GAME THREE || SATURDAY, SEPT. 15, 2018 || 6 PM
FAYETTE, IOWA | HARMS-EISCHEID STADIUM
UPPER IOWA PEACOCKS VS. #11 WINONA STATE WARRIORS
 
This Weekend in Peacock Football... Upper Iowa will host the No. 11 Warriors of Winona State University on Hall of Fame Weekend. The game will feature a balanced Winona State offense against the Upper Iowa passing game that is ranked 8th in the nation. Prior to the game, Upper Iowa is hosting a Tailgate Concert in the Bemiss Distributing Tailgate Area featuring Eric Chesser from 3:30-5:30 p.m. At halftime of the game, the 2018 Hall of Fame inductees will be recognized, as well as all of the Hall of Famers in attendance.
 
Live Options… The game will be broadcast live on KCRG-TV 9.2 and AM 950 KOEL and can be streamed through the Stretch Internet app on Roku and Amazon Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android televisions.
 
The Series... The Warriors own a 13-1 advantage in the all-time series with Upper Iowa including an 11-1 mark since UIU moved up to NCAA Division II. The Peacock win came by a 35-21 score at Maxwell Field in Winona, Minn. in 2015. Former quarterback Dimitri Morales was responsible for five touchdowns in the victory. The last time the two teams met in Fayette in 2016, Winona State scored 17 points in the third quarter and forced three UIU turnovers inside the Warriors 25-yard line to post a 27-13 decision.  Last season at Winona State, the No. 25 Warriors defeated the Peacocks 37-7 to open the NSIC South Division slate. Turnovers plagued the offense in the loss; UIU gave the ball up four times including a pair of interceptions returned for touchdowns. Despite the loss, UIU's running game produced 273 yards on the ground, but the Peacocks scored just seven points in their lowest scoring total of the season.
 
A Tale of Two Third Downs... Defensively, the Peacocks rank 40th nationally and 6th in the NSIC in stopping teams on third down. Upper Iowa is allowing opponents to convert only 29.6% of their third downs. On the other side of the ball, UIU has struggled on third down converting only 30.3% of their possession downs which ranks 12th in the conference.
 
Keeping the Field Clean... Upper Iowa has not hurt themselves with penalties this season. The Peacocks average 42.5 yards per game in penalty yardage which ranks 22nd in the country and 6th in the Northern Sun. UIU is getting called for just 6 penalties a game.
 
Air it Out... Senior quarterback Brent Lammers is averaging 330.5 yards per game in the air, which ranks 6th best in the nation and 2nd best in the conference. His 26 completions per game mark the 9th highest average in NCAA DII and the 2nd most in the NSIC, while his 5 touchdown passes rank 18th in the country and 4th in the Northern Sun.  Lammers is also adding 22.5 rushing yards per game to bring his total offensive yards to 353 per game which sits as the 6th most in the nation and 2nd in the conference.
 
Trio of Sophomores Making an Impact... Defensively, Daniel Ruffin Jr. has picked off a pair of passes this season with one in each game. Against Augustana, Ruffin intercepted a pass and returned it 34 yards, while his diving interception at Concordia-St. Paul might have prevented a touchdown for the Golden Bears. He is tied for 7th in the country and 2nd in the NSIC for interceptions. A pair of sophomore receivers also have made a huge impact for the UIU offense. Wideouts DJ Emsweller and Alexander Stevens have pulled in a large part of Lammer's passes. Emsweller has scored 3 touchdowns, the 5th highest mark in NCAA Division II and the 2nd best total in the NSIC. In terms of yards per game, Emsweller's 104 yards/per game rank 22nd in the country and 5th in the conference, while Stevens' 91 yards/game are 43rd best in the nation and 8th in the NSIC. The pair are averaging 14.5 catches/game with Emsweller grabbing 8.5, which rank 11th highest in the country and 2nd in the conference, and Stevens is snaring 6 per game, which is 49th in the nation and 5th in the Northern Sun.
 
2018 Hall of Fame Inductees... Last night the UIU Athletics Hall of Fame inducted three new members to reach 200 members. Stu Engen (Coach) led the Peacock men's basketball program to Iowa Conference titles in 1994, 1996 and 1999. Ryan Phillips '07, '11 (Athlete) was UIU's first NCAA Division II Wrestling Champion at 197 pounds in 2007. Gary Weber '82 (Coach) was a standout high school wrestling coach who accumulated 446 victories at Plainfield and Clear Lake High School.