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Gameday Info

Location: Minot, N.D.
Away Team: University of Minnesota, Crookston (1-6, 1-6 NSIC)
Home Team: Minot State University (1-6, 1-6 NSIC)
Date: Sat., Oct. 20. 2:30 p.m.
Stadium: Herb Parker Stadium
Seating Capactiy: 4,500
Online Video: NMTV
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/minotstate/football/scoreboard.aspx
Radio: KROX 1260
Play by Play/Color Analyst: Chris Fee/Jake Fee
Twitter: UMCAthletics
Facebook: Golden Eagle Sports

Quick Hits

• UMC and Minot State to Meet for First Time Since 1998
    The University of Minnesota, Crookston and Minot State University will meet for the first time since 1998. UMC won the meeting 24-14. They also played in 1995, 1996 and 1997 with UMC winning in 1995 and 1997 and Minot State winning 21-18 in 1996.

• Looking to End the Road Woes
    UMC has struggled to say the least on the road this season. The Golden Eagles have been outscored 189 to 21 on the road this season. They ended a three-game scoreless streak offensively on the road against MSU Moorhead with a Richard Haley touchdown run and a Marcus Cheatham touchdown reception from A.J. Barge. UMC will look to take the next step and get a road victory Saturday. The last road victory for the Golden Eagles as a team in the NSIC came Nov. 3, 2007 with a 42-38 victory over MSU Moorhead in Moorhead, Minn.

•#CECILBROWN4ALLAMERICA
    Cecil Brown, Jr. has been an absolute force on defense so far this season and currently is third in the entire NSIC with 80 tackles. The senior strong safety is ranked ninth nationally for tackles heading into Saturday's contest against Minot State. Brown set a career-high with 16 tackles versus Bemidji State two weeks ago. Brown has three fumble recoveries on the year, as well as a sack. Brown's three fumble recoveries is ranked tied for first nationally.

• Rollins In His Sights
    With four games left this season, running back Richard Haley has all-time UMC rushing leader R.J. Rollins in his sights. Haley needs 700 yards to move past Rollins, a task that will be tough but isn't completely out of the realm of possibilities. Haley has 818 yards rushing on 140 carries this season. He had 112 yards on the ground with one touchdown versus MSU Moorhead. He will look to mirror or surpass last weekend's performance against the Beavers this weekend.

• Rise of the Receivers
    Freshman Josh Ross and junior Marcus Cheatham have come on strong of late for the Golden Eagles. After only six catches in the first three games, the pair of UMC targets have been very reliable in the last four games for Golden Eagle quarterback A.J. Barge. In the last four games Cheatham has 21 catches for 219 yards for an average of 10.4 yards per reception. Ross has 22 catches for 200 yards during those same four games for an average of 9.1 yards per reception.

• Finding The Scoreboard First
    The Golden Eagles have lost all six games this season where they failed to find the scoreboard before their opponents. In their lone win against Southwest Minnesota State University, UMC was the first to score as Richard Haley took the first play from scrimmage 60 yards to the house. The Golden Eagles will hope to get the early momentum and be the first on the scoreoboard against the Beavers this weekend.

• Tale of Two Teams
    The University of Minnesota, Crookston has been a tale of two different teams this year, a home version and an away version. The Golden Eagles are averaging just over five points in road games while they are averaging 26.0 points a game at home. In addition, they are averaging 399 yards of offense and giving up 409 yards defensively at home while compared to road games, where they are giving up 429 yards defensively and are averaging 221 yards of offense. The Golden Eagles will look to change that trend against Minot State.

• Covering The Kickoff
    The University of Minnesota, Crookston Golden Eagles are currently leading the league in kickoff coverage as they are only allowing opponents to an average of 12.3 yards per kickoff return.

• Interception Duo
    Freedom McCullough and Ricky Jacobs have accounted for six of UMC's seven interceptions this season. Both players have three on the year. McCullough sat out against St. Cloud State but came off the bench against MSU Moorhead. He could possibly work his way back into the starting line-up against Minot State. Junior college transfer Jacobs had an interception two weeks ago against the Huskies. He has also taken an interception to the end zone this year with a score against Concordia University, St. Paul earlier this season.

The Scoop

    Saturday's game between Minot State University and UMC will be the first since 1998 for the two schools. Minot State just became a full-fledged member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference this season. UMC leads the all-time series 3-1 over the Beavers. The game will start at 2:30 p.m. Saturday from Herb Parker Stadium atop the hill.

Previewing the Golden Eagles

    The University of Minnesota, Crookston will look to minimize errors after a tough weekend on the road against Minnesota State University, Moorhead. The Golden Eagles moved the football with 313 yards of offense including the most UMC has gotten through the air this season (208 yards) but four costly interceptions from A.J. Barge and a fumble from Chris Secrest proved costly. The Golden Eagles will look to channel the team that has played at home this season. A.J. Barge has improved immensely through the air of late despite the tough performance against the Dragons. Barge is 99-of-182 for 852 yards with five touchdowns and eight interceptions. Despite Barge's growth, the go-to player continues to be 2011 NSIC North Division First Team pick Richard Haley, who is second in the NSIC with 818 yards on 150 carries. Haley is averaging 5.5 yards per carry this year. The other two top offensive threats for the Golden Eagles have been junior wide reciever Marcus Cheatham and freshman wideout Josh Ross. Cheatham has 24 catches for 240 yards and three touchdowns while Ross has 25 catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns.

    Defensively, Cecil Brown Jr. (Sr., DB, Edison, Ga.) has been a terror to opposing teams. Brown has been everywhere. He currently has 80 tackles, which is third in the NSIC and is ninth nationally. Brown has led the Golden Eagles in tackles in six of seven games this season and added a career-high 16 tackles against Bemidji State to his tally. The Golden Eagles have caused 15 turnovers with Brown, Jr. having three fumble recoveries this year. In addition, safety Freedom McCullough and linebacker Ricky Jacobs each have three interceptions this season.

Previewing the Beavers

    Minot State comes in with a 1-6 (1-6 NSIC) record, which matches their opponents from UMC. The Beavers are averaging 280 yards of offense per game while giving up 413 yards per game in their first season in the NSIC. Minot State's lone win came Sept. 29 against U-Mary. The Beavers rely heavily on freshman signal caller Zac Cunha. Cunha is 104-of-221 for 1,392 yards with 10 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his first year at the helm. His top target this season has been redshirt freshman Porter Sturm, who has 27 catches for 481 yards and five touchdowns. Junior Wayne Peters has chipped in 33 catches for 444 yards and three touchdowns. In the running game, Blake Eggl leads the way with 350 yards on 106 carries.

    Defensively, linebacker Casey Weinmann leads the way with 55 tackles this season. Defensive back Jeff Buchert leads the team with three interceptions. The Beavers have been giving up 252 yards in the passing game this season per game while allowing 160 yards per game on the ground.

The Rundown

• UMC leads the all-time series against Minot State 3-1 with the two team's last meeting in 1998.

• UMC ended their offensive scoreless streak on the road with a 7 yard touchdown pass from A.J. Barge to Marcus Cheatham versus MSU Moorhead.

• The Golden Eagles have had a bit of inconsistency in starting line-ups this season due to injuries and performance. Six players have started every game this season on offense (Barge, Haley, Foley, Johnson, Smith, Kelly). Of the position groups offensive line has been the most injured group. On defense, five players have started every game (Jackson, Jacobs, Davidson, Brown and Kellum). Of the position groups the defensive line has been very hurt this fall as Cole Jackson is the only player to start every game on the defensive line this season. The Golden Eagles have started six different players at the three other defensive line spots this season.

• The Golden Eagles have 10 seniors this season. Of those 10 seniors, six have been regular starters when healthy (Cecil Brown, Marcus Galan, Richard Haley, Mike Johnson, Keith McBride, Austin Schwager) while Stephen Henderson has been the regular kicker and Chris Secrest has handled punting duties. Tyler Roed and Joe Stearly have both been key role players off the bench this year.

• Paul Miller picked up his first victory as the UMC head coach three weekends ago as they upended SW Minnesota State 33-28.

• 22 newcomers  have made appearances for the Golden Eagles in the seven games so far this year.

• Josh Ross scored the first offensive touchdown of the season for UMC on the season and the first touchdown of his career against Concordia-St. Paul

• In the theme of the recently completed Olympics, UMC defensive lineman Cole Jackson is the son of former Olympic Gold Medalist Kevin Jackson, who is the current head wrestling coach at Iowa State University.