Fort Hays State will host Pittsburg State on Saturday, October 23, in the annual Tiger Sports Hall of Fame Game at Lewis Field Stadium in Hays. Game time is set for 2 pm. The teams have identical records of 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the MIAA. The Tigers are looking for their first win over Pittsburg State since 1978.

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The Tigers are looking to snap a four-game losing skid after starting the year at 3-0. Several untimely miscues cost the Tigers in a 41-29 loss last week at Nebraska-Omaha. The Tigers outgained the Mavericks by 170 yards (474 to 304), but was not enough to overcome the miscues. The Tigers are also looking to snap a two-game losing streak at home after losing in back-to-back weeks to Washburn and then No. 12 ranked Central Missouri.

Pittsburg State enters on a two-game losing streak, after falling in double overtime last week to Washburn at home 35-34 and a 17-14 loss at Emporia State the previous week. The only conference win for PSU this year was a three-point thriller over Missouri Southern at home. The Gorillas have also lost to Central Missouri and Missouri Western in conference play.

The Tigers are looking for their first win over Pittsburg State since 1978. The Gorillas are 17-0-1 in the last 18 meetings with the Tigers. The tie in that run came during the 1995 season by a score of 16-16 in Hays. That was the last year the Tigers made the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Mike Garrison has a great chance to move up several career offensive lists at FHSU this Saturday. After a career-high 407-yard passing performance at Nebraska-Omaha last week, he has 5,563 passing yards in his career, good for third on the career list at FHSU. He just has 156 yards to go to pass Dustin McEwen (5,718) for second on the list. He is third in career completions with 423, needing 25 more to pass Dustin McEwen for second. He is also third on the career passing touchdowns list with 41, needing just two more to move to second alone. Garrison is also rising on the total offense lists. He is fourth in career total offense at FHSU with 6,399 yards, but the next hurdle on the list is Dustin McEwen with 6,485 yards and then Reed Gottula with 6,522. He could easily jump to second on that list this weekend against Pittsburg State, since he is averaging over 340 yards of total offense per game. He currently ranks second in the MIAA in passing yards per game (294.6), passing yards (2,062), passing efficiency (158.3), and completions (138). He ranks 10th nationally in passing efficiency and total offense.

Wide receiver O.J. Murdock is coming off a career-high 208 receiving yards last week at Nebraska-Omaha. He became just the fifth player in school history to record a 200-yard receiving game. He needs just 75 more yards to move to fifth on the single-season receiving yards list at FHSU, currently with 799 this season. He is just outside the top 10 right now, but could hurdle five to six individuals in one game. He is second in the MIAA in receiving yards per game (114.1) and 12th nationally. He ranks ninth nationally in total receiving yards. He is currently averaging 22.8 yards per catch.

James Walker continues to lead the Tiger rushing attack with 557 yards, averaging 5.2 yards per carry. He posted his first 100-yard receiving game last week with 110 yards. Walker and Murdock became the first duo to have at least 100 receiving yards in the same game at FHSU since 1995.

Alex Whitehill leads the Tigers in tackles with 75, averaging 10.7 per contest. He is second in the MIAA behind Nate Dreiling of Pittsburg State, who leads the nation in tackles per game (13.4). Whitehill ranks 10th nationally in tackles per game and total tackles.

The Tigers face the most potent rushing attack in the conference this week as Pittsburg State averages 242.1 yards per game on the ground. The Gorillas rank seventh nationally in rushing offense. However, PSU ranks 136th nationally in passing offense at just 134.4 yards per game through the air.

The Tigers have one of the most potent passing attacks, ranking 16th nationally and second in the MIAA at 294.6 yards per game through the air. The Tigers are also sound in the running game, averaging 153 yards per game on the ground, which is 60th nationally.