FAYETTE, Iowa - The Peacock football team (8-2, 6-1 GLVC) travels to No. 10 UIndy (9-1, 7-0) on Saturday with a share of the GLVC Championship on the line. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT at Key Stadium in Indianapolis.
With a win, the Peacocks will achieve the most wins in a season in program history. Upper Iowa tied the 1964 team with eight wins this past weekend. The team has already achieved the most wins in a season in the Division II era.
LIVE OPTIONS
Fans unable to attend the game in Fayette this weekend can stay connected with a pair of live options available at UIUPeacocks.com/Live, featuring access to live stats and a pay-per-view webcast through GLVCSN. Fans can also refer to the links attached to this story for all live options.
In addition to GLVCSN.com, viewers can catch the Peacocks on the GLVCSN iOS and Android mobile app, as well as the GLVCSN app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV.
LAST TIME OUT
Jayden Gordon ran for a career-high 198 yards and two touchdowns through the cold and rainy weather to defeat Quincy 41-8 this past Senior Day Saturday. The Peacocks ran for 407 yards, marking a season high and the first 300+ yard game since 2017.
Damon Head Jr., Angelo Butts and Darryl Overstreet Jr. each scored a rushing touchdown. Head Jr. totaled 56 yards, Butts had 51 yards, Overstreet Jr. ran for 48 yards and Darius Willis-Newell tallied 39 yards on the ground.
On defense, senior safety Tade Parsons totaled seven tackles (five solo), an interception and a pass breakup. Linebacker Evan Dorn led the team in tackles with nine while also breaking up two passes. The Peacock defense held Quincy to 59 rushing yards, marking the fifth game this season UIU has held a team to under 100 rushing yards.
Upper Iowa scored 24 unanswered points before the Hawks put in a touchdown just before the half. The Peacocks then shut out Quincy in the second half while putting up 17 more points. This win marked the 20th at UIU for head coach Jason Hoskins.
AFCA POLL
The Peacocks quadrupled their vote total from last week, getting 28 votes in this week's AFCA poll. Upper Iowa is receiving the 27th-most points in the poll, up from the 32nd-most last week. This is the highest vote total the Peacocks have received this season.
UIndy moved up two spots to No. 10, receiving 468 votes. The Greyhounds and the Peacocks are the only GLVC teams receiving votes.
In the region, defending national champions Ferris State (Mich.) (10-0) remains at No. 1 after defeating Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) in double overtime. Findlay (Ohio) (10-0) moved up one spot to eighth. Ashland (Ohio) (8-2) dropped to No. 20 after losing to Findlay, 14-3.
In the NSIC, Minnesota Duluth (9-1) moved up to No. 11, Augustana (S.D.) (9-1) fell to No. 14 and Minnesota State (8-2) is up to No. 14. MSU defeated Augustana this past weekend.
NCAA SUPER REGION THREE RANKINGS
The Peacocks moved up two spots to No. 7 in the penultimate NCAA Super Region Three Rankings. The top eight teams in the region make the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
The top four teams stayed the same, with Ferris State, Findlay (Ohio), UIndy and Ashland staying put in that order. Minnesota Duluth came in at No. 5, Minnesota State is at No. 6 and Augustana dropped to No. 8.
Truman State (Mo.) (7-3, 6-1 GLVC) dropped from No. 7 to No. 10. Northwood (Mich.) (8-2) moved up one spot to No. 9. The NCAA Division II Playoffs Selection Show is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Sunday and will air on NCAA.com.
STATISTICS SUMMARY
Overstreet Jr. continues to lead the nation in completion percentage despite taking a slight dip to 73.7% on 191-of-259 passing. The senior quarterback has totaled 2,133 yards through the air with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has a passer efficiency rating of 161.2, ranking second in the conference and 14th in the nation.
Senior receiver Mante Morrow has 808 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. He averages 89.8 receiving yards per game. He's tied for the GLVC lead and ranks sixth nationally in receiving touchdowns. Morrow is 12th in the nation in receiving yards per game.
Tight end Eddie Burgess is the second-leading receiver with 489 yards on 40 catches and three touchdowns. Burgess ranks 13th in the GLVC in receiving yards.
Gordon is now the team's leader in rushing with 582 yards on 82 carries and seven touchdowns. He averages 7.1 yards per carry, which is tied for third in the GLVC. Head Jr. has added 491 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. Both running backs are tied for fourth in the GLVC in rushing touchdowns.
Wide receiver Angelo Butts leads the GLVC in yards per carry, averaging 13.2 yards on 12 attempts. He also has two rushing touchdowns. Overstreet Jr. has run for 260 yards with five rushing touchdowns.
On defense, Dorn leads the Peacocks in tackles with 78 (32 solo) while Trevor Thompson has 68 tackles (33 solo). Dorn ranks sixth in the GLVC in tackles. Parsons leads the team in solo tackles with 38 and also leads the team in interceptions with three.
Shaquille Roman and Demontay Mack are the team's sack leaders with seven each. They are tied for third in the conference and 32nd nationally in sacks. Cornerbacks Darrell Matchem and Brycen Hendrix both lead the team in breakups with eight.
Kicker Nathan Behne is up to 8-for-10 on field goals and is 5-for-5 on kicks 40 yards or longer. His 80% mark is second in the GLVC and 14th nationally. The sophomore is averaging 44.5 yards per punt, which leads the conference.
Offensively, the Peacocks are averaging 33.9 points and 423.3 yards per game. That ranks third and second in the GLVC, respectively. Upper Iowa is averaging 193.2 yards per game rushing, ranking third in the conference.
Defensively, Upper Iowa is giving up 18 points per game, the best mark in the conference and 21st nationally. The Peacocks are giving up 331.5 yards per game with an average of 104.8 rushing yards. Both those marks rank second in the GLVC.
AROUND THE GLVC
UIndy (7-0 GLVC), Upper Iowa (6-1 GLVC) and Truman State (6-1 GLVC) all picked up multiple-score victories last weekend. With Upper Iowa and Truman State wins, there will be a three-way tie for the conference championship after the Bulldogs defeated the Peacocks earlier this season.
In the event of a three-way tie, a tiebreaker determines which team receives the GLVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The team that allowed the most points for games among the tied teams is eliminated, and head-to-head competition between the remaining tied teams breaks the tie.
Upper Iowa allowed 48 points in the loss to Truman State. The Bulldogs have allowed 51 points against both UIndy and Upper Iowa. UIndy allowed 20 points in its victory against Truman State. Upper Iowa can only allow two points and can't score more than 30 points on Saturday in order to force the head-to-head tiebreaker to be between the Peacocks and the Greyhounds.
ABOUT THE GREYHOUNDS
UIndy's only loss came in the second game this season to No. 4 Findlay, 38-35. The Greyhounds rebounded with a win against No. 20 Ashland, 33-26, sparking an eight-game winning streak. Every other game for UIndy has been a double-digit win, including a 30-20 victory vs. Truman State.
Senior quarterback Gavin Sukup is a Harlon Hill contender, passing for 2,858 yards and 32 touchdowns. He's thrown 202-for-275 (73.45%), marking the second-best completion percentage in the nation. Sukup was awarded both GLVC Player of the Week and D2Football Player of the Week after throwing 27-for-31 with 419 yards and six touchdowns this past Saturday.
Sukup leads the nation in passing efficiency with a 195.5 rating. Nationally, he is second in passing touchdowns and sixth in passing yards. He's responsible for 218 points, the third-most in the nation. The Seward, Nebraska native averages 313.5 yards of total offense per game, ranking fourth nationwide.
Redshirt senior wide receiver Alonzo Derrick leads the team with 592 yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore running back Garrett Sherrell has 453 yards and three touchdowns, senior receiver Markez Gilliam has 399 yards and five touchdowns, and junior wide receiver Kaleb Carver has 312 yards and four touchdowns. 11 UIndy players have 100 or more receiving yards.
Sherrell leads the team in rushing with 612 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry. Redshirt Freshman Juseters Fataki leads the Greyhounds in rushing touchdowns with 12 while adding 586 yards. Fataki is the GLVC leader in rushing touchdowns.
On defense, linebacker Jalen Wilson has totaled a team-high 72 tackles (34 solo), tying for eighth in the GLVC. Redshirt junior defensive end Danny Royster had totaled a team-high 7.5 sacks and 12 tackles-for-loss. Alvin Contreras and Elia Liapis both lead the team in interceptions with three each.
UIndy leads the GLVC in points per game with 48.6 while holding opposing teams to 18.5 points per game. The Greyhounds are the GLVC leaders in total offense (518.5 yards/game) and total defense (306.1 yards/game). Nationally, UIndy ranks first in total first downs with 273 this season.
Head coach Chris Keevers is in his seventh season as the head man for UIndy after previously spending 25 years as an assistant coach. He's been named the GLVC Coach of the Year four times in the last five years. He has a 56-13 record as the head coach of UIndy.
LAST SEASON'S MATCHUP WITH THE GREYHOUNDS
The Peacocks fell to UIndy, 40-13, last October at Harms-Eischeid Stadium. The Greyhounds totaled 468 yards of offense while Upper Iowa totaled a season-low 194 yards.
Indianapolis scored 19 points on three touchdowns in the second quarter, and added a touchdown early in the third for the 26-0 lead. Sukup was 19-of-22 with 227 yards and five passing touchdowns.
Overstreet Jr. finished 14-of-25 with 148 yards passing and a touchdown. His passing touchdown was to Morrow, who totaled three catches for 53 yards. Michael Mulherin led the Peacocks in tackles with nine. Latanauskas blocked two extra points to give the game a 19-0 score.
Receiver Cobi Lewis recorded five catches for 111 yards for UIndy. 11 different Greyhounds recorded a reception, while they also had eight different rushers. UIndy totaled a 23-10 first-down advantage while also going 4-for-4 on fourth downs.
