This Week: Notre Dame College football comes back to Mueller Field after back-to-back weeks on the road. The Falcons battle West Virginia State University on Saturday, Sept. 25, at 12 p.m.

Records: Notre Dame is 3-0 (2-0 MEC) after a record-breaking day against West Liberty that resulted in a 51-10 victory. West Virginia State comes into this week with a 1-2 (1-1 MEC) record following their first win of the season, holding off Fairmont State for a 30-23 win.

Coaches Corner: Mickey Mental is in his second season as head coach of the NDC football program. He has an 8-0 (6-0 MEC) record. John Pennington is in his fifth season as head coach at WVSU and has a record of 22-18 (20-16 MEC).

Rankings: In the latest polls, Notre Dame is ranked No. 7 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II top 25 and No. 6 in the D2Football.com top 25. This will be the 24th consecutive week that NDC is featured in a Division II National Poll.

Series History: NDC leads West Virginia State 6-1 in the all-time series, dating back to 2013. Notre Dame has won all three games at home against WVSU, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 122-62 in South Euclid. However, in 2018, it took a late touchdown drive to clinch the 33-31 win. NDC has won every matchup in which they've scored at least 31 points against WVSU. The Falcons scored 29 points in their only loss to the Yellow Jackets in 2015.
 
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame left little doubt on Saturday after touchdown passes of 84- and 70-yards in the first quarter. The Falcons took care of West Liberty, scoring over 50 points for the first time this season. The Notre Dame offense put up a program record 687 yards of total offense. Notre Dame's total offense is third highest for a game in Mountain East Conference history. Quarterback Chris Brimm set a career-high with 449 passing yards and set a career-high with six total touchdowns (5 passing, 1 rushing). Devanaire Conliffe caught four balls for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Jeremy Hamilton had four catches for 123 yards and one touchdown. Tyris Dickerson (85) and Idris Lawrence (80) both ran for at least 80 yards. Guam Lee forced and recovered a fumble, Antoine Holloway II intercepted two more passes and Keon'te Huguely intercepted a pass.

Holloway II was named MEC Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. Through three games as a Falcon, he's already tied for second in program history with four interceptions in a season. The record is six. He had two in the first half against Wheeling and two in the first half against West Liberty. Brimm was the MEC Offensive Player of the Week after his career day. The last time he threw for five touchdowns was 2019 when he did so against W.Va. Wesleyan and Slippery Rock. Right now, he's on pace to throw for over 3,000 yards in an 11-game regular season.

The Falcons' defense is near the top of NCAA Division II in multiple categories. They are first in turnovers gained (14), first in turnover margin per game (3.33), first in passes intercepted (7), second in fumbles recovered (2) and third in defensive touchdowns (2). On offense, NDC ranks first in red-zone efficiency (11-11), 12th in passing efficiency (170.65), 13th in scoring offense (41.3), 20th in third down conversion (.489) and 25th in passing yards per completion (14.86).

Brimm ranks seventh in the country in passing efficiency (176.5), eighth in points responsible for (60), ninth in passing touchdowns (9), 12th in yards per pass attempt (9.56), 23rd in total offense (292.3), 18th in passing yards per completion (14.86), 22nd in passing yards (832 and 23rd in passing yards per game (277.3). Conliffe is 10th in D2 with four receiving touchdowns and 14th in yards per reception (23.36). Holloway is first in the country with 1.3 interceptions per game and ranked ninth with two passes defended.

Noting the Yellow Jackets: WVSU jumped out to a 23-3 lead over Fairmont State by halftime. After West Virginia State took a 30-10 lead in the fourth quarter with nine minutes remaining, Fairmont State went into the endzone twice, missing one of the extra points, but could not recover a late onside kick. The run game was on full display for the Yellow Jackets, as Malik Newton went off for 180 yards and a touchdown, while Dant'e Jones totaled 89 yards and one TD. Donovan Riddick, the starting quarterback, went 9-for-11 for 121 yards and a passing touchdown, before he left due to injury.

This season, West Virginia State is averaging 153.7 yards per game on the ground and 195.67 yards per game through the air for a total of 349.3 total yards per game. WVSU quarterbacks have been sacked 12 times already this season.

West Virginia State has never finished below .500 under John Pennington, in overall record or MEC record. Last season, while playing just four games, the Yellow Jackets failed to reach a plus-.500 overall record (2-2) for the first time since 2016.

In three games, WVSU is outscoring their opponents 21-7 in the first quarter but they have been outscored 21-0 in the third.