#12/10 Northwest Missouri State (4-1, 3-1 MIAA) at
Fort Hays State (3-3, 2-2 MIAA)
Saturday, October 17 – 7 p.m.
Hays, Kan. – Lewis Field Stadium
 
Game Sponsor: High Plains Farm Credit
Promotions: Ag Appreciation Day, Thunder on the Plains Truck Raffle Drawing, Tiger Day (FHSU Admissions)

Fort Hays State is back home for its next two games in MIAA play. The Tigers host No. 12/10 ranked Northwest Missouri State on Saturday night (Oct. 17). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Lewis Field Stadium. The Tigers enter at 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the MIAA, while the Bearcats are 4-1 overall and 3-1 in the MIAA.

HOW TO WATCH
All remaining games on Fort Hays State's regular season schedule will be available on The MIAA Network. Subscriptions to the network are as follows…
 
All-Access Pass: $140 (all sports, all events on The MIAA Network in 2026-27)
Monthly Pass: $35 (all events on the network within a calendar month from time of subscription)
Individual Broadcast Pass: $15
 
SERIES HISTORY
NWMSU leads 24-15-1
Last Meeting: NWMSU won 52-3 in Maryville (10/18/25)
FHSU Record in Hays: 8-9
FHSU Record in Maryville: 7-15-1
 
Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri State meet for the 41st time on Saturday. The first meeting occurred back in 1950 in Maryville, which FHSU won. NWMSU leads the series 24-15-1 overall. NWMSU has won the last two meetings overall, but FHSU won the last meeting between the teams in Hays. 

WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE
Head Coach Chris Brown talked about the upcoming game with Central Oklahoma. Safety Eli Moulton and wide receiver/kick returner Kolton Coleman also fielded questions. Watch video below courtesy of ECTV and Hays Post Sports.  



WEEKLY TIGER TALK
Head Coach Chris Brown and running back AG Floyd join Voice of the Tigers Gerard Wellbrock on the October 12, 2026 edition of the show.
 

 
TIGERS IN THE AFCA POLL THIS YEAR
Fort Hays State opened the 2026 season receiving votes in the AFCA Top 25 Poll. After a win over Angelo State in the season opener, FHSU moved into the Top 25 at No. 25. However, after a loss to No. 5 ranked CSU Pueblo, the Tigers moved back into the receiving votes section, where they resided for for three-straight polls. The Tigers were not referenced in the last 3 polls after a loss to Missouri Western.

TIGERS IN THE D2FOOTBALL.COM TOP 25
After the season-opening win at Angelo State, Fort Hays State moved into the D2Football.com Top 25 at No. 23. However, a loss in the next game to a top-10 ranked CSU Pueblo squad pushed the Tigers back outside of the Top 25. After the win over Pittsburg State, the Tigers returned to the poll at No. 25, but then dropped out again after a loss to Missouri Western.
 
BEARCATS IN THE RANKINGS
Northwest Missouri State is in both Division II national polls. The Bearcats are No. 12 in the AFCA Poll and No. 10 in the D2Football.com Poll. The 2024 meeting with FHSU was the only time NWMSU did not have an AFCA Top 25 ranking since the Tigers joined the MIAA in 2006. NWMSU was ranked No. 19 (AFCA) / No. 15 (D2Football.com) in last year's meeting.
 
BEARCATS TAKE THE LAST 2 MEETINGS OVERALL
Northwest Missouri State has won the last two games against FHSU overall, with both occurring in Maryville. NWMSU won 32-20 in 2024 and then 52-3 in 2025. NWMSU led 24-3 at halftime of last year's meeting before running away with 28 points in the second half. The Bearcats have won 3 in a row in their home stadium over the Tigers going back to 2022.
 
LAST MEETING IN HAYS
Fort Hays State won the last meeting with Northwest Missouri State in Hays, which was back during the 2023 season. FHSU took the contest by a score of 17-6, holding the Bearcats to field goals in the second and third quarters. The game was tied at halftime, 3-3, before FHSU scored a touchdown in both the third and fourth quarters.
 
BROWN INCHING CLOSER TO 100
Fort Hays State head coach Chris Brown is only two wins shy of 100 for his career, now in his 15th season leading the Tigers. Brown's 98 wins are 16th most among active NCAA Division II football head coaches.
 
BROWN VS. THE BEARCATS
FHSU Head Coach Chris Brown holds a record of 3-11 against Northwest Missouri State. Brown picked up his first win over the Bearcats in 2017 when FHSU went an undefeated 11-0 in the regular season and won the MIAA title. The following year, the Tigers won again and went on to share the MIAA title with Northwest Missouri State. The last win was in 2023 in Hays, which was the first time Brown led the Tigers to a win over the Bearcats at home.
 
BALANCED OFFENSE
FHSU is averaging 399.8 yards of total offense per game so far this season, which currently sits 5th in the MIAA and 51st in NCAA Division II. Fort Hays State is averaging 166.3 rushing yards through 6 games this season, which ranks 3rd in the MIAA. The Tigers add 233.5 passing yards per game, which is 6^th in the MIAA. Quarterback Major Cantrell is averaging 271.1 total yards of offense per game, which ranks 24^th nationally and 3^rd in the MIAA. Cantrell's season high in passing was 318 yards at Missouri Western as his season high in rushing was 95 yards against CSU Pueblo.
 
FLOYD HEADING THE RUSHING ATTACK
AG Floyd is off to a strong start this season at running back. He ranks 5th in the MIAA for rushing average at 71.5 yards per game, while ranking 2^nd in rushing touchdowns (8) and total touchdowns (8), 4^th in scoring (8.0 ppg), and 3^rd in total points (48). With a season-high 145 rushing yards against Pittsburg State, Floyd had the most rushing yards by a Tiger since Shane Watts ran for 175 yards against Nebraska-Kearney in the 2024 season finale. In the game against Missouri Southern, LaAngelo Bell produced his first 100-yard rushing game as a Tiger with 127. Bell ranks 11^th in the MIAA in rushing yards per game at 51.8.
 
ALL-AMERICAN ON THE DEFENSIVE FRONT
Gaven Haselhorst is the lone All-America performer returning for FHSU in 2026. Last year, he was a unanimous All-MIAA First Team selection before garnering D2CCA All-Super Region 4 First Team honors and then All-America Honorable Mention selections by Don Hansen Football Committee and D2Football.com. Haselhorst has the most career tackles of any returner on the Tiger defense with 130, while also being the active career leader in tackles for loss (32) and sacks (14).
 
DOOLEY AND ROBINSON-WAYNE TOP RECEIVING THREATS
Keyshawn Dooley is the team leader in receiving yards this season with 406. He had a career-high 175 receiving yards at Missouri Western. Ayden Robinson-Wayne had 150 receiving yards the previous week against Pittsburg State and has 285 yards for the season, though he missed the last 2 games. It was the first time FHSU had 100+ yard receivers in back-to-back games since the 2023 season when Trevor Watts had 113 yards against Central Missouri on November 4 and then 210 against Emporia State on November 11. Dooley currently ranks 63rd in NCAA Division II and 9th in the MIAA for receiving yards per game (67.7), while Robinson-Wayne ranks 1st in the MIAA in yards per reception (28.5).
 
TIGERS LEAD MIAA IN INTERCEPTIONS, RANK 8^TH NATIONALLY
Fort Hays State leads the MIAA in interceptions this season with 10. The Tigers had a season-high 4 interceptions in their win over Pittsburg State. FHSU ranks 8th nationally in interceptions. UT-Permian Basin leads NCAA Division II with 15.
MCBRIDE TIED FOR NATIONAL LEAD IN INTERCEPTIONS
Cornerback Matthew McBride is tied for the NCAA Division II lead in interceptions with 4 along with 7 other players. Teammate Eli Moulton is tied for 8th nationally with 3.
 
TURNOVER MARGIN
Fort Hays State currently ranks 35th in NCAA Division II and 1st in the MIAA for turnover margin at +0.67. The Tigers have 13 takeaways compared to 9 turnovers committed for the season. FHSU ranks 2nd in the MIAA and 19th nationally in turnovers gained (13).
 
BEST IN MIAA ON 4^TH DOWN
Fort Hays State is 9-of-11 on 4th down conversions this season, a conversion percentage of 81.8. The Tigers currently rank 8th in NCAA Division II and lead the MIAA in 4th down conversion percentage.

WHEN THE TIGERS SCORE 30 UNDER BROWN
Fort Hays State is 66-6 under head coach Chris Brown when reaching 30 points in a game. The Tigers went 2-0 last season and 3-0 so far this season when reaching 30 points in a game. They now have a streak of 11-straight wins when scoring 30.
 
REACHING 200 RUSHING YARDS UNDER BROWN
The Tigers have a record of 45-2 since the start of 2013 when rushing for over 200 yards in a game. They had 211 in the season opener at Angelo State, 207 against Pittsburg State, and a season-high 220 against Missouri Southern last week. The last time the Tigers rushed for over 300 yards in a game was November 2, 2024 with 331 at Emporia State on the way to a 36-7 win. The Hornets were ranked No. 11 in the nation by the AFCA in that meeting.
 
CHEWING UP CLOCK
The Tigers have an average of 33:28 on time of possession this season, which leads the MIAA and ranks 10th in NCAA Division II. Pace is the national leader at 34:36. FHSU has possessed the ball over 35 minutes 4 contests this season, but 28 or less in 2 of its 3 losses.
 
RUSSELL SOLID AT PUNTER
Logan Russell has enjoyed a good start to the 2026 season at punter. He is averaging 43.3 yards per punt so far this season on 27 punts, which ranks 15th in NCAA Division II and 3rd in the MIAA. Russell was an All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection last season.
 
LIGHT ON PENALTIES
Fort Hays State currently ranks 3rd in the MIAA for fewest penalties with 34 for the season. Northwest Missouri State has the fewest with 25. The Tigers rank 34th nationally in fewest penalties.
 
LEADING THE MIAA IN KICKOFF RETURNS
Fort Hays State leads the MIAA and ranks 32nd in NCAA Division II for kickoff returns, averaging 23.4 yards per return.
 
BROWN HOLDS FHSU COACHING WINS AND TENURE RECORD
Chris Brown is in his 15th year guiding the Tigers and owns the FHSU Football coaching wins record with an overall mark of 98-66. He has 43 more wins than previous record holder Bob Cortese. Brown is also the longest tenured head coach in program history as he passed Wayne McConnell for the longest stint in history last year. Brown currently ranks 16^th among active NCAA Division II coaches in career wins.

ABOUT THE BEARCATS:

• Last week the Bearcats won a battle of nationally ranked teams, defeating Central Missouri 42-20 in Maryville.
• Northwest Missouri State was co-champion of the MIAA in 2025 with a conference record of 8-1. The Bearcats finished 9-3 overall last year and lost their NCAA playoff opening-round game to Harding, the eventual national runner-up.
• Head coach John McMenamin is in his second year leading the Bearcats. He has a record of 13-4 at NWMSU and 20-8 overall as a head coach.
• NWMSU has four players with 200 or more rushing yards this season, led by Quincy Torry with 370.
• NWMSU averages 40 points per game and lead the MIAA in rushing yards per game (223.6).
• Eli Bertz is the top Bearcat tackler with 28 for the season.