LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Eastern Oregon University football team welcomes Montana State University-Northern to Community Stadium Saturday.

The Mountaineers (0-3) (0-2) are seeking their first victory, and a chance to turn around the season while it is still young. MSUN is off to a good start after being selected to finish last in the Frontier Conference preseason coaches' poll.

The last time the Lights (1-1) (1-1) and EOU met was on Halloween of last year, and Eastern rebounded from a scary start to beat Northern, 37-20. The victory was the first for the Mountaineers in Havre, Mont. in six tries. MSUN jumped out to a 20-0 second quarter lead before Eastern Oregon reeled off 37 unanswered points.

The victory also marked only the third time the then No. 23 Mountaineers won seven games in a season in the program's 80-year history. The last time Eastern won seven games was 29 years ago, when the Mountaineers set a school record with eight wins. It was the final victory of the season for EOU.

Eastern recovered two fumbles and intercepted four MSUN passes Saturday. The Mountaineer defense was led by Corey Dunn and Jeff McNally, each finished with nine tackles. Eastern Oregon finished with 449 yards of total offense, 164 yards rushing and 285 passing. Chris Ware was 14 for 35 for 248 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Mountaineers have won six of the 11 all-time meetings with the Lights. On Sept. 26, 2009, in La Grande, MSUN led 7-0 after the first quarter, and then EOU scored 45 straight points and won 45-14. Ware threw for 395 yards, completing 32 of his 46 passes. The sophomore scored four touchdowns in the game for the Mountaineers.

Montana State-Northern began last season ranked No. 18 and rose to No.16 in the second rating of the year, before losing eight consecutive games to end the season. The Lights lost seven consecutive road games before opening the 2010 season with a 20-3 win at Montana Western. MSUN responded to the bottom of the conference prediction with an opening season rout road win and forced four turnovers.

The Lights forced another five in last week's 17-13 loss to Montana Tech in Havre. Montana State-Northern turned the ball over seven times on offense. MSUN has committed nine turnovers in its two games.

Northern has intercepted eight passes this season and its defense has averaged only giving up 273 yards per game. MSUN has given up 20 points this season, which is top in the conference. The Lights' 189.5 passing yards allowed per game and 83.5 rushing yards allowed per game are both second in the league. Opponents have only converted six of 28 third down tries on Montana State-Northern this year.

MSUN's Casey Varner leads the Frontier in interceptions, AJ Pasalo leads in tackles, and Jared Weigel leads in sacks. On the offensive side of the ball, freshman quarterback Derek Lear is atop the conference in passing with an average of 224.5 yards per game. Stephen Silva is second in the league in rushing yards per game behind Eastern's Kevin Sampson.

Northern has won only once in their five trips to La Grande since 2000. EOU has won three of the past five meetings against the Lights. The 12-hour, 730-mile bus drive from Havre to La Grande played a key factor in last year's meeting in the Grande Ronde Valley. MSUN is no stranger to success on the field after four straight winning seasons before last year. Head coach Mark Samson turned a program that was 2-9 his first season in 2004 into a nationally elite team. Northern made its first trip to the postseason in 2006 and ended 2008, 7-3 and No. 22 in the country.

There is a 30 percent chance of rain at kickoff Saturday. The high is forecasted at 69 degrees, with a low of 47 degrees. The game will be video streamed live on EOUSports.com and will be broadcasted on KCMB 104.7 FM. Live stats and a live blog will also be available on EOUSports.com.