Kearney, Neb. – The No. 21/22 Nebraska-Kearney football team heads to Kansas Saturday afternoon to take on the Emporia State Hornets.

The game kicks off at 1 p.m. from Welch Stadium. UNK (5-1) leads the all-time series with the Hornets (3-3) by a slim 13-11 margin. Fans not in attendance can watch via The MIAA Network, listen to KRVN 93.1/106.9 FM or following along with live stats.

Loper quarterback TJ Davis (Colorado Springs) has fond memories of Emporia as his first extended action in college game two years ago at Welch. Having seen some playing time early that year, he got his first chance at extended action that September day and promptly ran for 147 yards and two touchdowns as part of a 31-21 Loper win. UNK out rushed E-State by a 367-78 margin.

That will be hard to duplicate as a talented Stingers squad leads the MIAA in rushing defense (99.8 yards per game) while also ranking first in interceptions (eight) and sacks (19). Thanks to a 65% completion and only two picks, Davis and UNK is the most efficient passing team in the league (181.1) and has also allowed just seven sacks to date. Junior backer Cade Harelson has a team-best 45 tackles (4.5 sacks) with reserve end Jahmek Murphy at 3.5 sacks. The E-State secondary includes three 2019 honorable mention All-MIAA picks. 

Veteran coach Garin Higgins has another pass-happy offense that reeled off 101 plays last Saturday in a 45-35 loss at Central Missouri. The Hornets racked up 665 yards but lost to the Mules because of six turnovers (four fumbles and two INT's. QB Braden Gleason threw the ball 67 times to now rank first in Division II in pass attempts per game (45). 

A deep receiving corps features juniors Dalton Cowan (29 recep., 331 yds., three TD's) and Cole Schumacher (25 recep., 261 yds., two TD's). Two backs combine for 83 yards per game with the starting line averaging 298 pounds. Finally on offense, E-State has averaged 38 points per game in winning six of the eight MIAA games with UNK.

On special teams, ESU has the league's top punter in 6-6 Ross Brunghardt with back Billy Ross Jr. a starting kick and punt returner. He brought back a punt 54 yards for a score against Missouri Western. The Hornets led that game 28-7 at the half but fell in the end, 38-37.

UNK hopes to get another four touchdowns from Davis to keep its NCAA playoff hopes alive. The Harlon Hill Trophy candidate has had seven passing and five rushing TD's over the last three games to push his career total to a stellar 55 (35 rushing and two passing). College football's top rushing QB needs just four more rushing scores to break UNK's record of 38, set by QB Jake Spitzlberger between 2008-11. Not surprisingly, that was the last time the Lopers were nationally-ranked and in the playoff picture.

On the outside Emporia will have to keep an eye on junior receivers Michael Koch (Columbus) and Kylan Herrera (Killeen, Texas). Koch is among the MIAA TD reception leaders with five while Herrera has five grabs on the year but three have gone from scores. Each has come from at least 31 yards out.

The Loper defense currently has the second-best pass efficiency rating (124.1) thanks to allowing opponents to complete just 54 of its passes. In four games this fall UNK has surrendered only 614 passing yards with seven INT's and three scores. Five different players have had a pick with 11 having at least one pass breakup. On the pressure side, UNK has tallied six sacks and 13 QB hurries. Safeties Darius Swanson (52) and Blake Bubak (38) are 1-2 in tackles with junior ILB Zach Schlager third (33). Finally, the special teams rank fourth in the MIAA in net punting (35.0 avg.) and kick returns (19.0 avg.).

Kearney hosts the Lincoln Blue Tigers (0-5) next Saturday at Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at 1 p.m. That'll be a busy day for Loper Athletics as the MIAA Cross Country Championships start at 11 a.m. at Kearney C.C. with volleyball hosting Newman that night at six.

UNK Weekly Release/Depth Chart & Roster

ESU Weekly Release/Depth Chart & Roster