This Week: Notre Dame College hosts Glenville State College on Saturday, November 9, for a 12 p.m. contest. Prior to kickoff, the Falcons will celebrate Senior Day, recognizing the senior class for their years of hard work and dedication to the program. 

Records: Notre Dame is 9-0 (8-0 MEC) after a 35-13 road victory at Frostburg State. Glenville State got back on the winning side against Wheeling to improve to 5-4 (4-4 MEC).
Coaches Corner: Mike Jacobs is in his fourth year as the head coach of the NDC football program. He has an overall record of 39-6 (35-4 MEC). In 2018, Jacobs was named MEC, Regional and National Coach of the Year. Mike Keller is in his first season at the helm of Glenville State. With a current 5-4 (4-4 MEC) record, Keller needs just one more victory to post the best season at GSC since 2015.

Rankings: Notre Dame was ranked No. 6 in the AFCA Coaches' Poll released November 4. This is the Falcons fourth week at No. 6 after spending the first six weeks in the top five. NDC was ranked No. 3 in the second Super Region 1 rankings, which also came out on November 4. The Falcons trail No. 1 Kutztown and No. 2 Slippery Rock.

Series History: The series between the Falcons and Pioneers is currently tied 3-3 after Glenville State won the first three contests and Notre Dame won the last three. Head coach Mike Jacobs is 3-0 against the Pioneers. Notre Dame won 27-17 on the road last season after four-straight games scoring at least 30 against GSC. NDC has turned the ball over just once against Glenville State in the past four match ups; the Falcons have never fumbled the ball against the Pioneers.

Noting the Falcons: With the second place teams with two losses each (Frostburg State and Urbana both 7-2 MEC) Notre Dame could clinch the Mountain East Conference Championship with a win this weekend. If NDC earned the title, they will become just the second team to win back-to-back MEC Championships after Shepherd won three-straight from 2015-17. The Falcons would keep the elusive trophy in the hands of just three programs as NDC, Shepherd and Concord are the only schools to have won the championship since the league began in 2013.

Noting the Pioneers: Glenville State has had a patterned season thus far, rotating back and fourth with wins and losses all year. The Pioneers won their opening game before losing in Week 2, which started the pattern of win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win. If the pattern is a prediction of anything, it signals a road loss for GSC this weekend. Glenville State won two of the three weekly Mountain East Conference honors for Week 9 with Delonte Hood and Justin Watts pulling in the awards. Notre Dame has dominated the weekly awards this year with a league-high nine honorees, but the Pioneers are close behind with eight. Notre Dame has had four Offensive Players of the Week, one Defensive Player of the Week and three Special Teams Players of the Week. Glenville State has not won an offensive honor this year, but has controlled the other two categories with three on defense and four on special teams. Hood (two) and Watts (four) have combined for six of the seven honors earned by GSC, with Dominic Cizauskas winning the other defensive honor.

Watts currently leads the nation in both field goals made (19) and field goals attempts (23). With 2.11 FGs per game, he is the only player in Division II to average over two makes a game. NDC kicker Tanner Harding ranks 22nd in DII with 10 field goals made. Watts 19 field goal makes is tied at all NCAA Divisions with FBS players Keith Duncan (Iowa) and Jake Verity (East Carolina). Watts and Verity are the only two players across the NCAA with 23 field goal attempts.

Hood also leads all divisions of the NCAA with eight interceptions. Hood shares the lead with two other NCAA DII players in Findlay's Chris Jefferson and Bowie State's Demetri Morsell. The Falcons already matched up against Jefferson this season and got by with just one pass deflection from the defensive standout. Hood has also tallied 12 pass break ups for a total of 20 passes defended, which is also tied across all levels of the NCAA with FCS player Anthony Adams (Portland State).

Last season Watts attempted one field goal, which was blocked. Hood, now a sophomore, did not play much in his rookie season, but recorded one assisted tackle against NDC in 2018.

Climb the Mountain: Last week, with a 215-yard game, sophomore Jaleel McLaughlin broke the MEC career rushing record and became the first rusher in MEC history to break 4,000 rushing yards. McLaughlin (4,425) and Marvelle Ross (4,760) are both climbing the ladder in the MEC career all-purpose yards category. With Ross at No. 3 and McLaughlin at No. 5, Notre Dame is the only team with two players in the top five in career all-purpose yards. Ross is looking to become just the second player in MEC history to break 5,000. The wide receiver/return threat is current at 4,677. Sha'haun Williams needs three sacks in order to tie the conference's record of 40.0.

Third Down Struggles: Glenville State is currently second-to-last in the NCAA Division II in third-down conversions. The Pioneers have converted on third down just 20.3 percent of the time. This has forced 36 fourth-down conversion attempts, of which GSC has converted on 18. Glenville State's 18 fourth-down conversions is tied for most in Division II. Of the 23 programs with thrid-down conversion percentages below 30, only two have winning records: Glenville State and Savannah State.

Breaking the Ties: Notre Dame currently has a winning record against every team in the MEC except Glenville State With a 3-3 record against GSC, the Falcons have a chance to hold winning records against all MEC opponents by the end of 2019. NDC already leads its Week 11 opponent West Virginia State 5-1.

Run Amuck: Notre Dame (716) and Glenville State (962) are two of 36 teams remaining in the NCAA Division II that have yet to allow 1,000 rushing yards to opponents this season. NDC currently ranks ninth in rush defense while the Pioneers are 28th. Notre Dame has had success against tough rushing defenses so far this season. Fairmont State, currently 12th in DII rush defense, allowed 261 yards on the ground against NDC while Urbana, currently 21st in DII rush defense, allowed 263 rushing yards to the Falcons. Jaleel McLaughlin ran for 246 yards against FSU and 223 yards against UU. Glenville State has struggled against top ranked rush defenses with just 53 yards rushing against Fairmont State and 74 against Urbana.

Send Rover Right Over: Dane Lynch is the starting rover for the Glenville State defense. The rover possition, is often defined as a defensive player who is tasked with stopping the opponent's best player, roving the field as a skilled player making sure the offense's top player never goes uncovered. GSC may utilize Lynch differently, but the defensive back is certain a player with many talents. Lynch is not only the team's starting rover, but also a back up corner back and strong safety.


By the Numbers

0: Passing touchdowns scored by Frostburg State last week. It was the first time this season the Falcons have held an opponents passing game out of the end zone. Notre Dame's last game without a passing touchdown allowed came on November 11, 2018 against Seton Hill (11 games in between).

12: Undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division II, 11 of which are 9-0.

197: Career tackles recorded by senior Curtis Collins. If Collins records three tackles throughout the remainder of the season, he will become the first to reach 200 tackles in Notre Dame's NCAA history.