Southeast Missouri (1-3, 0-0 OVC) vs. Murray State (1-3, 0-1 OVC)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015
Kickoff: 6:06 p.m., CT 
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Stadium: Missouri National Guard Field/Houck Stadium (10,000)
Surface: FieldTurf
Forecast: Clear, 72 degrees
Series: Murray State leads, 39-9-1
Last Meeting: Murray State 44, Southeast Missouri 41 | Oct. 11, 2014
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (7-10 overall; 6-10 at Southeast; 3-5 OVC). Mitch Stewart (1-3 overall; 1-3 at MSU; 0-1 OVC).

Media Information  
TV: American Sports Network (Brett Dolan, PBP; Michael Young, Analyst), WDKA (MyTV) | ASN Complete Channel Listing
Radio: ESPN 92.9 FM, Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser, Todd Bonacki) | Listen Live
Video: American Sports Network Feed
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Twitter Updates: @SEMOFootball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri | OVC Weekly Report
PaulMcRoberts.com

Redhawks Start Conference Play
Southeast Missouri (1-3) opens Ohio Valley Conference play when it hosts rival Murray State (1-3, 0-1) in an American Sports Network television matchup Saturday. Kickoff is set for 6:06 p.m., CT, at Missouri National Guard Field/Houck Stadium.

TV Game
Saturday's game between Southeast and Murray State will be televised live on the American Sports Network with Brett Dolan and Michael Young calling the action from Houck Stadium. The Redhawks play on television for the second time this season.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen to Saturday's game live on the radio at ESPN 92.9 FM and Real Rock 99.3 FM with Erik Sean, Rick Wieser and Todd Bonacki calling the action from Missouri National Guard Field/Houck Stadium. Live stats can be accessed online at GoSoutheast.com. Live twitter updates will be provided @SEMOFootball.

Series History
Rivals Southeast and Murray State meet for the 50th time this weekend. MSU owns a 39-9-1 lead in the all-time series. Six of the Redhawks nine wins in the series have come at Houck Stadium. MSU won three of the last four matchups, as each game was decided by seven or fewer points. Both teams scored over 30 points in those four contests, as well.

Bender and Davis Update
Quarterback Tay Bender is out for Saturday's game vs. Murray State. Bender has a sprained left shoulder (non-throwing) that he sustained early in the third quarter against Shorter University (Sept. 26) and did not return. Bender is undergoing further evaluation and his return is undetermined at this time. Wide receiver Adrian Davis is also undergoing further evaluation after injuring his left knee in the third quarter against Shorter. Davis is day-to-day.

OVC Openers
The Redhawks are 7-17 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference openers. This year marks the 10th where Southeast starts league play against Murray State. The Redhawks also faced the Racers in their OVC opener in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2010. The 30-17 win over MSU in 2010 ignited a nine-game winning streak during Southeast's OVC championship and Football Championship Subdivision Playoff season. The Redhawks, who beat UT Martin (31-27) on the road to start OVC play last season, have never won a league-opener in two-straight years.

Happy Birthday Houck Stadium!
Saturday is the 85th Birthday of Houck Stadium, which has served as the home of Redhawk football since 1930. Regional rivals Southeast and Southern Illinois met in the first game at Houck on Oct. 3 that year. SIU beat the Redhawks by a score of 12-6.

This Guy Can Run
In his first career start against Shorter University (Sept. 26), Tremane McCullough ran for a season-high 166 yards on 18 carries, averaging over nine yards (9.2) per rush. It was McCullough's second-straight 100-yard rushing game. He moved to third in the Ohio Valley Conference in rushing with 75.5 yards per game and leads the Redhawks with 302 yards on 41 attempts. McCullough's 7.4 yards per carry is second in the league. McCullough and Jacksonville State's Troymaine Pope lead the OVC with two 100-yard rushing games each.

Jackson Out for Season
Tremane McCullough took over as Southeast's starting tailback after it was announced that Preseason-All-American and All-Ohio Valley Conference honoree DeMichael Jackson will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. Jackson led the Redhawks with 265 yards on 56 carries in three starts before his injury. He ran for a career-high 186 yards in Southeast's win over Southern Illinois (Sept. 12) during the second week of the season. Jackson underwent surgery on Sept. 28 and plans to be back next year.

Redhawks Look to End Two-Game Skid
Southeast suffered its second-straight loss when it fell to NCAA Division II Shorter University, 26-21, on Sept. 26. The loss marked the Redhawks first to a non-Division I opponent in their NCAA Football Championship Subdivision era. Southeast is now 15-1 all-time against non-Division I teams.  

Stewart Performs Well
Backup running back Brendan Stewart finished with 40 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries against Shorter University (Sept. 26). A native of Carlinville, Illinois, Stewart scored his first career TD on an 8-yard run with 10:09 left to play in the second quarter and added a 5-yard touchdown run with four minutes remaining in the third quarter. He narrowed Shorter's lead to seven points on both of his scores.

Vandeven Makes Starting Debut
True freshman Dante Vandeven made his debut as Southeast's starting quarterback against Shorter University (Sept. 26). Vandeven, who hails from nearby Jackson, completed 76.4 percent (13-of-17) of his passes for 104 yards and ran for another 28 yards and one touchdown on six carries. He scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 5-yard run that tied the game at 7-7 with 1:56 left in the first quarter. Vandeven has led the Redhawks on six scoring drives this season, including three in the fourth quarter.

Freshman QB
When Dante Vandeven made his first career start under center against Shorter University (Sept. 26), he became the school's first true freshman to start at quarterback since Matt Scheible got the nod vs. Murray State on Nov. 18, 2008. Vandeven's first start came during the fourth week of the season, six game's earlier than Scheible's starting debut in 2008.

Meredith Nabs Career-High
Outside linebacker Chad Meredith tallied double-digit tackles for the first time when he notched a career-high 10 against Shorter University (Sept. 26). Meredith, who missed the last eight games of the 2014 season with a shoulder injury, ranks second on the team with 25 tackles and is tied for first in tackles for loss (5.0).

Mr. Consistency
Linebacker Roper Garrett recorded double-digit tackles for the third-straight game when he turned in a game-high 11 vs. Shorter University (Sept. 26). A native of Farmington, Missouri, Garrett had four solo tackles and seven assisted stops. He also added 1.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack. Garrett went over 200 tackles (202) career tackles and notched 10 or more tackles for the eighth time in his career. He enters the week as the Ohio Valley Conference's third-leading tackler (10.3 per game), ranking 22nd in the Football Championship Subdivision with 41 total stops. Garrett, who tallied double-digit tackles in three-straight starts for the first time in his career, led the team in tackles for the ninth time. He is 27 tackles away from joining Southeast's all-time career top 20 list.

Tough Break
Southeast lost each of its last two games by a combined six points. The Redhawks had #23 Indiana State (Sept. 19) on the ropes when Dante Vandeven threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Paul McRoberts as time expired. Southeast went for two and the win, but Vandeven's pass to McRoberts fell incomplete, resulting in a heartbreaking 29-28 loss. A week later, the Redhawks held a 21-20 lead with 14:54 left in the fourth quarter against Shorter University, but the Hawks erased the deficit when they scored with 6:15 on the clock. One last drive by Southeast stalled when Vandeven's pass intended for Darrius Darden-Box was incomplete, allowing Shorter to hang on for a 26-21 victory.

Possession Gap
Shorter University's tricky triple option offense had Southeast on its heels for the entire game during last week's 26-21 loss. The Hawks had the ball for 36:31 and held a +13:02 advantage in time of possession. It was the Redhawks largest deficit in time of possession since a -16:42 mark at Tennessee State on Oct. 5, 2013. Southeast also allowed a season-high 300 rushing yards, the second-most in a game by a Tom Matukewicz coached team. The Redhawks had given up no more than 175 yards in each of their first three contests this season.

Sack Attack
Southeast collected nine sacks in its last two games and is one away from matching its season-total from 2014 (15). The Redhawks currently have 14 sacks for a loss of 71 yards, with 10 different players getting at least one. They lead the Ohio Valley Conference and rank ninth in the Football Championship Subdivision with an average of 3.5 per game. Southeast is on its way to having its first 20-sack season since 2007. John Popovich currently leads the Redhawks with 2.5 sacks.

Clutch Performance
True freshman quarterback Dante Vandeven made his first college appearance when he relieved starting quarterback Tay Bender at #23 Indiana State (Sept. 19). Vandeven threw a a 26-yard touchdown pass to Paul McRoberts to pull the Redhawks to within a point (29-28) as time expired. Vandeven's pass to McRoberts on the ensuing two-point conversion sailed out of McRoberts' reach and fell incomplete. He kept Southeast's final drive alive by completing an 11-yard pass to Darrius Darden-Box on a fourth-and-9 before throwing his first career touchown pass following three-straight Southeast timeouts. A poised Vandeven marshaled three scoring drives in the last 9:29 of the game when the Redhawks were behind 21-7. He also ran for a big first down on a third-and-6 during a 10-play, 57-yard drive that made it a one-touchdown game. Vandeven completed 12-of-17 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown, and ran for 28 yards on four carries.

The Chase is On
Star wide receiver Paul McRoberts is on pace to break Southeast's all-time career record in receiving touchdowns. McRoberts caught an 18-yard pass from Tay Bender for his first touchdown reception of the season to tie the game late in the third quarter vs. Southern Illinois (Sept. 12). A week later, he hauled in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Dante Vandeven to bring the Redhawks within a point (29-28) as time expired at Indiana State (Sept. 19) He is second with 22 receiving touchdowns behind Willie Ponder who caught 26 TD passes from 2001-02. Ponder is also the Redhawks all-time leading receiver with 2,543 yards.

Ranking the Redhawks
This week, Southeast ranks among the top 10 teams in the Football Championship Subdivision in fourth-down conversion percentage (6th, 86 percent), tackles for loss (6th, 8.8 per game) and sacks (9th, 3.5 per game). The Redhawks lead the Ohio Valley Conference in sacks (14), tackles for loss (35) and turnovers gained (9), and rank second in turnover margin (+4), net punting (38.7 ypp) and fourth-down conversion percentage. Individually, Alex Knight leads the OVC and ranks fourth in the nation in punting (45.8 avg.), while Tremane McCullough is second in the conference and 10th nationally in rushing yards per carry (7.3).

Near-Perfect on Fourth Down
Southeast, which led the Ohio Valley Conference and ranked 13th in the Football Championship Subdivision in fourth-down conversion percentage a year ago, has picked up where it left off in that category. Through four games this season, the Redhawks are sixth in the nation and second in the Ohio Valley Conference on fourth down. Southeast (6-of-7) converted each of its first six chances on fourth down this year. The only time the Redhawks didn't convert was when they threw an incomplete pass on a fourth-and-13 late in the fourth quarter vs. Shorter University (Sept. 26).

Worth Noting
The Redhawks are second in the Ohio Valley Conference and 19th in the Football Championship Subdivision in rushing offense with 223.8 yards per game. Southeast has six rushing touchdowns, two passing TDs and two defensive scores in four games. Eight different Redhawks, including Paul McRoberts, Mike Ford, Tay Bender, Tremane McCullough, Eriq Moore, Lewis Washington, Brendan Stewart and Dante Vandeven have at least one touchdown this season.

Flye Returns
Sophomore cornerback JJ Flye played for the first time this season against Shorter University (Sept. 26). Flye recorded one tackle in his return from a hand injury he sustained in an accident on July 4. He suffered skin and nerve damage and had to have pins inserted into his wrist after a firecracker went off in his right hand. Flye played in eight games and made one start during his rookie campaign in 2014. He registered 14 tackles and two pass breakups that year.

Good Knight
Alex Knight leads the Ohio Valley Conference and ranks fourth in the Football Championship Subdivision with 45.8 yards per punt. Seven of Knight's punts have travelled 50 or more yards with 14 dropping inside the opposing 20-yard line this season. His 45.8 average is presently second on Southeast's all-time single-season list.

Major Attention
Legitimately one of the best receivers the Football Championship Subdivision has to offer, Preseason All-American Paul McRoberts is getting significant interest. Several NFL teams, including the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chicago Bears and Baltimore Ravens have already seen McRoberts.

About Murray State
Murray State, which is under first-year head coach Mitch Stewart, comes to Cape Girardeau on a three-game losing streak. MSU lost to two Football Bowl Subdivision opponents (at Northern Illinois, at Western Michigan) before opening its Ohio Valley Conference slate with a 31-29 home loss to Tennessee Tech (Sept. 26). TTU linebacker Tra'Darius Goff chased down MSU's Jeremy Harness on a reverse when the Racers attempted to tie the game with a two-point conversion. Goff knocked Harness out of bounds at the 2-yard line, denying the Racers the tying points. Quarterback KD Humphries leads the OVC in passing average (365.3 ypg) and total offense (377.8 ypg), while Harness is presently the league's top receiver with 122.5 yards per game. Humphries leads the nation in completions per game (31), ranks second in passing yards (1,461) and passing yards per game, third in passing TDs (11) and fourth in total offense (377.8 ypg). As a team, MSU ranks second in the conference and 13th in the Football Championship Subdivision in total offense (467.3 ypg). The Racers also lead the OVC and have the nation's No. 3 passing offense (365.8 ypg). MSU leads the league in both third-down conversion percentage (45.3 pct.) and third-down conversion percentage defense (38.2 pct.), as well. The Racers are 18-6-1 all-time at Houck Stadium, but have lost in two of their last three trips to Cape Girardeau (2009, 2013).