This Week: Notre Dame College football will take Mueller Field for the final time in the regular season. On Nov. 5, the Falcons battle UNC Pembroke, with kickoff scheduled for 12 p.m.

Senior Day: Before the game, the seniors will be honored. The program will celebrate Darius Alston, Chris Brimm, Dominic Buttazzoni, Adam Riegler, Tavon Hooks, Nathan Moore, Blake Traylor, Bryce Traylor, Jack Kosko, Jaylen Riley, Robert Singletary Jr., Jeremy Hamilton and Nick Beans for all of their hard work over the years.

Records: Notre Dame enters the week with an overall record of 7-2, while going 7-1 in the Mountain East Conference. Last week, the Falcons secured their third victory on the road this season, defeating Fairmont State, 30-6. Notre Dame sits at the top of the Mountain East Conference standings, leading Concord by one game. UNC Pembroke enters the week with a record of 5-4 (5-3 MEC). Last week, the Braves defeated West Liberty, 24-3.

Coaches Corner: Garrett Mack is in his first season as the head coach of the NDC football program. He had been on the staff for two seasons, prior to 2022. Shane Richardson has been on the UNC Pembroke staff since 2005, first as a defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, and became head coach prior to the 2014 campaign. He holds a coaching record of 39-48. 

Rankings: Notre Dame is receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II top 25. The latest NCAA Division II regional rankings had Notre Dame is sixth in Super Region One. The top seven teams in each region earns a bid to the D2 national tournament.

Series History: Notre Dame and UNC Pembroke have met just once. Last season, the Falcons defeated the Braves 45-7. To start the game, Pembroke went 80 yards down the field to score and led 7-0 after the first quarter. The Falcons would score three rushing touchdowns (two by Idris Lawrence, one by Chris Brimm) along with a passing touchdown, a defensive score and a punt block return for a touchdown. The UNC Pembroke offense was held to just two rushing yards and went 2-for-14 on third downs.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame got off to a very slow start last week, and did not record a first down in the first 15 minutes of action. Fairmont State was effective in running the ball on its first drive of the game. Sixty-six of FSU's 75 yards on the first drive were on the ground, and Don Washington ran in from 20 yards out to give the home team a 6-0 lead, after the missed extra point. Notre Dame scored, early in the second quarter, when Chris Brimm found Andre Woods Jr. for a 33-yard touchdown. On the next drive, Brimm sent a perfect pass over the shoulder of Tyshawn Lighty, as the Falcons' receiver was crossing the goal line and that gave NDC a 14-6 advantage. Then it became a struggle for both teams to sustain a drive through the third quarter. Notre Dame had a couple drives of 37 yards, or more, but one ended on a turnover on downs and the other resulted in a lost fumble. Finally, NDC broke through with less than 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter and put up points on three consecutive drives. A field goal and two late touchdowns put the NDC Falcons up, 30-6.

With a win this weekend, NDC will clinch at least a share of the MEC title for the fifth consecutive year. Last season, Notre Dame became the first football program in Mountain East Conference history to win four consecutive rings. They are the second team in the conference to win four total. Shepherd took the MEC title in 2013 and 2015-2017. No team has won five in the MEC.

Nathan Moore is the all-time leader in tackles at NDC with 352. With two solo tackles, he will become the leader in that category with 195 and with two assisted tackles, he takes the top spot in NDC history with 161.

The NDC defense is first in NCAA Division II with six defensive touchdowns and ranks 16th in passes intercepted with 12. NDC is also first in blocked punts, with five, 7th in opponent passing efficiency, at 95.3, 20th in total takeaways, with 19, and 23rd in scoring average with 34.6 points per game. Nate Moore is seventh in D2 with 56 solo tackles and also ranks seventh with 95 total tackles. Davonte Murray is tied for 14th in D2 with 14 tackles for loss. Wendell McClain is tied for ninth in Division II with 12 passes defended. Cameron Shirkey is tied for fourth with 13 field goals made and is 7th in the country with a field goal percentage of 86.7-percent.

Among active career leaders in Division II, Chris Brimm is second in games played, total offense, touchdowns responsible for, touchdown passes and passing yards. He is third in passing yards per attempt, while ranking fourth in total plays, pass completions and pass attempts. He ranks eighth in total offensive yards per play. Nathan Moore is currently third among Division II active leaders with 352 total tackles and 192 solo tackles. He ranks fourth with 53 games played and is seventh in assisted tackles (160). Jack Kosko is currently 11th in sacks, with 24, and 10th with 43 tackles for loss. Tavon Hooks ranks ninth among active career leaders with 34 career passes defended.

Noting the Braves: UNC Pembroke has scored 24 points, or fewer, in seven games. However, the Braves have also scored over 40 points in two contests this season. They defeated West Virginia Wesleyan, 50-26, in week two and beat West Virginia State, 45-24, in week seven. Both of those games were played at home. This season has been much different, depending on the location. Pembroke has gone 4-0 at home, which includes a 10-9 victory against Frostburg State. But they are 1-4 on the road.

Last week against West Liberty, UNC Pembroke dominated on the scoreboard, but the stats were a different story. West Liberty had 22 first downs in the game to Pembroke's nine and West Liberty outgained UNCP by 82 yards (305-223). UNC Pembroke was also 3-of-11 on third down conversions. The Braves' first scoring drive began after the special teams blocked a field goal attempt. On the second play of that drive, Zechariah Adams-Duckson ran 70 yards for a touchdown. Special teams came up big, again, to help give UNCP points, later in the first quarter, when Dante Bowling returned a punt 26 yards to set the offense up on WLU's 12-yard line. Josh Jones would run in from two yards. Another missed field goal by West Liberty led to a field goal by UNC Pembroke to go ahead 17-0. In the fourth quarter, a WLU pass was intercepted by Simeal Burke and returned 71 yards. On the first play of the Braves' drive, a six-yard pass play gave Pembroke its final points. On the defensive side, Marcus Davis was named MEC Player of the Week after recording 18 tackles, including 10 solo stops.

UNC Pembroke is solid when the opponent is in the redzone. They rank 8th in the country with an opponent red zone percentage of .588. Tyreke King is tied for eighth in the country with 8.5 sacks. Dante Boland has returned a punt for a touchdown and Virgil Lemons has returned a kickoff for a touchdown.