This Week: The Notre Dame College football team hosts Urbana University on Saturday, October 12. Kickoff on Mueller Field is scheduled for 12 p.m. 

Records: Notre Dame College is 6-0 (6-0 MEC) after a 24-21 comeback win at Fairmont State last Thursday. Urbana is 4-2 (3-2 MEC) coming off a 17-0 loss against UVa-Wise.

Coaches Corner: Mike Jacobs is in his third year as the head coach of the NDC football program. He has an overall record of 23-5 (22-4 MEC). Tyler Haines is in his fourth year as the leader of the Urbana Blue Knight program. Haines is 14-25 with a 10-25 MEC record.

Rankings: Notre Dame is ranked No. 17 in the October 8 AFCA Coaches' Poll. The Falcons were ranked No. 20 last week and debuted at No. 23 on September 24.

Series History: The Falcons are 4-3 against Urbana in a series dating back to 2010. NDC is 4-1 against the Blue Knights since joining the MEC in 2013, and the team is currently on a four-game win streak against the only other conference member in Ohio. The series has gotten away from Urbana recently as Notre Dame has won the past four contests by 15, 17, 21 and 38 points from 2014-17, respectively.

Noting the Falcons: After all eight wins in 2017 and the first three wins of 2018 were done with Notre Dame leading at halftime, the Falcons have won their last three games after trailing at the break. Over those three comeback victories, NDC has outscored opponents 93-14 in second-half play. In those three games, the Falcons have also earned more first downs and led the time-of-possession battle. Despite big plays minimizing their first downs to 16 in each of the first two games, Notre Dame now leads the conference with 131 first downs. This week's opponent ranks last in the MEC with 91 first downs.

Noting the Blue Knights: Head coach Tyler Haines has improved his record with Urbana in each year since taking over in 2015. The Blue Knights started the season off strong with a four-game winning streak following a week-one loss to become the suprise team in the Mountain East. Urbana was picked 10th in the coaches' preseason poll and have exceeded those expectations with a strong defensive front. UU ranks second in the league in rushing yards allowed per game (86.5) and leads the MEC in sacks (20), but the team is ninth in pass defense. On the offensive side, Urbana is last in pass offense (154.2 yards per game), throwing a conference-high eight interceptions.

Long Rest: Notre Dame is 4-2 all time on Saturday games following Thursday night contests. The Falcons are 4-1 in these games since joining the MEC in 2013. Twice, NDC has played Urbana on long rest, which resulted in a 28-13 win in 2014 and a 35-14 victory in 2016. Head coach Mike Jacobs is 2-0 in weeks following Thursday nights.

Field Position: With Urbana ranking 10th (16.4) and NDC 11th (14.1) in MEC kickoff return averages, these teams could be facing long drives to score. But both teams rank in the top four in punt return averages and bottom eight in net punting yards, which could make for short fields after punts.

By the Numbers

1: Rushing touchdown needed by Jaleel McLaughlin to tie the NDC single-season record of 12 set by Ladennyan Green in 2015.

3.5: Sacks needed by Sha'haun Williams to tie the NDC single-season record of 10.0 set by Bob Hansen in 2010. The Falcons DII record is 9.0 from Darius James in 2015.

45: Receiving yards needed by Marvelle Ross to reach 700 on the season. Ross would be the fourth Falcon to reach that mark in the span of one season after Derrick Paster (2010), Jack Foy (2013) and Mitchell Shegos (2014, 2015, 2016).

195: Rushing yards needed by Jaleel McLaughlin to break the NDC single-season record of 1,457 set by Pedro Powell in 2012. McLaughlin needs 115 yards to jump up to Powell's 1,377 mark from 2013.