Murray State (2-8, 1-3 OVC) vs. #15/17 Southeast Missouri (8-2, 4-0 OVC)

Game Information
Date: November 19, 2022
Kickoff: 1 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Houck Field
Surface: Field Turf
Series: MSU leads, 43-13-1
Head Coaches: Tom Matukewicz (50-51 overall; 49-51 at SEMO; 37-27 OVC). Dean Hood (68-53 overall; 13-15 at MSU; 53-27 OVC).

Follow the Redhawks
Radio: Real Rock 99.3 FM (Erik Sean, Rick Wieser)
Video: ESPN+ 
Live Stats: SEMORedhawks.com
Twitter: @SEMOfootball
Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF) 

Redhawks Host Murray State in Regular-Season Finale
#15 Southeast Missouri (8-2, 4-0) hosts Murray State (2-8, 1-3) in its regular-season finale Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., CT at Houck Field.

Follow the Redhawks
Fans can listen live on the radio at Real Rock 99.3 FM. Erik Sean will be on the call. Watch on ESPN+. Live stats are available at SEMORedhawks.com and Twitter updates will be provided @SEMOFootball.

Series History
Southeast Missouri and Murray State meet for the 58th time Saturday. MSU holds a 43-13-1 lead in the all-time series. The Racers won each of the last three games. SEMO faces MSU for the final time this weekend as the Racers will join the Missouri Valley Football Conference in 2023.

Senior Salute
The Redhawks will recognize their 16 seniors before Saturday's game against Murray State. Matt Bigley, Jacob Buie, Will Christopher, Jordan Cole, Terry Cook, Pervis Frazier, Zach Haynes, Geno Hess, Trai Hodges, Lawrence Johnson, Johnny King, Nate Korte, Adam Krause, Christian Perez, Shyron Rodgers and Will Weidemann are Southeast Missouri's seniors that will be honored.

OVC Title on the Line
A win Saturday will give Southeast Missouri at least a share of this year's Ohio Valley Conference title. If SEMO wins, it will be the Redhawks second OVC title with Tom Matukewicz as head coach.

Coin Flip to Determine Automatic Berth 
If Southeast Missouri (4-0) and UT Martin (4-0) go undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play, a coin flip will determine which team gets the automatic berth to this year's playoffs. If both SEMO and UTM win this weekend, the coin flip will take place after Saturday's games.

Matukewicz Gets 50th Career Win
Tom Matukewicz celebrated his 50th career win as a head coach when Southeast Missouri beat Eastern Illinois, 31-7, on Nov. 12. Matukewicz is now 50-51 overall and 49-51 at SEMO. A win Saturday will give him his 50th win as the Redhawks head coach.

Nine in Sight
If Southeast Missouri beats Murray State Saturday, it will get nine wins in a season for only the fourth time in its NCAA Division I tenure. SEMO posted nine-win seasons in 2010 (9-3), 2018 (9-4) and 2019 (9-4). For Tom Matukewicz, it would be his third nine-win season as the Redhawks head coach.

Road Winning Streak
The Redhawks won their fifth-straight road game with a 31-7 victory at Eastern Illinois on Nov. 12. Southeast Missouri's five-game road winning streak is its longest in its NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision era.

Outstanding Defense
The Redhawk defense forced two turnovers and limited Eastern Illinois to only 100 total yards and 21 passing yards in their latest win on Nov. 12. The 100 total yards and 21 passing yards are the second-fewest by any opponent against Southeast Missouri's defense in the Redhawks NCAA Division I era.

100-Yard Games
Geno Hess ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns in his latest effort at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 12). As a result, Hess broke Southeast Missouri's all-time career record in 100-yard games. He has hit the century mark a total of 15 times in his career. Hess ran for over 100 yards in five of his last seven starts.

Norman Closing in on 100 Tackles
Linebacker Bryce Norman leads Southeast Missouri with 96 tackles through 10 games this season. Norman recently finished with 11 stops at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 12). He recorded double-digit tackles five times this season and ranks second in the Ohio Valley Conference in tackles. If he accomplishes the feat, Norman will become the second player in the OVC to get 100 tackles this season.

All-Time Leading Rusher
Geno Hess broke Southeast Missouri's all-time career rushing record at Tennessee State (Nov. 5). Hess ran for 136 yards and three touchdowns against the Tigers. He officially broke the record on his third carry of the game, a 9-yard rush during SEMO's second drive. Hess now has 3,673 yards surpassing Kelvin "Earthquake" Anderson (3,392, 1992-94) for the new mark.

Mr. Record-Breaker
Geno Hess has broken five of Southeast Missouri's career records this season alone. Hess broke SEMO's all-time records in rushing touchdowns (47), total touchdowns (49), rushing yards (3,673), points scored (294) and 100-yard games (15).

Heitert Makes Debut
True freshman Patrick Heitert made his debut at quarterback when he entered the game in the second quarter at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 12). Heitert swung the momentum in Southeast Missouri's favor when he quickly completed two passes, including a 30-yard completion to Johnny King. He then capped off the first scoring drive of his career with a 7-yard touchdown run. Heitert completed 11-of-17 passes for 140 yards and ran for 31 yards and a touchdown on seven carries against the Panthers. Starting quarterback Paxton DeLaurent missed his first game of the season with a foot injury.

Talking Streaks
The Redhawks have scored in 39 consecutive games, third-longest streak of that kind in the Ohio Valley Conference. Southeast Missouri has scored over 20 points in nine-straight contests

Redhawks in the Top-25
Southeast Missouri is ranked in both the Stats Perform and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches Top-25 Polls. The Redhawks are #20 in the Stats Perform and #15 in the Coaches Poll as of Nov. 14. SEMO is ranked in both Top-25 polls for the first time since 2019. Currently, the Redhawks and UT Martin are the Ohio Valley Conference teams ranked in the Top-25.
AFCA Coaches        Stats Perform
9/26     RV                9/26       #24   
10/3     #25               10/3       #21      
10/10     #21            10/10     #18
10/17     #18            10/17     #16
10/24     #14            10/24     #15
10/31     #20            10/31     #22
11/7     #19               11/7      #20
11/14     #15             11/14    #17

Fourth OVC Offensive Player of the Week Award
Geno Hess won his fourth Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week award of the season on Nov. 13. Hess ran for 198 yards and three touchdowns in Southeast Missouri's win over Eastern Illinois (Nov. 12). He averaged 6.6 yards per carry on 30 attempts and scored on runs of 30, 10 and 1 yards. Hess increased his rushing touchdowns total to 47, which rank sixth in OVC history.

Multiple Picks
Southeast Missouri had an interception on consecutive possessions in the second quarter at Eastern Illinois (Nov. 12). Mali Walton and Keandre Booker each intercepted a pass. Both of those turnovers resulted in 14 points for the Redhawks. It marked the second time this season SEMO had multiple picks in a game.

Hess Goes Over 1,000 Again 
For the second-straight year, Geno Hess amassed over 1,000 rushing yards. Hess presently has 1,252 yards in 10 starts. He is currently sixth in the Football Championship Subdivision in rushing yards. 
Jaden Shirden, Monmouth 1,567 
Jaleel McLaughlin, Youngstown St. 1,504 
ShunDerrick Powell, No. Ala. 1,468 
Jacob Saylors, East Tennessee St. 1,274 
Bhayshul Tuten, N.C. A&T 1,255 
Geno Hess, Southeast Missouri 1,252

Ball Security 
Southeast Missouri has not turned the ball over during four of its last six games and won the turnover battle by a +4 margin in that span. SEMO committed only nine turnovers in its first 10 games and ranks ninth in the nation in turnovers lost. The nine turnovers lost are fewest in the Ohio Valley Conference.

Sack Streak 
Southeast Missouri recorded multiple sacks in eight of its last nine contests. SEMO finished with a season-best five at Lindenwood (Oct. 1). The Redhawks are tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference with 26 sacks. SEMO had only 16 sacks in 11 games a year ago.

Weeks in Top-25 
Southeast Missouri has been ranked in either the Stats Perform or AFCA Coaches Top-25 Polls a total of 26 weeks during Tom Matukewicz's tenure as the Redhawks head coach. SEMO's highest ranking with Matukewicz at the helm was 12th (2019) in the Stats Perform Media Poll and 13th (2019) in the AFCA Coaches Poll.

42 in a Row 
Kicker DC Pippin has not missed an extra point in his Southeast Missouri career. Pippin is a perfect 42-of-42 in PATs dating back to last season. He made 40-of-40 through 10 games in 2022 and is tied for first in the Ohio Valley Conference in PAT kicking percentage.

Matukewicz Fourth All-Time in Wins 
Southeast Missouri Head Coach Tom Matukewics ranks fourth all-time in program history with 49 wins. Matukewicz is the 13th head coach in SEMO's football tenure. 
Kenneth Knox (1952-67)        88 
Abe Stuber (1932-46)            72 
Jim Lohr (1974-83)                52 
Tom Matukewicz (2014-present)        49

Top-10 in the FCS 
As a team, Southeast Missouri ranks among the top-10 in the Football Championship Subdivision in fourth-down conversion percentage (7th, .667), punt return defense (4th, 0.86), fumbles lost (9th, 3), sacks allowed (6th, 0.90), turnovers lost (9th, 9) and total offense (8th, 475.4). Individually, Dalyn McDonald ranks among the top-10 kick return TDs (8th, 1); Paxton DeLaurent is sixth in total offense (299.1 ypg); Geno Hess is sixth in rushing yards (1,252), eighth in rushing yards per carry (6.96), fourth in rushing touchdowns (15), third in scoring (10.2 ppg) sixth in rushing yards per game (125.2) and second in total touchdowns (17); and Garrett Todd is fifth in punt return TDs (1).

Atop the OVC 
Southeast Missouri leads the Ohio Valley Conference in scoring defense (21.5 ppg allowed), rushing offense (220.1 ypg), rushing defense (108.8 ypg allowed), kickoff returns (22.3 ypr), PAT kicking (43-of-43, 1.00), sacks (23) fourth-down conversions (10-of-15, 66.7 pct.). Individually, Geno Hess is first in the OVC in rushing (125.2 ypg), scoring (10.2 ppg) and all-purpose yards (135.6 ypg), DC Pippin is first in field goals (14-of-21, 1.4 per game) and PAT kicking percentage (40-of-40, 1.00) and Dalyn McDonald is first in punt return average (7.8 ypr) and kick return average (26.4 ypr).

34 Wins 
Since the start of the 2018 season, Southeast Missouri accumulated 34 wins, most in the Ohio Valley Conference during that span. UT Martin is next with 27 victories. Murray State (22), Tennessee State (16), Tennessee Tech (15) and Eastern Illinois (8) round out the league.