Kearney, Neb. - There was a lot more on the line the last time the football teams from Nebraska-Kearney and Northeastern State met. 

The Lopers (1-0), ranked 13th in NCAA Division II, will host the RiverHawks (1-1) this Saturday at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field. Kickoff is slated for 12:00 p.m. and marks the first of six homes games for UNK this season.

As usual, KRNY 102.3 FM in Kearney is carrying the game live (HERE) while live stats will be available HERE. Finally, fans can watch the game live (for a price) via America One.

Both of these schools will join the MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) in July 2012. While UNK is still a member of the RMAC, Northeastern is a Division II independent this academic year as it left its former conference, the Lone Star.

The RiverHawks are located in Tahlequah, a town of 15,000 located in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. Last season, NSU went 6-5 and won the Lone Star's North Division. They are led by third-year head coach Kenny Evans, a Northeastern graduate.

After roughing up NAIA Bacone (OK), 43-0, to start this year, NSU traveled to the Alamo Dome last Saturday for a game with Texas-San Antonio. The Roadrunners, in its first-ever football season, are led by former Miami head coach Larry Coker.

In front of a crowd of over 56,000, UTSA scored TD's on its first three drives to roll to a 31-3 win.

Thirty-one years ago in Tahlequah, then-Kearney State faced NSU in a NAIA semifinal playoff game. While the Loper defense shut out NSU in the second half, two long runs by  Bobby Smith early on propelled the then-Redmen to a 14-0 win.

The following weekend in the national title game, Elon of North Carolina beat NSU, 17-10. 

Overall, NSU leads the series 2-1 as the two schools met in 1960 (Tahlequah) and 1961 (Kearney).

Key players for Northeastern include wide receiver Trey McVay, right tackle Chris Cherry and QB's Kenny Davis and Johnny Deaton. Defensively, corner Nate Robinson is one of six returning starters and a 2010 All-LSC selection.

UNK, coming of a 41-20 win at Wayne State, is looking for its first 2-0 start since the 2002 season when it made the playoffs.

Senior QB Jake Spitzlberger is the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week after having 288 yards rushing and 182 yards passing in the win over the Wildcats. This week, he'll look to record his 60th career TD pass.

A stout Loper defense limited Wayne to 36 yards rushing on 33 carries. In its win over Bacone, NSU ran for 251 yards and three scores.

Next Saturday, UNK heads to Grand Junction, Colo., for the final time to take on Colorado Mesa (formerly Mesa State) at Stocker Stadium.