NAIA Game of the Week 
No. 1 Saint Xavier (Ill.) (9-0) at No. 2 Marian (Ind.) (9-0)
Nov. 5, Indianapolis, Ind., 1 p.m. EDT, St.Vincent Health Field
• For the second time this season, No. 1-ranked Saint Xavier is facing the No. 2 team with this occurrence being Marian. The winner will stay undefeated, claim the Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division Championship and likely hold on to the top billing in the final Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The Cougars defeated then-No. 2 Saint Francis (Ind.), 42-31, on Oct. 1.
• The battle will mark the 10th episode that the two top-ranked teams have met since 1999 and just the third regular-season game between No. 1 vs. 2.
• Winning a conference title would mark the third-straight for St. Xavier. For Marian, the Knights would grab their first league crown in just their fifth year of existence.
• Saturday marks the fifth meeting between the programs as the Cougars are 4-0 against Marian. St. Xavier holds nearly a 35-point margin of victory in the previous contests. On Oct. 9, 2010, the Cougars took care of Marian, 56-25, in Chicago, Ill.
• The Cougars will put their 31-game regular-season win streak on the line, which ties NCAA Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater for the longest active regular-season span of any collegiate program. The last such loss for the Cougars came on Nov. 15, 2008, against Saint Francis.
• Ranked first in the NAIA in three major statistical defensive categories, Marian strives at home. The defense has allowed 20 total points in five home contests (4.0 papg), with three of those opponents being shut out. The Knights are first in the NAIA in scoring defense (4.9 papg) overall. Marian is outscoring its opponents by a 125-7 margin at St. Vincent Health Field in the first half and 199-20 in all four quarters.
• The Cougars will test the Marian defense, as once again, they rank first in the NAIA in both scoring offense (52.6 ppg) and total offense (508.8 ypg). They have reached the 50-point milestone in five contests and own a 33-point scoring advantage this season. In each of the last two years, St. Xavier has ranked in the top-two in either total offense or scoring categories.
• St. Xavier has been one of the most successful programs in the last couple years. Since 2009, the Cougars are tied for first in the NAIA in total wins sporting a 35-2 mark—Carroll (Mont.) is 35-2 also in that span. In addition, St. Xavier has advanced to the semifinals of the Football Championship Series in each of the past two seasons.
• Since the varsity program started in 2007, Marian has taken great strides. Since a 1-9 mark their first season, the Knights have posted a winning record each year combining for a 32-21 record. Last year marked the first time they appeared in the Football Championship Series and won 10 games.
Note Some information provided by the Saint Xavier and Marian Sports Information Departments

This Week Around the Top 25 
• There are three scheduled Top-25 games this weekend, including the NAIA Game of the Week. In addition, there are several contests that will determine conference champions.
• First place in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest Division is up for grabs between four teams, and No. 8 William Penn (Iowa) (8-1) and No. 12 St. Ambrose (Iowa) (7-1) are in the middle of the situation. Both teams face each other on Saturday in Davenport, Iowa. St. Ambrose is 5-0 in the league and holds a half-game lead over No. 11 Saint Francis (Ind.) and sits one game above William Penn and No. 23 Grand View (Iowa).
• No. 9 Benedictine (Kan.) (8-1) looks to stay in at least a tie for the Heart of America Athletic Conference lead as the Ravens take on No. 25 Baker (Kan.) (5-3). The Wildcats trail Benedictine, No. 5 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and No. 7 Missouri Valley by 2.0 games.
• No. 16 St. Francis (Ill.) (7-1) steps out of NAIA action and travels to the Atlanta Georgia Dome to play NCAA Division I Georgia State. Panthers’ tight ends coach Craig Harmon spent four seasons (2006-09) as an assistant coach at St. Francis.
• Looking to stay undefeated, No. 4 Georgetown (Ky.) (8-0) hosts Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (6-2), who is receiving votes in the Top 25. The Tigers are on top of the Mid-South Conference East Division by 1.5 games over Lindsey Wilson.
• With six teams bunched near the top of the Great Plains Athletic Conference race, No. 20 Northwestern (Iowa) (7-2) and Hastings (Neb.) (5-3) hope to gain some ground on Saturday. At 5-2 in the league, Northwestern is one game back of leader No. 6 Morningside (Iowa). Meanwhile, the Broncos are two games back of the top spot.

For the Record 
• There are three undefeated teams heading into the second-to-last regular-season weekend. No. 1 Saint Xavier (Ill.), No. 2 Marian (Ind.) and No. 4 Georgetown (Ky.) all have a perfect record.
• St. Xavier is searching for its third-straight undefeated regular season. Georgetown last notched a perfect season back in 2004, whlie Marian would accomplish its first perfect year.
• There are seven teams with at least eight wins, with St. Xavier and Marian holding the most (9).
• Twelve teams have suffered one loss-or-fewer on the year. Conversely, 16 schools have dropped at least seven games.
• Through 10 weeks of the season, there are still five programs searching for their first victories.
• There are three programs who have made their NAIA varsity debut in 2011: Ave Maria (Fla.) and Robert Morris (Ill.) are playing as an Independent and Concordia (Mich.) is out of the Mid-States Football Association Mideast Division. Robert Morris is 4-4 and picked up its first win against Ave Maria on Sept. 24. Ave Maria is 0-6 on the season, while Concordia is 0-9.
Note Records used are as of Nov. 2

National Statistics 
• Through 10 weeks of the season, there have been 258 occurrences of 100-yard individual rushers, with 30 happening during the Oct. 29 weekend. Justin Gaines of Belhaven (Miss.) leads the group with a 250-yard effort against Faulkner (Ala.) on Oct. 8. There have been 10 players to reach the 200-yard threshold.
• Quarterback Josh Hollingsworth of Faulkner (Ala.) leads the crop of 300-yard passers with his 569-yard effort against Campbellsville (Ky.) on Oct. 22, which was his third game of 400-plus yards. There have been 66 games of 300-yard individual passing performances, including eight on Oct. 29. Fourteen players have passed for at least 400 yards this year.
• There have been 199 occurrences of 100-yard individual receiving games, led by the 272-yard game by Haskell’s (Kan.) Casey Wilson against Trinity Bible (Kan.) on Aug. 27. Nineteen of those games occurred on Oct. 29.
• Zak Tazkargy of Southwestern (Kan.) owns the single-game standard for tackles with 29, set on Sept. 24 against Sterling (Kan.).

Notes and Trends 
• Carroll (Mont.) won its sixth NAIA National Championship last year, which is one away from tying the most ever by a NAIA program. Since 2000, Carroll has racked up 147 total wins (through games on Oct. 29) to lead the NAIA ranks. The Fighting Saints have also posted more victories during this time span than the likes of Oklahoma, Boise State and Montana. Among any four-year football institution in the country — which includes the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II and Division III — Carroll sits No. 2 in overall wins since 2000 with a 147-15 (.907) mark. The Fighting Saints trail NCAA Division III member Mt. Union (Ohio) with a 161-6 (.964) overall record. In third-place for total wins is NCAA Division II member Grand Valley State (Mich.) with a 138-18 (.885) record. No. 4 belongs to FBS member Montana with a 132-29 (.819) record with FCS member Boise State (Idaho) at 131-18 (.879) close behind. Oklahoma should also be mentioned with a 128-27 (.826) record.