This Week: Notre Dame College travels to Frostburg State in a key Mountain East Conference matchup. The Saturday, November 2, game will kick off at 1 p.m. 

Records: Notre Dame is 8-0 (7-0 MEC) after a 24-19 non-conference victory against Findlay last week. Frostburg State is 7-1 (7-1 MEC) following a 42-12 win 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 38-6 (34-4 MEC). In 2018, Jacobs was named MEC, Regional and National Coach of the Year. DeLane Fitzgerald is in his sixth season at the helm of the Frostburg State football team. It took Fitzgerald just three years to take Frostburg from 1-9 to 10-1. He previously served as the head coach at Southern Virginia where he also turned the tide. In his first season at SVU, the team was 3-8; in his final year they were 8-2. At Frostburg State, Fitzgerald is 48-15. Overall as a head coach, he is 72-45.

Rankings: Notre Dame was ranked No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll released October 28. This is the Falcons third week at No. 6 after spending the first six weeks in the top five. Frostburg State was not in the top 25, but received nine points in the voting, falling just two spots out of the poll. NDC was ranked No. 3 in the initial Super Region 1 rankings, which also came out on October 28. The Falcons trail No. 1 Kutztown and No. 2 Slippery Rock.

Series History: This is the first game between the programs.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame was held to just 24 points against Findlay, which was the first time all season the Falcons had scored under 30, and the first time since Week 1 they have been held to under 40. Notre Dame now faces the top-ranked defense in the MEC in Frostburg State. The Bobcats allow just 17.5 points on average, which has included just 18 touchdowns. NDC averaged 45.9 points per game, scoring 49 touchdowns to lead the conference in both categories. The Falcons, who rank third in scoring defense, have played two other teams in the top five in the category in Urbana and Charleston. Notre Dame scored 40 points against UU and 63 against UC. In games in which Urbana and Charleston did not play NDC, the teams have allowed an average if 20.9 and 20.7 points per game. Frostburg State has held seven of its eight opponents below 25 points. The Bobcats allowed 34 points to Fairmont State, but still won in double-overtime 41-34. Fairmont State scored 31 points in regulation. The Bobcats have not allowed more than 40 points to an opponent since September 12, 2015 when they lost 44-3 to Wesley at home.

Noting the Bobcats: Frostburg State's stats will not jump off the page, with 362.1 yards of offense per game (which ranked seventh in the MEC). The Bobcats defense fairs better, holding opponents to 338.0 yards on average (ranking fourth in the league). But overall, FSU and its opponents stats share many similarities, outside of the final score, which on average is 35-17.5. Frostburg averaged 3.7 yards per carry in the run game, which is identical to the 3.7 yards per carry its opponents average. In the pass game, the Bobcats have gained 1,680 yards, just 14 shy of their opponents 1,694. Overall, Frostburg State gains just 24.1 yards more than its opponent per game on offense. The Bobcats are able to defeat opponents in between the margins as they have improved to 38-5 over the past four seasons. FSU is second in the MEC in turnover margin (+5), having only lost the ball 12 times (tied for third-best with Notre Dame and Charleston), and gaining the ball 17 times (ranked third in takeaways in the MEC). The Bobcats are first in the league in both sacks by (30) and sacks against (seven). Frostburg ranks second in the conference in penalty yards per game (60.9) and also draws more penalties than anyone in the league (85.5 penalty yards averaged per game by FSU opponents). Despite the similarities in yardage, Frostburg holds on to the ball more than any team in the MEC, averaging 32:54 minutes of possession. The Bobcats also lead the MEC in kickoff coverage, with a net average kick of 39.4 yards pinning their opponents on the 25-yard line on average. All of these things create short fields for FSU and long fields for their opponents, giving them twice the amount of points despite a nearly equal amount of yards. Frostburg State has only allowed teams into its red zone 21 times this season, which is fewest in the MEC just ahead of Notre Dame (23). And if it wasn't hard enough to get there, FSU has the second-best red-zone defense in the league allowing opponents to score just 71.4 percent of the time.

Climb the Mountain: A few Notre Dame players are close to breaking Mountain East Conference records. Jaleel McLaughlin is just 27 yards from breaking the MEC career rushing mark of 3,890. Sha'haun Williams needs three sacks in order to tie the conference's record of 40.0. And Marvelle Ross is looking to become just the second player in MEC history to break 5,000 career all-purpose yards. The wide receiver/return threat is current at 4,677.

Third Down Challenge: Frostburg State is first in the MEC, and seventh in the country in third-down defense, allowing just 26 first downs on 100 third-down attempts by opponents. Notre Dame is also solid on defense when opponents are facing third downs. The Falcons 33.6 opponent third down conversion percentage is third in the MEC. But both FSU and NDC convert on over 40 percent of their own third down attempts, both ranking in the top five in the league.

This Too Shall Pass: Notre Dame leads the Mountain East, and ranked 13th in NCAA Division II, in rushing offense with 249.8 yards per game. The Falcons' 29 rushing touchdowns is tied for second most in Division II. And while NDC relies heavily on its rushing game, it's passing game should not be overlooked. Notre Dame may ranked last in the MEC in pass yards per game (182.9), but the Falcons lead the league in completion percentage (62.6) as one of just two teams to complete more than 60 percent of its attempts. With 14 touchdown passes, NDC ranks sixth in TD throws despite the low yardage. Notre Dame is also one of just four teams in the conference to average eight or more yards per pass attempt. NDC is fourth in the leage with a 8.0 average while Frostburg State is third with an average of 8.8 yards per pass attempt.

As the only two teams in the MEC to not yet attempt 200 passes, Frostburg State and Notre Dame may be looking to improve this weekend. Notre Dame allowed 8.6 yards per opponent pass attempt, which is second most in the league. Frostburg only allows 7.0 yards per opponent pass attempt, ranking fourth in the league, but its opponents 57.0 pass completition percentage is fifth worst in the MEC. Comparatively, NDC allows just 54.1 passes against its defense to be completed, which is third best.

The Frostburg defense does not have as much practice defending the pass as Notre Dame. NDC has faced the second-most pass attempts in the MEC (305) as one of just two teams to see over 300 passes. FSU, on the other hand, is one of four teams in the conference to have less than 250 passes attempted against them.

By the Numbers

6: Punts blocked by Notre Dame this season. The mark leads NCAA DII. Three teams are tied for second with four each.

14: Undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division II, 13 of which are 8-0.

15.4: Yards on average for the NDC punt return unit. This mark leads the MEC.

35.1: Net yards on average for the NDC punting unit. This mark ranks second in the MEC.

1,500: All-purpose yards gained by Jaleel McLaughlin so far this season. McLaughlin leads the NCAA Division II in all-purpose yards. McLaughlin also led DII in all-purpose yards in 2018. He now has 4,199 career all-purpose yards, which ranks seventh in MEC career history, and 14th in Division II active career leaders.