Northwestern State (0-4) at #13 Southeast Missouri (3-1)

Game Information
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2024
Kickoff: 3 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Facility: Houck Field (8,000)
Surface: Field Turf
Series: SEMO leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: SEMO 51, NSU 16 (10/22/22)

Head Coaches
Northwestern State: Blaine McCorkle (31-29 overall; 0-4 at NSU; 0-0 Southland)
Southeast Missouri: Tom Matukewicz (58-60 overall; 57-60 at SEMO; 42-30 Big South-OVC)

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

Family Weekend
•    #13 Southeast Missouri hosts Southland Conference member Northwestern State during its Family Weekend Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m., CT at Houck Field.
•    SEMO is 7-2 in Family Weekend games under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.
•    The Redhawks won four of their last five Family Weekend matchups.
•    SEMO is 1-0 at Houck Field this season with its first home win, a 45-42 double overtime victory over UT Martin on Sept. 7.
•    Last year, the Redhawks fell to Southern Illinois, 26-25, during Family Weekend on Sept. 16, 2023.
•    Saturday's game is a RED OUT and SEMO fans are encouraged to wear RED. 

Series Notes
•    Southeast Missouri and Northwestern State meet for just the second time in 2024.
•    SEMO beat NSU, 51-16, in the first mathchup between the teams in Natchitoches, Louisiana on Oct. 22, 2022.
•    This year's game is the last of the Ohio Valley Conference and Southland Conference scheduling alliance which provided quailty Division I matchups for teams in each league
•    SEMO also played Nicholls twice as part of the OVC and Southland scheduling alliance.

Against the Southland Conference
•    Southeast Missouri is 4-2 all-time against current Soutland Conference schools.
•    SEMO is 1-0 vs. Northwestern State, 2-1 vs. Nicholls and 1-1 vs. Southeastern Louisiana.
•    All four of those wins have come under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.
•    The Redhawks beat their highest ranked opponent in program history when they took down then-#3 Southeastern Louisiana, 24-23, on Sept. 20, 2014.

Non-Conference Finale
•    Northwestern State will make its first trip to Cape Girardeau for Southeast Missouri's non-conference finale Saturday.
•    SEMO is presently 2-1 in non-conference games this season.
•    The Redhawks beat North Alabama, 37-15, in the FCS Kickoff on Aug. 24, fell to Football Bowl Subdivision New Mexico State, 23-16, on Aug. 31 and upended #7 Southern Illinois, 38-21, on Sept. 21.
•    SEMO is on a two-game winning streak heading into Saturday's game. The Redhawks are also 1-0 at Houck Field this year.

Redhawks Take Down #7 Southern Illinois
•    #21 Southeast Missouri upended #7 Southern Illinois by a score of 31-18 in the annual War for the Wheel matchup on Sept. 21 in Carbondale, Illinois.
•    It was the 92nd meeting between the teams separated just 48 miles apart.
•    SEMO won the wheel trophy for the fourth time since the rivalry was deemed War for the Wheel in 2018.
•    The Redhawks scored 14 fourth-quarter points to put the exclamation point on their  third win of the season.
•    SEMO beat SIU for the third time in its last four trips to Saluki Stadium.

Ninth Brickyard Win
•    Southeast Missouri defeated a ranked FCS opponent for a program record ninth time under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz when the Redhawks beat #7 Southern Illinois (Sept. 21).
•    SEMO improved to 11-33 all-time against ranked FCS foes since 2004.
•    SIU, then #17 at the time, was the last ranked opponent the Redhawks beat prior to this season on Sept. 10, 2022 (34-31).
•    For Matukewicz the victory was his fourth over a Top-10 ranked opponent as SEMO's head coach.
•     Every time SEMO upsets a FBS or ranked FCS opponent, it displays the winning scores of those games permanently in the "Brickyard."
•     The Brickyard resides in the Redhawks locker room located in the Rosengarten Athletic Complex.

From Demon to Redhawk
•    Linebacker Jared Pedraza and offensive lineman Tyler McMillan joined the Redhawks from Northwestern State this season.
•    Pedraza spent five years (2019-23) at NSU, where he accumulated 203 tackles, 27.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks in 37 games.
•    McMillan started six games on the offensive line for the Demons last season. Before that, he played football and was on the track & field team at  Mississippi Valley State.
•    McMillan started four games at left tackle and Pedraza has 20 tackles and three tackles for loss with the Redhawks in 2024. 

Anderson Excels
•    Dorian Anderson went over 100 receiving yards for the third-straight game when he finished with 111 and two touchdowns on eight catches at #7 Southern Illinois (Sept. 21).
•    Anderson is Southeast Missouri's top receiver with 27 receptions for 424 yards and five touchdowns through four starts.
•    He ranks first in the Big South-OVC in receptions per game (6.75), receiving yards per game (106 ypg) and receiving touchdowns.
•    Anderson leads the Football Championship Subdivision in receiving touchdowns, ranks second in receiving yards and is fifth in receiving yards per game.
•    He caught a touchdown pass in three-straight games and finished with two touchdown receptions in each of his last two starts.

Brown Goes Over 100 Yards
•    Freshman Payton Brown became Southeast Missouri's first 100-yard rusher of the season.
•    Brown ran for 124 yards and one touchdown at #7 Southern Illinois (Sept. 21) averaging 6.9 yards per carry along the way.
•    He carried the ball 18 times against the Salukis and had three runs of 14 or more yards.
•    Brown ranks 20th in the nation with four rushing touchdowns this season.

Offense Produces
•    Southeast Missouri leads the Big South-OVC in scoring offense (34 ppg), total offensive plays (282), touchdowns scored (17), total offense (384.5 ppg) and passing offense (292 ypg).
•    Nationally, SEMO is sixth in passing offense and 16th in scoring.
•    Seven different Redhawks have scored a touchdown through four games this season, including Payton Brown (4), Carter Hensley (1), Dorian Anderson (5), Cam Pedro (1), Tristan Smith (1), Mitchell Sellers (4) and Kyron Downing (1).

Big South-OVC Weekly Honors
•    For the second time this season, Southeast Missouri picked up two of the Big South-Ohio Valley Conference Association's weekly awards.
•    Paxton DeLaurent was named Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Week and Payton Brown was tabbed the league's Freshman of the Week on Sept. 23.
•    Prior to that, DeLaurent won Big South-OVC Offensive and Bryce Norman earned Big South-OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 9.
•    DeLaurent has won Big South-OVC Offensive Player of the Week accolades three times in his career, while Norman took Defensive Player of the Week honors on three occasions, as well. Brown won Freshman of the Week for the first time in his career.

One-Score Games
•    Since the start of the 2023 season, Southeast Missouri has been involved in eight one-score games.
•    Two of SEMO's last three contests were one-score affairs. The Redhawks fell to New Mexico State, 23-16, on Aug. 31 and beat UT Martin, 45-42, in double overtime on Sept. 7.
•    The Redhawks are 3-5 in those games.

Redhawks Move into Top-15
•    Southeast Missouri moved up eight spots to #13 in the Stats Perform Media and seven spots to #14 in the AFCA Coaches Polls on Sept. 23.
•    SEMO cracked the Top-25 in both polls for the first time this season a week before on Sept. 16.
•    The Redhawks are the only Big South-OVC team ranked in the Top-25 this year.
•    SEMO has been ranked a total of 34 weeks in either the AFCA or Stats Perform Top-25 polls under Head Coach Tom Matukewicz.

Pulling Rank
•    Southeast Missouri ranks among the top 10 teams in the FCS in three statistical categories. 
•    The Redhawks are sixth in passing offense (292 ypg), seventh in fourth down conversion percentage (.857) and 10th in winning percentage (.750).

Leading Tacklers
•    Southeast Missouri has three of the Big South-OVC's top 10 tacklers.
•    Bryce Norman leads the league with 41 tackles and Khalani Riddick is right behind with 39 stops.
•    Mali Walton ranks eighth with 29 tackles.

About Northwestern State
•    Northwestern State makes its first-ever trip to Cape Girardeau. 
•    NSU brings a 0-4 record to Houck Field and has been outscored by a combined, 126-10, in its last two games.
•    South Alabama drubbed the Demons by a staggering score of 87-10 on Sept. 12 and NSU was shutout, 39-0, by Weber State on Sept. 21.
•    NSU's defense is giving up a Southland Conference worst 56.3 points a game. The Demons are also last in the league in total offense (223.8 ypg), total defense (534.8 ypg allowed) and passing offense (290.8 ypg).
•    Blaine McCorkle is in his first year as head coach at NSU.

Notable Streaks
•    Bryce Norman led Southeast Missouri in tackles for three-straight seasons. If Norman does that again in 2024, he will become the first player in program history to lead the team in tackles four years in a row.

•    Three-time First-Team All-Big South-OVC selection Zack Gieg has made 29-consecutive starts at center.
•    Kobe Sixkiller, a four-year starter, made 18-straight starts on the offensive line.
•    The Redhawks have not had a losing record in Big South-OVC play for six-straight seasons. The last time that happened was in 2017 (3-5).

Good to Know
•    Bryce Norman ranks ninth among Southeast Missouri's career leaders in tackles (313) and 11th in tackles for loss (26.0). Norman became the 10th player in program history to go over 300 career tackles. 
•    Paxton DeLaurent ranks third all-time in program history with 5,544 passing yards. DeLaurent is the fourth quarterback to throw for over 5,000 yards. He surpassed Jack Tomco (4,946 yards, 2002-03) for the fourth-place spot.
•    DeLaurent has 42 career passing touchdowns and needs five more to break SEMO's all-time career record of 46 set by Daniel Santacaterina (2018-19).
•    DeLaurent needs 636 passing yards to break the school's all-time career record in that category. DeLaurent has 5,544 yards and is chasing Jason Liley who threw for 6,179 yards from 1989-92. 
•    DeLaurent's 376 passing yards against UT Martin (Sept. 7) rank seventh in program history for most passing yards in a game. 
•    His 63 passing attempts against the Skyhawks surpassed Mike Haley (61, at Kent State, Sept. 10, 2005) for a new single-game record.
•    DeLaurent's six touchdown passes against UT Martin (Sept. 7) surpassed SEMO's previous single-game record of five thrown by Kyle Snyder (vs. Austin Peay, 2014) and Jack Tomco (vs. UT Martin, 2002).
•    His 34 completions tied the school's single-game record.