This Week: The Notre Dame College football team travels to West Virginia State University to battle it out for the MEC Championship on Saturday, November 16. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. 

Records: Notre Dame is 9-1 (8-1 MEC) after a 23-20 overtime loss against Glenville State last week. West Virginia State is 7-3 (7-2 MEC) after a 24-0 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 39-7 (35-5 MEC). In 2018, Jacobs was named MEC, Regional and National Coach of the Year. John Pennington is in his third season at WVSU. After two seasons going 6-5, Pennington has led the Yellow Jackets to the most wins in a season since 2007. Overall, he is 19-13 (17-2 MEC).

Rankings: Notre Dame was ranked No. 15 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll released November 11. This is the Falcons first week outside the top 10 since the penultimate poll in 2018. NDC was ranked No. 3 in the second Super Region 1 rankings, which also came out on November 11. The Falcons trail No. 1 Kutztown and No. 2 Slippery Rock. West Virginia State is currently ranked No. 6 in the region.

Series History: NDC currently holds a 5-1 record against West Virginia State after winning the last three contests. WVSU won 32-29 in 2015, but has yet to defeat the Falcons under Mike Jacobs. The loss in 2015 was the only time the Yellow Jackets held Notre Dame under 30 points.Last season's 33-31 win for NDC was the second-fewest points scored by the Falcons in the series, and just the second time they were held under 40. In 2018, Notre Dame led at halftime 20-10 and led by 10 after the third quarter as well (27-17), but the Yellow Jackets scored 14-straight in the fourth quarter to go up 31-27. Jaleel McLaughlin scored the game-winning touchdown on a three-yard run with just 60 seconds left on the clock.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame suffered its first loss in 20 regular-season games last week against Glenville State, but that may be a good sign heading into Week 11. After his previous six losses, Mike Jacobs has been able to lead his team to a victory in the next game. The Falcons have not lost in back-to-back contests since the first half of the 2015 season when NDC lost four straight. Since that four-game skid, Notre Dame is 7-0 in games following losses.

Noting the Yellow Jackets: West Virginia State has had to rely heavily on its offense this season. While the Yellow Jackets are one of just five teams in the MEC to have gained over 4,000 yards on offense (WVSU leads the league with 4,502 yards), they are also one of just three teams to have given up more than 4,000 yards on defense (WVSU ranks second-worst with 4,406 yards allowed). Mainly due to a 56-10 loss to Division I team Southeast Missouri State earlier in the season, the 7-3 Yellow Jackets have actually been outscored this season 313-295. West Virginia State's largest margin of victory came against Wheeling last week in 24-0 fashion as the defense pulled its weight with a shutout. Prior to its game against WU, the largest margin of victory for State was 10 points.

MEC Championship: With one loss to West Virginia State's and Frostburg State's two, Notre Dame has a chance to win the Mountain East Conference Championship outright on Saturday with a win. If the Falcons were to lose, WVSU and NDC would share the title. Frostburg State would also earn a share of the title in this scenario if they also win. The Bobcats play at Glenville State this weekend. This will be the first time in MEC that a championship team has not gone undefeated. If West Virginia State is able to win, it will also be the first time the league has had co-champions.

By the Thousands: Sophomore running back, Jaleel McLaughlin is just 155 yards shy of back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons. With 1,845 rushing yards so far this season, McLaughlin leads the NCAA DII by 164 yards. If McLaughlin can gain 155 yards through the remainder of the season, he will become just the second player in NCAA DII history to rush for back-to-back 2,000-yard seasons. The only other player at the DII level to rush for 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons is Franklyn Quiteh, who did it in 2012 and 2013 at Bloomsburg. There are only three players in NCAA DII history to run for 2,000 yards in multiple seasons: Quiteh, Joique Bell (Wayne State (Mich.), 2006, 2009), and Brian Shay (Emporia State, 1996, 1998). There are only six players in NCAA history, at all levels to rush for over 2,000 in back-to-back years.

Back-to-back 2,000 Yard Rushers
FCS - Troy Davis (Iowa State, 1995,1996)
FBS - Charles Roberts (Sacramento State, 1998,1999)
FBS - Zach Zenner (South Dakota State, 2012, 2013, 2014)
DII - Franklyn Quiteh (Bloomsburg, 2012, 2013)
DIII - R.J. Bowers (Grove City, 1998, 1999)
DIII - Levell Coppage (Wisconsin Whitewater, 2009, 2010, 2011)

Coppage and Zenner are the only NCAA players to record 2,000 yards in three seasons at any level.

Penalty Woes: West Virginia State is the most penalized team in the Mountain East Conference, and it isn't very close. The Yellow Jackets are worst in the league in both penalties (92) and penalty yards (893). Across all of Division II, only 12 teams have been flagged more than WVSU. The penalties may continue this weekend as Notre Dame has had a knack for drawing flags from opposing teams this year. Notre Dame's opponents have averaged 75.1 yards of penalties against this season, which is second most in the MEC. NDC has not been afforded a first down on those penalties lately, however. The Falcons earned 11 first downs on penalty in the first six games of the season, but have not moved the chains with a flag on their opponent since then.

By the Numbers
3: Interceptions recorded by freshman Bryce Sheppert, ranking third in the MEC. Sheppert is one of two freshman defensive backs in the league to record 30+ tackles this season.

26: Touchdowns scored by Jaleel McLaughlin this season. With 24 rushing and two receiving TDS, McLaughlin leads the NCAA DII in total points scored (156). He is one of just three players to take the ball past the goal line more than 20 times in 2019.

107: All-purpose yards needed by Marvelle Ross to become the second player in MEC history to reach 5,000 career yards. Ross currently ranks third in MEC all-purpose yards with 4,893 and needs just 71 yards to move into second.