Preview: For the second time in the calendar year, and for the fifth time since restarting football for the 2013 season, the Stetson Hatters will travel north to Morehead, Kentucky, this weekend to square off against Morehead State. The Hatters and Eagles have split six previous meetings all-time, but the Eagles have won three of the five meetings in the modern era. It will be the final road game of the year for Stetson, and it will be Senior Day for 24 MSU players. The game will pit Stetson's fierce defensive unit against the high-powered passing game of the Eagles. Stetson's defensive focus will have to be on Eagles senior receiver BJ Byrd, who arrived at Morehead State from Jacksonville after the JU program was shuttered. Byrd has surpassed 100 receiving yards in a game seven times this year and needs just 34 yards to break the MSU single-season record for yards. Veteran quarterback Mark Pappas, a graduate student, has thrown for more than 6,500 yards in his career, ranking sixth in MSU history. In the last meeting, in the spring, Stetson held Pappas to just 186 yards through the air and limited Byrd to six catches for 48 yards. Pappas did have three touchdown passes in the game, two of them to Byrd. Piccirilli threw for just 77 yards against the Eagles in the spring and was intercepted three times.
Series History: The series between Stetson and Morehead State dates back to 1953 when the Hatters hosted the Eagles and posted a 41-0 victory. The programs did not meet again until the 2014 season when Morehead State took a 41-18 victory on its home field. The programs did not play again until 2017 when the Hatters dropped a three-point decision, 29-26, at Jayne Stadium. The Hatters got their first win over MSU in the modern era in 2018 with a 48-24 victory thanks to the passing of Colin McGovern (398 yards, 4 TD) and receiving of Donald Parham (9-187-2) and Steven Burdette (4-109-1). Stetson made it two straight, taking a 31-16 road victory in the final game of the 2019 campaign. This past spring, MSU jumped out to a 28-7 lead by halftime and coasted to a 31-14 victory.
Key Stat: Stetson enters the final two weeks of the season leading the PFL in defense against the run and pass. The Hatters are 22nd in FCS in fewest rush yards allowed per game at just 112.9 yards and 23rd in allowing just 188 pass yards per game. Stetson is 14th in the nation in total defense, allowing 300.9 yards per game. The Eagles are second in the PFL in passing offense at 321.3 yards per game, but MSU is ninth in rush offense, averaging just 92.9 yards.
Hatters Notebook: Redshirt sophomore
Jalen Leary enters the final two weeks of the season just 314 yards behind Cole Mazza for Stetson's modern career rushing record. Leary has 1,632 rush yards in his career, having played in 22 games, but he has rushed for just 505 yards this fall for the Hatters. Leary has rushed for 143 yards in two career games against Morehead State.
Graduate quarterback
Alex Piccirilli became the 10th player in the modern era of Stetson football to rush for more than 100 yards in a game with his performance against Dayton (18-114-1) last week. He is the third quarterback to accomplish that feat, joining Gaven DeFilippo and Ryan Tentler, who did it three times.
With his sack in the Dayton game, senior
Fermon Reid broke a tie for second on the Stetson career list with former three-time All-American Donald Payne. Reid now has 15 career sacks, nine behind Davion Belk for the career record.
Last Time Out: The Hatters were unable to slow the Dayton Flyers offensive attack, allowing 456 total yards, including a season-high 328 passing yards, in a 41-13 homecoming loss. Dayton quarterback Jack Cook completed just 18 passes, but averaged 18.2 yards per completion while running back Jake Chisholm ran for 119 yards and four touchdowns. After closing the gap to one score by halftime, the Stetson offense was unable to put points on the board in the second half against the Dayton defense.
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.
