This Week: Notre Dame College will travel to West Virginia State University for a 12 p.m. kickoff, on Sept. 24. The game will be played at Dickerson Stadium in Institute, W.Va.

Records: Notre Dame enters week four with a 2-1 record and a 2-0 mark in the MEC. On the other side, W.Va. State is now 2-1 (1-1 MEC) 
 
Coaches Corner: Garrett Mack enters his first season as head coach of the Falcons. He had been on the staff the past two seasons. John Pennington is on the West Virginia State sideline for a sixth season. He holds a record of 29-22 (26-20 MEC).
 
Rankings: In the latest polls, Notre Dame sits at No. 17 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II top 25 and No. 21 in the D2Football.com top 25. Notre Dame has been ranked in a national poll every week since Sept. 24, 2018. This is the 36th consecutive week inside the AFCA and D2Football top 25.
 
Series History: Notre Dame has gone 7-1 against West Virginia State since the teams first met in 2013. The only time that the Yellow Jackets were victorious against the Falcons was 2015, with a 32-29 victory in Institute, W.Va. In four of the first five meetings, Notre Dame scored over 40 points. However, in the last three matchups, NDC has not scored more than 38. Notre Dame has not played in Dickerson Stadium since Nov. 16, 2019, a 31-14 victory for the Falcons.

Noting the Falcons: Although the offense took a little while to get going last weekend, the defense was ready to step up and put their stamp on the contest right away. On West Liberty's first drive, a bad snap resulted in a fumble and NDC's Zion Hawkins was ready to pounce, picking the ball up and getting into the endzone. The Falcons would get an offensive and defensive score in the second quarter. Idris Lawrence ran the ball in from 10 yards away and, less than a minute later, Wendell McClain intercepted a pass and ran it back 29 yards for a touchdown to give NDC a 21-7 lead. The Hilltoppers did not go away, but Notre Dame continued putting points on the board. Jeremy Hamilton caught a 19-yard TD and Cameron Shirkey was successful on two field goals in the second half as Notre Dame won 34-17. For the first time all season, NDC's defense held an opponent to single-digit rushing yards (5) and for the first time, the Falcons' defense had multiple interceptions in a game. For the third time this season, Nathan Moore led the team in tackles, with 10.

Notre Dame has held opposing offenses to a passing efficiency of 85.9, which ranks 11th in the country. The defense also ranks 24th in the country with a plus-1 turnover margin per game. On special teams, the team ranks 13th with an average of 17 punt return yards per game. Nathan Moore is tied for 12th in the country with 20 solo tackles and tied for 19th with 30 total tackles.
 
Chris Brimm is now second among active career players in all of the NCAA in touchdown passes (92), third in all of the NCAA in TDs responsible for (101), second among active Division II players, and seventh in all of NCAA, in passing yards (9,737), second in DII in total offense, and seventh in every level of the NCAA, in total yards (10,138), third in pass completions (734), fourth in passing yards per attempt (7.9) and seventh in total offense per play (7.2). Nathan Moore is currently sixth among active leaders in Division II with 287 total tackles, sixth in solo tackles (156) and 8th in assisted tackles (131). Jack Kosko is currently tied for 6th in DII with seven assisted sacks and 12th in DII with 35 tackles for loss. Tavon Hooks ranks seventh with 31 career passes defended.

Quick Look At West Virginia State: This season, West Virginia State started the year with an impressive 29-6 victory over Shippensburg. The only Shippensburg points came from a kick return. The WVSU defense did not allow a point the rest of the game, had three interceptions and eight sacks. The offense put the game away that day with 19 fourth quarter points, with quarterback Donovon Riddick throwing for 244 yards and two touchdowns. Against Frostburg State, the Yellow Jackets scored in the first quarter, the only points until the third quarter. Frostburg did not take the lead until 6:56-mark in the fourth quarter but would win by a score of 18-7. WVSU held Frostburg State to 63 pass yards. Fairmont State's offense was a different story for the Yellow Jackets' defense. Fairmont had 457 yards of total offense and converted on five of six red zone chances, but the Yellow Jackets held on to win that game, 34-29.

This season, West Virginia State ranks 11th in NCAA Division II with an average of four sacks per game. They also have a turnover margin of plus-1.33, which is 17th in the country.