1. The Golden Eagles are heading into their final home tilt of the season as they take on Northern State University at 7 p.m. at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, N.D. The game will mark the third for the Golden Eagles in the Alerus Center. Minnesota Crookston will have Senior Day on Saturday as they honor 11 seniors with Emmitt Stevens, Will Cross, Trevor Long, Jr., LaDerek McCray, Jalin Scott, Jonattan Mudd, Josh Lanasa, Logan Huso, Joe Warner, Austin Brown, and Shonte Smith.

2. The Golden Eagles have the sixth-ranked pass defense in the NSIC as they are allowing just 180.8 yards per game through the air. Minnesota Crookston is looking to force teams to pass, as they have struggled on the run this season. The Golden Eagles are allowing 273.3 yards per game on the ground this season.

3. The Golden Eagles have continued to use two quarterbacks throughout the season. Jalin Scott comes in with the higher passing rating with a 119.2. Scott has completed 54-of-112 passes for 791 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions thrown. Tristan Robbins has also been taking snaps throughout the year. Robbins is 50-of-94 for 649 yards with four touchdowns and eight interceptions. Both quarterbacks will look to make an impact this weekend against Northern State.

4. Minnesota Crookston is 1-2 at the Alerus Center when they are deemed the home team. The Golden Eagles are looking for their first win at the Alerus Center since a 37-36 win over UMary Sat., Nov. 10, 2012. The game was also Senior Day for the Golden Eagles, as they sent their Seniors out on a winning note on the final play of the game with a two-point conversion from two-time All-NSIC First team running back Richard Haley.

5. The Golden Eagles have strong aerial threats this season. Jonattan Mudd has had a breakout season with 31 catches for 435 yards and four touchdowns, while Nathan Coy has 26 catches for 384 yards and two touchdowns. In addition, Andy Groebner comes in with 15 grabs for 207 yards, but is looking for his first touchdown of the 2019 season.

6. Alex Folz has been a little bit of a do-it-all player from playing running back, playing as a slot receiver, punting, and returning kicks. Folz has been especially strong in the return game. He has helped Minnesota Crookston to have the sixth-best kickoff return average of any team with 19.0 yards per kickoff return. Folz is currently eighth in the NSIC with an average of 20.2 yards per return. Folz has also recently been Minnesota Crookston's punter with an average of 35.1 yards per punt with six punts inside the 20 and two punts over 50 yards.

7. Kicker Jared McLemore is already fifth all-time in field goals in his career with seven and he is only a sophomore. McLemore is 3-of-6 on the season with a long of 34 yards. McLemore is 3-of-4 when kicking field goals between 30 and 39 yards.

8. Will Cross and Trevor Long, Jr. have continued to rise on the charts for tackles for the Golden Eagles. Long has 247 career tackles, while Cross has 220 career tackles. Both players have been integral to the defense throughout their career, and will look to etch their names in the record books for Minnesota Crookston.

8. Minnesota Crookston has really limited their penalties this season, as they have been one of the most disciplined teams in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles are averaging just 43.9 yards per game in penalties, which is fourth in the NSIC.

10. Austin Steele has had a stand-out season for the Golden Eagles at linebacker. Steele is second on the team with 60 tackles. He leads the team with 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Steele notched a sack last weekend against Minnesota Duluth. He has also forced three fumbles and recovered two.

11. The Golden Eagles are closing in on their best mark in recent history for sacks, as they have 17 and had 18 sacks in 2016. Minnesota Crookston has been led by Steele with four sacks. Joe Warner has added three sacks. Tysen White and Ben Branscom each have two sacks. The Golden Eagles will look to get to Northern State quarterback Hunter Trautman this weekend.

12. Free Borsey is coming off a strong came from his safety position against UMD, as he notched 10 tackles for the Golden Eagles. LaDerek McCray has also been coming on as of late. The senior had a tackle for lsos against UMD. He notched eight tackles versus Sioux Falls with an interception return for a touchdown, and had eight tackles on the road at Upper Iowa.

13. Tysen White has been a stand-out as a freshman for the Golden Eagles. The McFarland, Wis., native leads the team with 64 tackles. He has tallied 2.5 tackles for loss with two sacks and one fumble recovery/

NORTHERN STATE NOTES

1. Northern State is 4th in the NSIC North with a 5-4 (3-2 NSIC North) mark. They are one game behind Minnesota State University Moorhead. The Wolves are 1-1 in their last two games. That includes a 35-13 loss at home to Sioux Falls and a 49-21 home vicotry over UMary.

2. The Wolves offensively are lead by star running back Isaiah Cherrier. The Sophomore transfer from Westen Illinois has 562 rushing yards on 127 attempts. Last week against UMary he had 83 rush yards on 11 attempts with a touchdown.

3. Another star in the Wolves offense is quarterback Hunter Trautman. The junior from St. Francis, Minn.is 156/281 on passing attempts this year for 1761 yards with nine touchdowns. Last week against UMary he was 21/28 through the air for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 88 rushing yards on 12 attempts with two rushing touchdowns. He's coming off a Sophomore season where he threw for 2659 yards with 24 touchdowns.

4. On deffense Northern State is lead by Preston Droessler and Chase Teiken. They both have tallied 44 tackles on the year. Droessler the senior linebacker from Cuba City, Wis.has 31 solo tackles. He recorded six total tackles, five being solo in the loss to Sioux Falls. Teiken a sophomore linebacker from West Fargo has 27 solo tackles on the year. Last week against UMary he had 4 solo tackles with an assit, along with a sack.

5. Defensively, the Wolves are allowing 143.7 yards per game on the ground and 202.4 passing yards per game. Chance Olson a junior defensive back from Langford, S.D. and Hunter Hansen a sophomore defensive back from Dell Rapids, S.D.  both have three interceptions on the year.

1. Can the Golden Eagles send the Seniors out on Senior Day with a W?

2. Can Minnesota Crookston force turnovers from Hunter Trautman for NSU?

3. Can the Golden Eagles get their running game going?

4. What Senior will step up in his final home game?

5. Can the Golden Eagles get the ball to their big play receivers in Jonattan Mudd and Nathan Coy.