#14 Fort Hays State (4-0, 4-0 MIAA) at Lindenwood (2-2, 2-2 MIAA) Saturday, September 30 - 1 pm St. Charles, Mo. - Hunter Stadium
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Fort Hays State Football heads to St. Charles, Missouri to face Lindenwood University on Saturday (Sept. 30). Ranked No. 14 in the latest AFCA Poll, Fort Hays State enters the game at 4-0 and looks to continue its best start since the 1983 season. Lindenwood enters at 2-2, but is coming off a big 45-11 win at Pittsburg State last week.
 
Fort Hays State is off to the best start in its NCAA Division II history. Not only are the Tigers looking to run an overall win streak of six games (dating back to last year) to seven, they are looking for their fifth straight win over Lindenwood. The Tigers are 2-0 against the Lions in St. Charles and have defeated the Lions each year since 2013. Lindenwood won the first-ever meeting between the teams in 2012 in Hays, so overall the Tigers enter with a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series.
 
Fort Hays State enters the week tied for first place in the MIAA with two-time defending national champion Northwest Missouri State, which continues its run at No. 1 in the national rankings. The Bearcats face Central Missouri at Arrowhead Stadium this weekend. Washburn and Central Missouri are just a game back of Northwest Missouri and Fort Hays State, both at 3-1.
 
The Tiger defense has been solid so far this year, sitting at ninth in the nation in points allowed per game (11.0) and 13^th in total defense (269 yards allowed per game). The Tigers have the sixth-best run defense in the nation, allowing 62.3 yards per game on the ground and have yet to allow more than 100 yards on the ground in a game this year. The Tigers have twice held opponents under 50 rushing yards this season. The numbers will be put to the test this weekend as Lindenwood averages 228.8 rushing yards per game. The Lions average 31 points per game and 438.3 yards of total offense per game.
 
Fort Hays State counters with the best scoring offense in the MIAA at 36.3 points per game and the conference's top passing offense at 291.3 yards per game. The Tigers add 165.3 yards per game on the ground, giving them a total offense average of 456.5 yards per game. Lindenwood is allowing 366 yards per game and 20.5 points per game. The Lions have the second-best pass defense in the conference, allowing 169.8 yards per game through the air.
 
Jacob Mezera has been efficient for the Tigers at quarterback, completing 69.6 percent of his passes for 1,085 yards and nine touchdowns this season. He averages 271.3 yards per game. Kenneth Iheme is averaging a team-best 114.5 all-purpose yards per game. He is the team's leading rusher with 303 yards, averaging 75.8 per game. Monterio Burchfield and Tyler Bacon each have a team-high 19 receptions, while Burchfield leads the team in receiving yards at 325. Layne Bieberle has 18 catches for 245 yards this year.
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Connor Shedeed leads the team in tackles with 27, followed by Tanner Hoekman with 25. Doyin Jibowu picked up the team's first interception of the season last week. Wyatt Parker and Nathan Shepherd lead the team in sacks, each with 1.5 for the season.