Game: Coverage:
GLVCSN.com/Truman (PPV)
All Truman State Football home and conference games will be available for video stream on the Great Lakes Valley Conference Sports Network (GLVCSN). A nominal single-game fee or a monthly subscription (which includes all Truman athletics events) is charged for viewing. Games are archived for later viewing. The host school is responsible for the talent and production of the broadcasts.
NEMOPressbox.com
A free audio-only webcast is available through a link on the schedule page of TrumanBulldogs.com and can be accessed through the website NEMOPressbox.com. The "Voices of the Bulldogs" Brad Boyer and Hank Janssen provide play-by-play and commentary on Truman State GLVCSN broadcasts and on NEMOPressbox.com.
KTRM 88.7 FM Radio
The new home for the Bulldogs on the radio dial is 88.7FM KTRM. The station is operated by Truman State University students and covers Adair County.
TrumanBulldogs.com
Live "in-game" stats are produced and available for media and fans to follow along during the game.
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – After a six-year hiatus, the Truman State Football team will welcome Lincoln University to back to Stokes Stadium for a Great Lakes Valley Conference matchup on Saturday. The Bulldogs and Blue Tigers will kickoff at noon.
 
Truman State seeks to get back on the winning track after having their four-game winning streak halted last Saturday by McKendree 28-21. The Bearcats controlled the clock and thwarted two late-scoring chances by the Bulldogs to break a six-game losing streak against the 'Dogs.
 
McKendree possessed the ball for nearly 36 minutes with three drives lasting well over six minutes each while Truman's last two drives of the game ended deep in McKendree territory looking for the tie or potential win.
 
Lincoln returns as a full-time member of the GLVC this season. The Blue Tigers were associate members of the league in football only from 2014 through 2018 and moved all of their athletic programs from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association this past July to the GLVC.
 
The Blue Tigers are 3-41 in GLVC Football teams all-time and are still searching for their first conference win this season in six attempts. They were soundly defeated by Missouri S&T on Saturday 63-21. Their lone win on the season came at the hands of another Lincoln team, out of California, 40-14 back on October 5^th.
 
This will be the 30^th all-time meeting between the two programs dating back to 1968. The two schools played regularly in the MIAA from 1968 through 1988 when the Lincoln dropped the program following the expansion of the MIAA to Kansas. They restarted the program in the 2000s. The Bulldogs have won 23 straight games over Lincoln but had to hold on for a 20-13 victory in their last match-up in 2018. The Blue Tigers last won against Truman State 51 years ago in 1973.
 
Indianapolis is in the driver's seat for the GLVC regular season championship with a 5-0 record but second place and a potential bowl game are still up for grabs between six other schools including Truman. Upper Iowa is 4-2 with their losses coming against both the Greyhounds and the Bulldogs, while Truman, Missouri S&T and McKendree are at 3-2. Quincy has three wins in the conference and sits at 3-3 while William Jewell is at 2-3, just a game behind.
 
Last Time Out:
McKendree spoiled Homecoming on the Truman State campus by defeating the Bulldogs 28-21 on Saturday. The Bearcats took their opening drive 75 yards in 14 plays to go up 7-0 and scored touchdowns on three of their first four possessions to lead 21-14 at the half.
 
A promising start to the second half was snatched away with an interception that led to an eventual touchdown and a 28-14 hole to dig out of.
 
The Bulldogs fought back and early in the fourth quarter, Kel Battle snared a nine-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Hair to cut the deficit down to seven.  Truman's defense got the stop but the offense was forced to punt at midfield on their next possession. McKendree tried to chew up the clock and were in the process of whittling it down to under three minutes before Jake Closser picked off a pass inside the 10 to give the Bulldogs life.
 
On the ensuing drive, Hair found Joseph Spaulding for a quick 12 yards and then ran for another 27, which was then moved to the McKendree 22 on a defensive holding foul. On the next play, Hair attempted to throw into the endzone but the ball was intercepted.
 
Truman's use of timeouts gave them another shot as they got the ball back at the 50 with 1:11 showing. Hair converted on a fourth and 11 with a 16-yard run down to the McKendree nine. Following a spike, two pass plays with under 10 seconds left fell incomplete and the game ended.
 
McKendree had just 10 more offensive yards than the Bulldogs (309-299) but held the ball for 35:53, converted eight of 16 on third down and both fourth down attempts. Hair was 16-of-24 for 141 yards using eight different receivers. Hair ran 15 times for 78 yards and Denim Cook ran 16 times for 80 yards.
 
Lincoln trailed 28-21 at the half to Missouri S&T on Saturday but the Miners scored 35 unanswered points in the second half to pull way for the 63-21 victory.  The Blue Tigers got big plays from running back Jareese Howard (74-yard touchdown rush) and Nico Wideman (49-yard touchdown reception from Isaiah Tate) but gave up a blocked punt touchdown, a kickoff return for a touchdown and later a 61 and 31 yard touchdown passes.
 
Howard finished with 119 yards on 11 attempts while Tate threw for 210 yards and two scores.
 
Through Eight Games:
The Bulldogs are averaging 165 yards rushing and 203 yards passing through eight games. They are third in the league in scoring at 28.9 points per game and third in rushing and fourth in passing.
 
Denim Cook third in the GLVC rushing race with 754 yards on 141 attempts. Cook has eclipsed 100-yards rushing twice this season with a high of 182 yards against Missouri S&T.
 
Dylan Hair is fourth in the conference in passing yards with 1,588 and tops in TD passes with 15. Hair's top passing game is 267 yards with four TDs against Missouri S&T and has also gained 382 yards on the ground.
 
Like Hair, Jackson Overton leads the conference in touchdown receptions with eight and is sixth in receiving yards per game at 56.6. Overton and Christopher Kerr have over 20 catches each with Overton gaining 453 yards on 30 grabs and Kerr catching 22 for 260 yards.
 
Brock Jones is the leading tackler on a defensive unit that surrenders 27.6 points per game with 367 yards of total defense. Jones has 52 stops with 4.5 for loss and two quarterback sacks. SJ Johnson is second with 43 and Jake McCollum is third with 39.  McCollum and fellow senior Peyton Carr are the elders of the team with both having now played in 44 career games. Carr is the active leader in tackles with 236.
 
Jake Closser has 10 career interceptions and will crack the Bulldog top 10 on his next pick. Closser is fifth all-time in interception return yards with 182. The Bulldogs have picked off six passes this season.
 
Ulysses Ross is now third all-time in tackles for loss with 38 during his 43 games played. Ross has 220 career tackles with 12 quarterback sacks.
 
Vinnie Calvaruso is 7-for-12 on field goals with a long of 42 and 24-of-26 on point-after attempts. He has averaged 54.8 yards on 44 kickoffs. Mason Gessert has punted 33 times for a 33.7 yards per punt average with a long of 46 and eight inside the opponent's 20-yard line.
 
Jake Closser has averaged 23.4 on seven punt returns including an 80-yard touchdown return. Jack Butchko has a kickoff return for a score (96 yards) and has averaged 37.6 on seven attempts. Closser was the GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week following week four.  
 
With three games left on the schedule, Head Coach Kellen Nesbitt is attempting to be the sixth Bulldog first-year coach to win at least seven games in their first season. Nesbitt is looking to join Don Faurot (7 in 1926), Fred Faurot (7 in 1935), Red Wade (7 in 1951), Ron Taylor (7 in 1975) and Eric Holm (9 in 1990).
 
Up Next:
The Bulldogs head to William Jewell and the new-look Cardinals in Liberty, Missouri next week. Jewell is 4-4 on the season under first-year coach Jason Ambrosia, an alumnus of William Jewell, and has been a highly successful high school coach over the past decade.   
 
The Cardinals feature one of the top running backs in the NCAA in Keaundre McCullough who averages nearly 150 yards per game.
 
Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.