This Week: The Notre Dame College football team travels to the University of Charleston to take on the Golden Eagles on Saturday, October 12. Kickoff on UC's Military Appreciation Day is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. 

Records: Notre Dame is 5-0 (5-0 MEC) after a big 52-6 Homecoming victory against West Virginia Wesleyan last week. Charleston is 4-1 (3-1 MEC) and also had a big win last week with a 51-12 road victory at Wheeling.

Coaches Corner: Mike Jacobs is in his fourth year as the head coach of the NDC football program. He has an overall record of 35-6 (31-4 MEC). In 2018, Jacobs was named MEC, Regional and National Coach of the Year. Pat Kirkland is in his ninth season as head coach, seeing the Golden Eagles through their transition from the WVIAC to the MEC in 2013. He is currently 55-38 (38-25 MEC).

Rankings: Notre Dame was ranked No. 5 for the fourth-straight week in the AFCA Coaches' Poll released October 7.

Series History: The Falcons are currently tied in their series with Charleston 3-3. UC won the first three games of the series, that started in 2013, but Notre Dame has won the past three contests. Head coach Mike Jacobs is 3-0 against the Golden Eagles, but the last two games have been close with a 17-10 victory last season and a 17-12 win in 2017.

Noting the Falcons: Last week, for the first time in 2019, Notre Dame gained more yards passing that it did rushing (264-142). It was the 17th time since head coach Mike Jacobs took over in 2016 that NDC gained more yards through the air. In that first year, the Falcons threw for more yards in eight of their 11 games. Since the start of 2017, the running game has led the way in 21 of 30 games. In both 2017 and 2018, NDC had four games with more passing yards than rushing. With the explosive start to the game against West Virginia Wesleyan, where the passing game was on fire in the first half (Chris Brimm was 14-of-16 for 260 yards and five TDs before the mid-break), standout running back Jaleel McLaughlin was held to just eight attempts for 28 yards and one touchdown. McLaughlin's 921 yards rushing still leads NCAA DII in by 34, and his 12 TD mark leads the division by one.

Noting the Golden Eagles: On the opposite end, Charleston, for the first time all season, had more rushing yards than passing yards (332-207) last week. The Golden Eagles nearly tripled their previous season-high in rushing at Wheeling. UC had a previous high of 113 against Fairmont State in Week 1. In between those two games, Charleston's rushing totals have been 11, 45, and 69 against Urbana, West Virginia Wesleyan and Valparaiso, respectively. Charleston has gained more on the ground in just three games in the past two season. Comparatively, UC had 13 such games between 2016 and 2017, with six in '17 and seven in '16. Things have changed over the last two season, however, with solid quarterback play. Brant Grisel, who played in two games last season, has thrown for 1,585 yards and 13 touchdowns this season. He currently ranks third in NCAA Division II passing yards and 11th in passing touchdowns.
MEC Offensive Players of the Week: Through the first five weeks, there have been four players named MEC Offensive Player of the Week. Three of those four will face off in this weekend's game. Charleston QB Brant Grisel won the honor in Week one, while Jaleel McLaughlin was named in Weeks 2, 3 and 4 (shared honors with West Virginia State's Austin Hensley in Week 2), and Chris Brimm earned the distinction in Week 5.

Seven-For-Seven for Seven: Notre Dame had seven possessions in the first half of its game against West Virginia Wesleyan last week and scored a touchdown on all seven drives. NDC made quick work on some of their drives due to short field position set up by the defense and long plays (the Falcons had two 70+ yard receiving TDs). Below is a breakdown of Notre Dame's drives.
 

Plays	Yards	TOP
8	55	3:27
1	1	0:06
3	78	1:22
2	69	1:11
10	56	4:42
2	37	0:53
8	57	2:20

2019 Toyota Prius: The Charleston defense boasts two hybrid positions with a $pur and a bandit. Starting in those positions are Reggie Collins and Quinard Thomas, who have combined for 42 tackles. Collins ranks second for the Golden Eagles in tackles with 27. D'Vaughn Whitt, who is listed as the backup bandit is eighth on the team with 19 tackles. Notre Dame has a similar position in its strong safety Curtis Collins, who is often compared to a nickelback. Listed as a linebacker on the roster, Collins has made his presence felt throughout the years. The two-year captain leads all active NDC players in tackles with 172. He will look to become just the second player to record 200 career tackles in Notre Dame's NCAA history. Collins has 22 tackles, and one interception, so far this season for the Falcons.

Passing Judgement: Both NDC's Chris Brimm and UC's Brant Grisel rank in the top 25 in NCAA Division II passing efficiency. After Brimm's stellar game against West Virginia Wesleyan, he ranks 19th with an efficiency rating of 156.8. Grisel currently ranks 24th with a rating of 153.3. Both teams have experience playing quarterbacks who effectively produce. Fellow MEC member Takwan Crews-Naylor, from Fairmont State, currently ranks 16th (161.1). In Week 1, Crews-Naylor threw for 369 yards and two touchdowns against Charleston. In Week 3, he tallied 364 yards and three touchdowns. Notre Dame was able to intercept a pass from the FSU quarterback.

Halfway There: Notre Dame is 5-0 in Mountain East Conference play, and has five more games to play in its search to repeat at MEC Champions. NDC is one of two teams with undefeated conference records (West Virginia State is 4-0 in MEC play). The back half of the Falcons' schedule looks to be tough with three teams currently 4-1 (Charleston, Frostburg State, West Virginia State). Of the five games remaining, four are against teams with winning records.

Breaking the Ties: Notre Dame currently has a winning record against every team in the MEC except Charleston, Glenville State, Frostburg State and Wheeling. With 3-3 records against UC and GSC, and the first ever matchups against FSU and WU coming up, the Falcons have a chance to hold winning records against all MEC opponents by the end of 2019. NDC broke a previous tie this season with a win against Fairmont State.

By the Numbers

9: Teams in between Charleston and Notre Dame in the pass offense rankings in the MEC. UC is currently first with an average of 329.4 yards while NDC is 11th with a 173.8 average. The Falcons rank third in passing TDs (11) while the Golden Eagles are first (14).

18.75: Yards averaged on punt returns attempted by the Falcons. Notre Dame is currently the tenth-ranked team in NCAA Division II in punt return average. NDC is one of four teams in the top 10 that has attempted more than five returns. The Falcons have scored twice on punt returns due to blocked kicks.

20: Undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division II (all 5-0).

45.8: Points averaged by the Notre Dame offense this season. NDC is one of 11 teams in NCAA Division II to average over 45 points per game, and ranked ninth in the country.