GAME INFORMATION
Saturday, Oct. 31 • 1 pm CT
Busey Bank Field at Joliet Memorial Stadium
Joliet, Illinois

Series History
Overall: Marian leads 10-1.
First: Marian 27, at USF 24 (8/27/09)
Last: at Marian 28, USF 11 (11/1/25)
Streak: MU has won the last seven meetings.

The Two Coaches
USF: Joe Curry
Alma Mater: USF 2001
Career: 76-76 (15th year)
at USF: 76-76 (15th year)

MU: Ted Karras
Alma Mater: Northwestern
Career: 104-81 (17th season)
At Marian: 80-32 (10th season)

TOP STORYLINES
• Saturday marks the third matchup against a ranked foe for USF.  Marian comes into the matchup ranked No. 6 in the latest NAIA poll.  USF has also played NCAA No. 4 Illinois State and No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan. 
 
• Marian has outscored its seven NAIA opponents 270-74.

• The Knights' defense is a plus-15 in the takeaway department with 14 picks and eight fumble recoveries, which averages out to nearly three takeaways per game.
 
• Marian placekicker Ashton Vogel has attempted the most field goals in the NAIA this year (19) and has made the second most (12). 

• USF's defense has 12 takeaways in its last three games with seven picks and five fumble recoveries.
 
• The Saints have averaged 35.0 points per game over their last three contests.
 
 
GAME NOTES

THE HEAD COACHES
Joe Curry (St. Francis) is in his 15th season as the Saints' head coach, which makes him the longest-serving coach in school history.  He is also the winningest coach in the history of the program with 76 victories and second in winning percentage (.500, 76-76).  Program founder Gordie Gillespie maintains the top spot in winning percentage at .593.

Ted Karras (Marian) was the first head coach in Marian history and, within six seasons, took the Knights to their first NAIA national championship in 2012.  He then left the program to take over at Walsh University (Ohio) before returning to Marian four seasons ago.  Between the two stints combined, he has registered an 80-32 record in nine-plus campaigns.  Karras also served as the head coach at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for three campaigns as well as an assistant coach at both St. Francis (1995) and Saint Xavier University (1999-2002).  Overall, in his 16-plus seasons as a head coach, he is 104-81.  His son, Teddy, is currently the starting center for the Cincinnati Bengals and also won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots.    

ABOUT MARIAN
Marian comes into Joliet Memorial Stadium riding a seven-game winning streak and manning the No. 6 position in the latest NAIA Coaches' Poll.  The Knights' only loss was a 39-7 setback to NCAA II University of Indianapolis in the season opener.  Since then, Marian has handled each of its other seven Mid-States Football Association foes, outscoring them by a nearly 200-point margin, 270-74.  The only two NAIA teams that have come close to knocking off the Knights were Madonna University (Mich.) (27-25) and Indiana Wesleyan University (30-28).  Against each of the other five NAIA foes, MU has allowed no more than six points.  The Knights employ a balanced attack offensively, averaging 213.4 yards per game on the ground and another 185.9 yards through the air.  That has resulted in Marian outgaining its opponents by better than 125 yards per contest.  The Knights also hold an eight-minute time-of-possession advantage and have converted 45.6 percent of their third-down plays and 61.5 percent on fourth down.  MU has come out of the gates quickly, too, outscoring its opponents 79-21 after the first 15 minutes.  The lone negative on the offensive side of the ball is that the Knights have only scored touchdowns 27 of the 47 times that they have gotten into the red zone.  Running the show is sophomore quarterback Jake Dunn, who has completed just under 61 percent of his passes for 1,062 yards with six touchdowns against just one interception.  He can also hurt opponents with his legs, having the third-most carries on the teams and averaging 30.1 yards per game.  Uriah Buchanan, another sophomore, leads the ground game with his 83 carries for 456 yards, not to mention eight touchdowns, all being team-high marks.  Three other Knights have carried the ball at least 35 times.  In the receiver room, junior Charles Vaden and senior Montasi Clay are tied for the top spot in catches with 31 each.  Vaden holds a 532-427 advantage on yardage and 3-1 margin on touchdowns.  Defensively, Marian is the master of creating turnovers.  The Knights are a plus-15 in the takeaway department with 14 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries.  Opponents are turning the ball over nearly three times per contest.  MU also has 13 sacks on the year.  Nine different players have recorded interceptions with true freshman Jeivyar Horton leading the unit with three.  He has also recovered one fumble and broken up three passes.  Junior linebacker Cade Houseman is all over the field as evidenced by his team-best 58 tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss to go along with his three breakups, two interceptions and one fumble recovery.  Joining him in the middle of the field is junior Wyatt Woodall and his 56 tackles, five of which have gone for loss.  On the special teams' side, sophomore placekicker Ashton Vogel has attempted the most field goals in the NAIA (19) and has made the second-most (12).  His long is 48 yards.  He also leads the Knights in scoring with 65 points.  Junior Dean Mason averages almost 44 yards per punt.          

ABOUT THE SERIES
Marian has won all but one of the eleven games in the series.  Coincidentally, that was the only game in which the Knights scored less than 22 points in the all-time series, a 20-6 setback in 2013.  Since then, MU has reeled off seven wins in a row.

LOOKING BACK AT LAST WEEK
A challenge play resulting in the final of ten combined turnovers on the day added yet another interesting chapter to the University of St. Francis-Saint Xavier University football story, but with the same ending as the Cougars held on again for a 27-24 MSFA Midwest League victory.  The reversed call at the SXU 36-yard line denied St. Francis yet another opportunity to turn a Saint Xavier miscue into points.  The Saints did so on three of their first four chances, cashing an interception and two fumbles in for 17 points. 

SOUTH SIDE IRISH LUCK
Saint Xavier has now won 27 of the 29 all-time matchups, including seven of the last eight meetings decided by seven points or less.  A total of 11 of the last 14 games in the series have also been decided by that margin.

I CHALLENGE YOU
Last Saturday's game marked the first time in school history that there was not only one challenge play, but two.  The Saints lost on their challenge, while Saint Xavier won its request for review.

TEETER TOTTER
The SXU-USF matchup featured four lead changes on the day.  It also had both teams turning the ball over five times with three fumbles and two interceptions each.

CASHING IN
The Saints turned three of Saint Xavier's five turnovers into points.  One of SXU's two interceptions and two of its fumbles resulted in 17 points for St. Francis.

THREE OTHER MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
The Saints got inside the Saint Xavier 36-yard line six times on the day, but came away with points on only half of those series.

TAKEAWAY TEAR
USF's defense has been on a tear over its last three contests, producing 12 takeaways.  Seven have come on interceptions with the other five being fumble recoveries.  Wynton White leads the team with three interceptions and has one fumble recovery.

ONE BRANCH OF THE DEFENSIVE TREE
Agsan Branch was one of the Saints credited with an interception on Saturday.  He also had another three breakups and a career-high 11 tackles.

SACK ATTACK
The Saints registered a season-high five sacks on Saturday and now have 12 in their last three games.  Matthew Perry recorded the first two sacks of the season for him, while Gavin Day collected his first collegiate sack.

BUNCHED UP AT THE TOP
Just five stops separate USF's top tacklers this season.  Daniel Rouse (62 hits) holds a two-tackle edge over John Wesolowski (60) with Day at 58 and Perry 57.

ENGSTROM ENERGY
After catching only eight passes in his first three games combined, Connor Engstrom has authored 32 receptions in the last four weeks to take the team lead with 40.  The junior caught a career-high 10 passes for 85 yards versus Saint Xavier.
 
PASS HAPPY
USF's 23 passes in 43 attempts and Saint Xavier's 31 completions in 51 attempts as well as its 403 yards were all season-high marks by the Saints and their opponents.  Jalen Webb-Starkey's 22 completions and 41 attempts were also tops for the campaign.

A HIGH FIVE
Aaron Larkins became the fifth Saint player to be credited with a pass completion this year and his was a big one.  Trailing 10-0, Larkins hooked up with David Maddox on a 54-yard halfback touchdown pass in the second quarter to get the Saints back in the game.

IT'S GOOD
Alan Avalos' first collegiate made field goal in the third quarter was the longest by a Saint this year and put them up 24-20.

SCORING SURGE
After managing a total of just 16 points in its first three games combined, USF has not scored less than 14 points in each of its last five games.  In its last three contests, the Saints have averaged 35.0 points per game.

RANKED FOR THE THIRD TIME
The Saints will play their third ranked foe of the season on Saturday with Marian coming in at No. 6 in the latest poll.  USF has also played NCAA No. 4 Illinois State University and NAIA No. 9 Indiana Wesleyan University.

FOR THE RECORD
The Saints are 184-244 all time, 155-184 in day games and 96-109 at home.