This Week:  Notre Dame College football heads to West Virginia State University for its second road game of 2017. The teams face off at 12 p.m. on Saturday, September 16 in Institute, W.V. The game will be broadcasted on live radio, provided through ESPN Cleveland 1540 KNR2. There will also be a live video stream and live stats provided by WVSU.

Records: Notre Dame College is 1-1 after a 35-10 win against Glenville State last week. West Virginia State is 1-1 after a 34-24 road loss to UVa-Wise in week two.
Coaches Corner: Mike Jacobs is in his second year as the head coach of the NDC football program. He has an overall record of 10-3 (9-3 MEC). John Pennington was named the Interim Head Coach at WVSU in December. He is currently 1-1 as a head coach.

Rankings: Neither of the teams received votes in the September 11 AFCA Coaches Poll. Despite receiving two points last week, the Falcons received no votes this week.

Series History: The Falcons lead the Yellow Jackets 3-1 in a series dating back to 2013. NDC won the 2016 match up 48-21.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame rebounded last week after a close loss in week one, defeating Glenville State 35-10. Senior quarterback Malik Grove had a nice day, accounting for all five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing). The NDC defense, bent but didn't break against the Pioneers, giving up 467 total offensive yards, but only allowing 10 points. The Falcons caused three fumbles, recovering one, while also tallying six tackles for a loss. After two games, the Falcons' opponents have averaged 514 yards of offense per game.

Noting the Yellow Jackets: West Virginia State has outscored their opponents 37.5 points per game to 31 due to their big week one win over Charleston (51-28). Freshman running back Calil Wilkins has been the standout player for the Yellow Jackets so far in 2017. Wilkins has rushed for 392 yards in his first two games, averaging 8.34 yards per attempt (47 att.). Despite the long chunks of yardage gained, Wilkins has reach the end zone just twice. WVSU's strength is also their weekness as they rank second in the MEC in rushing offense (254.5) and second worst in rushing defense (238.5).

NCAA Career Rankings: There have been a few notable players that have made their mark at NDC and are now making their mark in the NCAA. Malik Grove ranks 16th among active DII players with 6,192 career passing yards while DJ Greene ranks 20th with 2,280 rushing yards and Claudy Matheiu ranks 20th with 30.5 tackles for a loss.

By the Numbers

2: Players currently ranked as top 10 MEC rushers. DJ Greene is the No. 6 rusher with 72.5 yards per game while Malik Grove is No. 9 with 57.0 yards per game.

11: Receptions per game recorded by Emmanuel Smith. Smith followed up his 14-catch, 98-yard performance in week one with eight receptions, 71 yards and one touchdown in week two. His 11 receptions per game ranks first in the MEC.

24: Points scored by junior-college transfer Tay Johnson. Johnson made two big plays last week on a 69-yard touchdown reception another 41-yard catch.


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