NAIA Football Game of the Week – No. 4
No. 17 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (3-1, 1-0 MSCE) at No. 4 Faulkner (Ala.) (4-0, 1-0 MSCW)
Saturday, Sept. 27 | 1:30 p.m. CDT | Billy D. Hilyer Stadium | Montgomery, Ala.
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats – Provided by Faulkner & Stretch Internet

• No. 4 Faulkner (Ala.) looks to continue its best start in program history when the Eagles host No. 17 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) Saturday afternoon in the NAIA Football Game of the Week. The contest was chosen by a social media fan vote on the NAIA’s official Facebook page - PlayNAIA.
• Saturday marks the third all-time meeting between the two programs. The all-time series is knotted at 1-1, as each team owns a home victory.
• Dominant offense has been the standard when Faulkner and Lindsey Wilson meet, as the two squads have combined for 1,943 yards and 151 points in their two prior meetings.
• In the 2013 meeting, Lindsey Wilson overcame a 17-0 deficit, eventually tying the game with 11 seconds left on quarterback Branden Cresap’s third of four touchdown passes on the day. The game-winning play was a 25-yard pass from Cresap to Chris Dobbins in the first overtime. Offense was at a premium in the game as the two teams combined for 1,042 yards, including 675 yards through the air.
• Both teams are coming off conference road wins last week. The Blue Raiders won 44-14 at Pikeville (Ky.), while Faulkner defeated Reinhardt (Ga.), 55-52, in overtime.
• Reinhardt is the only like opponent for the two programs through four weeks. Reinhardt handed Lindsey Wilson its only loss of the season so far, 52-48, on Sept. 6.
• Faulkner’s loss to Lindsey Wilson in 2013 was the last regular season defeat for the Eagles. Faulkner has won 10-straight regular season contests since that game.
• The Eagles are in their eighth year of intercollegiate competition. In its first five seasons, Faulkner was a combined 10-41, with three wins the most recorded in a single season. The Eagles first winning season came in 2012, when they went 6-5. Since 2013, Faulkner has won 13-of-16 games and has been ranked in 13 of the last 16 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Polls.
• Faulkner’s 4-0 start and No. 4 ranking are both bests in program history.
• Senior quarterback Terrell Robinson, who entered the year with the task of replacing two-time All-American Josh Hollingsworth, has shined through four games. The first-year starter leads the NAIA in passing yards per game (343) and total offense per game (405.5), while ranking third nationally in pass efficiency (206.7). His top performance of the season thus far was a 410-yard, six touchdown effort in the Eagles’ 61-34 win against Union (Ky.) on Sept. 13. Robinson also ran for 55 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
• Junior wide receiver Rob Lockhart has been Robinson’s favorite target this season. The Delray Beach, Fla., native’s six touchdown receptions is just one away from the NAIA lead, while his 405 receiving yards is ninth-best in the country.
• As a unit, the Eagles’ offense ranks among the top 10 nationally in third down conversion (3rd; 53.2), total pass offense (3rd; 1,385), pass offense per game (3rd; 346.3), pass efficiency (3rd; 195.0), total offense per game (4th; 553.8), total scoring offense (4th; 195), scoring offense per game (5th; 48.8) and first downs per game (10th; 25.5).
• Defensively, Faulkner is allowing opponents an average of 32.5 points and 384.5 total yards per game. The Eagles own a +2 advantage in turnover margin.
• Senior linebacker Mitchell Hoskins leads the team with 29 tackles (15 solo), while junior defensive back Dushonta Broughton ranks seventh in the NAIA with three interceptions. He is also fourth in the nation in passes defended per game (2.5).
• Lindsey Wilson established football in 2010 and is 26-21 all-time as a program. The Blue Raiders set a program single-season record for wins in 2013 with eight. The previous record was held by the 2011 squad that finished the season 7-3.
• Lindsey Wilson is 2-0 on the road this season with victories at Campbellsville (Ky.), 44-40, on Aug. 28 and at Pikeville last weekend. The program is 14-10 (.583) all-time on the road.
• Cresap will be making his third career start against Faulkner on Saturday. The Shelbyville, Ky., native has thrown for a combined 507 yards and five touchdowns in two previous meetings. However, arguably more important is that Cresap has only been intercepted one time.
• In 2014, Cresap is fifth in the NAIA in total passing with 1,240 yards and total offense with 1,239 yards. Cresap set program records with 490 yards passing and 30 completions against Reinhardt on Sept. 6. He also matched his own single-game record with five touchdown passes. Cresap eclipsed the 9,000 career passing yards mark in the Blue Raiders win at Pikeville.
• Three Blue Raider wide receivers own at least 270 yards receiving this season, including a team-high 348 yards by Cortez Barber. Chaz Barnes is next with 276 yards, followed by Tavis Elzy with 270 yards. Barber and Elzy are tied for the team lead with five receiving touchdowns.
• The Lindsey Wilson defense is allowing an average of 29 points and 409.3 total yards per game.
• Turnovers are a key to the Blue Raiders success, as Lindsey Wilson is 15-0 all-time when winning the turnover battle, including a 2-0 mark this season. Conversely, the program is 3-15 when turning the ball over more than its opponent.
• Junior defensive back Treon Hill leads the team with 26 tackles (14 solo).
• Senior defensive lineman Andrew Wahl, who leads the team with 6.0 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks, became Lindsey Wilson’s all-time sack leader against NCAA Division II Kentucky Wesleyan on Sept. 13. He now has 13.5 sacks in his four-year career.

Note – portions of this information was provided by the Faulkner and Lindsey Wilson Sports Information Department

This week around the NAIA
• The 2014 NAIA football season officially opened action on August 23 as eight teams took to the field.
• Morningside (Iowa) took over the No. 1 ranking in the second regular-season edition of the 2014 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, announced Monday. This is the 10th all-time No. 1 ranking for the Mustangs and the first since Nov. 4, 2013. Morningside has been arguably the most dominant team in NAIA football this season, outscoring its opponents 211-35 through three games. Three newcomers joined the poll in No. 19 Robert Morris (Ill.), No. 20 Marian (Ind.) and No. 24 Kentucky Christian. For the complete release, click here.
• In possibly the biggest upset of the season, then-unranked Marian (Ind.) knocked off then-No. 1 and defending national champion Grand View (Iowa), 31-18, on Sept. 20. The loss ended Grand View’s NAIA-best winning streak at 16 games. Marian is now 2-0 all-time against top-ranked teams. For the complete release, click here.
• Beau Eriksson of Jamestown (N.D.), Eric Price of Marian (Ind.) and Josh Techeira of Robert Morris (Ill.) were named the NAIA Football National Players of the Week. For the complete release, click here.
• Four new programs made their NAIA varsity debut this season: Arizona Christian, College of Idaho, Missouri Baptist and Southeastern (Fla.). College of Idaho (2-1), which fields a team for the first time since the program was discontinued following the 1977 season, won its season opener 35-34 against NCAA Division III Pacific (Ore.) on Sept. 6. Arizona Christian (1-3) joined the Yotes in the win column with a 30-27 victory against NCAA Division III George Fox (Ore.) on Sept. 6. Southeastern (2-1) earned its first victory on Sept. 13 in a 31-7 thrashing of Warner (Fla.). Missouri Baptist (0-4) is still searching for its first program win.
• Arizona Christian’s Gabriel Jordan posted what could prove to be the play of the year in the NAIA in the program’s season opener against Evangel, when the freshman wide receiver returned a punt 100 yards – 108 yards unofficially – for a touchdown. The play received national attention, including being featured on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10. To access the video, click here.
• Benedictine (Kan.) head coach Larry Wilcox enters the week two wins shy of career victory No. 250. Wilcox, who is a four-time Heart of America Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and currently ranks second among active NAIA coaches in victories, has been at the helm of the Raven football program since the fall of 1979. No. 14 Benedictine hosts No. 11 Missouri Valley on Saturday.
• Valley City State’s Dennis McCulloch claimed his 100th career win last Saturday, as the Vikings knocked off North Star Athletic Association rival Dickinson State (N.D.), 33-21. He is the 10th active coach to reach the 100-win plateau.
• The Sun Conference (TSC) and the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) officially join the NAIA as affiliated leagues for the sport of football this season. Both leagues will each receive one automatic berth into the 2014 NAIA Football Championship Series as long as the league champion is ranked among the top 20 in the final NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
o The Sun Conference – Ave Maria (Fla.), Edward Waters (Fla.), Point (Ga.), Southeastern (Fla.), Warner (Fla.) and Webber International (Fla.)
o North Star Athletic Association – Dakota State (S.D.), Dickinson State (N.D.), Jamestown (N.D.), Mayville State (N.D.), Presentation (S.D.), Valley City State (N.D.) and Waldorf (Iowa)
• Ranked teams in action this week – all games on Saturday:
   o Graceland (Iowa) at No. 2 Baker (Kan.)
   o Sterling (Kan.) at No. 3 Tabor (Kan.)
   o No. 17 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at No. 4 Faulkner (Ala.)
   o No. 7 Southern Oregon at Montana State-Northern
   o No. 8 Grand View (Iowa) at No. 9 Saint Francis (Ind.)
   o No. 21 Eastern Oregon at No. 10 Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
   o No. 11 Missouri Valley at No. 14 Benedictine (Kan.)
   o No. 12 St. Francis (Ill.) at No. 13 Saint Xavier (Ill.)
   o Taylor (Ind.) at No. 15 William Penn (Iowa)
   o No. 16 Northwestern (Iowa) at Nebraska Wesleyan
   o No. 19 Robert Morris (Ill.) at Trinity International (Ill.)
   o No. 22 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) at Hastings (Neb.)
   o Pikeville (Ky.) at No. 23 Cumberlands (Ky.)
   o No. 25 Ottawa (Kan.) at Bethel (Kan.)
• Past NAIA Football Game of the Week Results:
   o Week 1 (Sept. 6) – No. 22 Southern Oregon def. No. 2 Carroll (Mont.), 38-35
   o Week 2 (Sept. 13) – No. 24 Peru State (Neb.) def. No. 19 Friends (Kan.), 23-21
   o Week 3 (Sept. 20) – No. 7 Carroll (Mont.) def. No. 5 Rocky Mountain (Mont.), 33-8
• For the first time since 2008, the NAIA Football National Championship will have a new home, as the game moves to Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. The state of Florida previously held the football championship from 1957 – 1960 in St. Petersburg. Since 1960, the event has been held in 19 different states, including the past six years in Rome, Ga. Municipal Stadium, which was built in 1988 and has recently undergone a $900,000 renovation project, is the home field of NCAA Division I Bethune-Cookman (Fla.), while also serving several local high schools. For more information on the 2014 national championship, click here.
• For a complete list of NAIA football statistical leaders, click here.
• For more information on NAIA football, click here.