This Week: Notre Dame College football will be in Athens, W.Va. on Nov. 4, for a matchup with Concord University to close the 2023 regular season. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Records: Notre Dame enters week ten with a 6-3 record, while going 5-3 in MEC play. NDC earned a tough 28-25 victory over Wheeling, last week, on Senior Day. Concord is 1-8 (1-7 MEC), coming off its first win of the year, a 38-9 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan. After going 9-2 and just missing the NCAA Playoffs in 2022, the Mountain Lions got off to an 0-8 start this year.
 
Coaches Corner: Garrett Mack is in his second season at the helm of the NDC football program. He has a coaching record of 15-6 (14-4 MEC) and is facing Concord for the first time as head coach. Brian Ferguson is in his first season leading Concord, following three seasons as the offensive coordinator.
 
Rankings: Neither team is receiving votes in the latest American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II top 25 poll.
 
Series History: Notre Dame holds a record of 5-2 all-time against Concord University. After the first two matchups went Concord's way (30-14 - 2013, 51-14 - 2014), Notre Dame has won five consecutive games. Over the past three meetings, the Falcons have walked away with an average victory of 26.3 points. Three times in this series, the winner of the game has scored over 40 points. However, these teams have not seen each other since Sept. 2019.
 
Noting the Falcons: Last week, Notre Dame's Idris Lawrence ran in for two touchdowns in the first half of the Falcons', 28-25, win against Wheeling. The first was a 21-yard run and the second was a 34-yard run. Lawrence ran for 104 yards in the first half and would finish the game with 184 rushing yards. He has run for over 180 yards in four consecutive weeks. Wheeling would close witin four, 14-10, early in the second quarter, but Notre Dame responded with a 62-yard drive that was capped by a 35-yard rushing score by Jay Sharp. NDC went ahead, 28-10, in the third quarter, on a passing touchdown from Deshawn Evans to Krys Riley-Richardson, but the Cardinals made things interesting. At the end of the third, a blocked NDC field goal was returned for a touchdown. On Wheeling's next drive, the Cardinals went 60 yards for another touchdown, making the score, 28-25, with 10:50 remaining. Wheeling got the ball with 1:35 on the clock, but a 51-yard field goal, as the clock ran out, was missed.
 
In the conference, Notre Dame ranks third in points scored (295), points per game (32.8) and touchdowns (35). The Falcons lead the way in field goals made (14) and sacks allowed (9). NDC is third in rush yards (1,855), fourth in pass yards (1,922), second in total yards (3,777) and fourth in yards per game (419.7). On the defensive side, the Falcons are fourth in lowest points allowed, at 25.3 points per game and third in interceptions (13). NDC has become one of the top rushing teams in the league, ranking third in rush yards per game (206.1) while leading the MEC with 24 rushing touchdowns. On special teams, NDC ranks first in average net kickoff yards (39.1) and third in net punt yards (33.6).

Individually, Idris Lawrence is now first in the MEC in rushing attempts (168), second in rushing yards (1,027), second in rushing yards per game (127.4), third in points scored by touchdown (60) and fourth in both rushing touchdowns (9) and all-purpose yards per game (138.6). Cameron Shirkey has scored 77 points, which is third in the MEC and leads the conference with 14 field goals. Dominic Buttazzoni is second in average yards per punt (41.7).

Across Division II, Cameron Shirkey ranks fourth with 1.56 field goals per game. Idris Lawrence ranks sixth in rush yards per game (127.4), seventh in total rush yards (1,019) and 12th in all-purpose yards (138.6).

The Falcons have guaranteed a winning record for the eighth consecutive season. The last Notre Dame team to be .500, or worse, was the 2015 squad that finished 5-6.

Noting the Mountain Lions: Concord scored a season-high 38 points and gave up a season-low nine points to W.Va. Wesleyan. Prior to last week, Concord had not scored double-digit points in its previous three games. In 2022, the Mountain Lions scored over 30 points in seven of their 11 contests. The Mountain Lions got off to a fast start against the Bobcats, scoring 14 points in the first quarter and 17 points in the second to lead 31-3 at halftime. Kris Copeland caught two touchdown passes in the first half and Alvin Howard caught one, as well. T.J. Finney ran for a two-yard TD near the end of the first quarter and broke through for a 88-yard run, midway through the fourth, putting CU up 38-3 at the time.Jack Mangel went 22-for-32 for 270 passing yards and three touchdowns. TJ Finney ran for 226 yards and Kris Copeland hauled in 14 passes for 148 receiving yards. Concord totaled five sacks on the defensive side.

Concord ranks second in the MEC in passing yards (2,251) and passing yards per game (250.1), while tied for third in passing touchdowns (18). The Mountain Lions lead the league in average net yards per punt (36.8). Jack Mangel ranks second in passing yards (2,107) and passing yards per game (234.1). Kris Copeland is second in the conference with 770 receiving yards and 85.6 receiving yards per game. He is also third with seven receiving touchdowns, while his teammate, Alvin Howard, is tied for sixth, with six. Josh Huntley leads the MEC with 43.7 yards per punt.