10.5 points-per-game average.  On defense, Roosevelt has only allowed eight points per game in its last four contests and has averaged nearly three takeaways per outing (2.75).  Its 14 interceptions are the 11th-highest total in the land, while its 22.4 return average is seventh best.  Jalen Perkins leads the pick parade with his five to go along with another five passes broken up.  Zavier Barnes boasts the most tackles with 52.  He is also one of six Laker players to have recorded a block this year.  RU has totaled 21 sacks, including seven one week ago against St. Ambrose.  Charlie Brooks has nearly one-third of the sacks with his six.  On special teams, Andrew Bucaro averages 40.2 yards per punt and has made 38 of his 41 PATs.  He also has one 25-yard field goal to his credit.  Calhoun handles most of the returns with his nine kickoff returns netting 21.9 yards per attempt.

KEEPING PACE: The Saints are one of only three remaining teams in the MSFA with an unblemished 5-0 record.  The other two are Midwest partner Saint Xavier University (NAIA No. 11 ranking) and Mideast foe Indiana Wesleyan University (No. 5).

SEVEN TIMES SIX: Seven times in the 37-year history of the University of St. Francis football program, the Saints have produced six-game winning streaks.  The first time came in 1987, followed by 1989, 2007-08 (2 games in 2007, 4 in 2008), 2010, 2011, 2021 and this year.  Each of those marks are the longest in school history.

THANK YOU THIRD QUARTER: One of the reasons for USF's success has been its domination in the third quarter, where the Saints have outscored the opposition 79-15 during the hot streak.  For the season, St. Francis holds an 86-25 scoring advantage right after halftime.  During the streak, the Saints have averaged 33.3 points per game.

HAIL TO HAILEY: Keenan Hailey became the second St. Francis player in a row to garner MSFA Midwest League Offensive Player of the Week accolades after Sam Tumilty collected the award the week before.  Hailey netted a career-high 129 yards on 20 carries with his first collegiate multi-TD game (two) in the 35-21 win over Olivet Nazarene.  Coming into the contest, Hailey had rushed for 280 yards for the entire season.

A THREE-HEADED MONSTER: Hailey was part of a four-man group that produced 269 yards on the ground last week.  Tumilty added 75 yards on 25 carries, while Daniel McLaurin netted 51 yards on nine carries.

BALL HOGS: Rushing numbers like those above led to St. Francis controlling the ball for 38 of the game's 60 minutes last week.

A SCORING MACHINE: Tumilty added to his team-high touchdown total last week when he went into the end zone for the 14th time on the season.  His 84 total points rank him tied for fifth in the nation, while his 10.5 points per game are third-best in the nation.  He is tied in both of those categories with Roosevelt's Tyler Tenner.

ON TARGET: Not only was Tumilty on target with Dezzion Jordan for the team's longest reception and touchdown of the season of 65 yards last week, but he has also been on the mark during the six-game winning streak.  After throwing a pair of interceptions in each of his first two games, he has only thrown two total over his last six games.

TOP 20 BILLINGS: USF's name can be found no less than six times among the Top 20 teams in the nation in separate categories.  Its best rating is its No. 3 spot in interceptions with 16.  The Saints are also seventh in total rushing attempts (387), eighth in red-zone touchdown percentage (74 pct.), 12th in kickoff return average (24.8), 16th in rushing touchdowns (19) and 18th in passing yards per completion (14.2).

LEADING THE WAY: Angel Mata and Nick Mabutas have led the interception parade with six and four picks, respectively.  Mata's six interceptions ties him for second in the nation.  He has averaged 19.5 yards per return.  Scott Tumilty, meanwhile, has the 12th-best kickoff return average (26.3) in the nation with his 19 returns covering 499 yards.

WHEN MATA AND JOHNSON DELIVER …: The Saints win.  During the winning streak, Mata has intercepted one pass and Michael R. Johnson has recorded at least one-half sack in each of the six games.  The latter is tied with TJ Neal for the most sacks with five each.  As a team, USF has 23 sacks for the year.

THE MORE, THE MERRIER: With its three picks against Olivet Nazarene, St. Francis has now produced five multi-interception games this year.

DEFENSE, DEFENSE: USF's defense has held opposing offenses to less than 300 yards per game and only 21 points per contest.  Over the past three weeks, it has been extremely stingy, holding both Judson University and St. Ambrose University under 90 yards rushing and keeping Olivet Nazarene 100-plus yards and better than 14 points below its scoring average.

A PERFECT TEN: The Saints are a plus-ten in the takeaway department on the campaign. 

50-50 BALL: USF has converted 50 percent of its fourth-down plays on the year having gone 15 for 30.

HONORING 14 SENIOR SAINTS: Before the game on Saturday, the St. Francis athletic department will take a timeout to recognize its 12 seniors from the football program and two from the dance team.  From the dance team, the Saints will honor Hannah Bolden and Katarina Welsh.  From the football program, TJ Neal, Michael Whitney, Logan Johnson, Ryan King, Terrance Nicholson, Angel Mata, Eric Maffie, Jermaine Ross, Jalen Cooper, Kemond Cohran, Matt Knudtson and student assistant William "Duffy" Mastin will be recognized.         

FOR THE RECORD: The Saints are 164-224 all time, 135-166 in day games and 85-100 at home.