THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK FOOTBALL... Upper Iowa is on the road for their week four match up against the Dragons of Minnesota State University Moorhead at SCHEELS Field at Nemzek Stadium in Moorhead, Minnesota. The Peacocks head to the Minnesota-North Dakota border in search of their first win of the season, while the Dragons are looking to bounce back after a pair of losses that followed their opening day win on the road over Southwest Minnesota State University. Last week, UIU took a 16-0 lead over Northern State University early in the second quarter, but the Wolves ended the game on top 40-22. The Dragons lost a 43-17 cross-division game at Augustana University; MSUM trailed 24-17 at half, but the Vikings outscored their guests 19-0 in the second half. The Dragons' offense runs through the air and not the ground; MSUM averages 357 passing yards/game and only 33.7 rushing yards/game, while UIU has run well gaining 119.3 yards per game on the ground, but only 185.3 yards per game in the passing game.
 
THE SERIES... The Peacocks and Dragons are tied at 4-all in their career series after 2018's meeting in Fayette. MSU Moorhead claimed a tight 17-13 victory at Harms-Eischeid Stadium. Five years ago in Moorhead, Minn. Upper Iowa committed two turnovers and missed two field goal attempts in a tightly-contested game and fell to the MSU Moorhead 23-21. Upper Iowa had won the last three contests including a 51-33 victory in Moorhead in 2012 and a 45-31 win in Fayette in 2011.  UIU lost their first two games in Moorhead in 2007, 31-28, and in 2010, 28-24, but claimed the inaugural match up in 2006 with a 36-13 victory at home. In 2014, the Peacocks used a dominant, 30-point fourth quarter to erase a 16-point deficit and claim a 44-36 victory in Fayette. MSU Moorhead racked up 709 yards of total offense on the day, but a pair of fumbles and an interception gave the UIU offense the ball back quickly and held the Dragons at bay.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET... In 2018, the Dragons posted a 17-13 victory in Fayette. Upper Iowa suffered their third loss of four points or less to open the season. The Peacocks were stopped on a fourth down try inside the Dragon 5-yard line with two minutes to play to seal the decision. UIU recorded 387 yards of total offense fueled by 313 passing yards, while MSU Moorhead tallied 359 yards of total offense thanks to 142 rushing yards. Brent Lammers threw for 313 yards and a touchdown, while Alexander Stevens hauled in 6 passes for 103 yards.
 
LIVE OPTIONS... The game can be streamed through most mobile devices at NSICNetwork.com/UIUPeacocks or through the NSIC Network app on Roku and Amazon Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android televisions. Live stats and a webcast are all available online at UIUPeacocks.com/Live.
 
WILLY RUNNING WILD… Running back Willy Camacho is off to a great start after just three games in Peacock blue. The Palmdale, California native is recording 171.3 all-purpose yards per game, which ranks ninth in all of NCAA Division II and second in the Northern Sun Conference. Camacho is averaging 94 rushing yards per game (31st NCAA DII, 4th NSIC) and 25.4 yards on each kick return (26th NCAA DII, 3rd NSIC). While Camacho doesn't have a rushing touchdown yet, he has pulled in seven passes for 54 yards total and a touchdown.
 
BEHIND ENEMY LINES... Erik Hansen has consistently led the Peacock defense behind the line of scrimmage through the first three games of the season. UIU's 29 tackles for loss rank ninth in all of NCAA Division II and lead the Northern Sun Conference. Hansen has tallied 10 tackles for a 40-yard loss, while Brody Bazile has registered 5 stops behind the line for a 16-yard loss. Kyle Domin is averaging one tackle for loss per game and Samson Tufui is right behind with .8 per game. Hansen's 3.3 tackles for loss per game ranks second in the country and lead the NSIC, while Bazile's 1.7 per game are fifth in the conference. Hansen also ranks fifth in the nation and leads the Northern Sun in sacks with 4. As a team, UIU has recorded eight sacks on the year, which ranks third in the NSIC.
 
PEACOCK LEADERS… In addition to Camacho, Hansen, Bazile and the UIU defensive line, the Peacocks have several players that are stepping up to lead the team. Offensively, the receiving corps is led by the trio of Xavier Saldana (10 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD), DJ Emsweller (7 catches, 113 yards, 1 TD) and Alexander Stevens (7 catches, 54 yards, 1 TD). Keontae Luckett has run hard from the backfield with 15 carries for 101 yards and two scores and has also pulled in two catches for 28 yards. Marcus Orr stepped into the starting quarterback role last week against Northern State and is completing his passes at a 55.7% clip with 290 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Defensively, UIU is led by Hansen (20 tackles) and Bazile (22 tackles), but Joey Rattin (17 tackles) and Isaac Pope (14 tackles, 1 block kick) have stood out the last two weeks as well.
 
NEXT UP... The Peacocks return to Harms-Eischeid Stadium on Oct. 2 for this year's Homecoming Game. Upper Iowa will host the Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State University at 3 p.m.