PDF VERSION

LA GRANDE, Ore. -- The No. 25 Eastern Oregon University football team completes the 2011 regular season home schedule Saturday against Montana State-Northern on Senior Day. The weekly notes are now available.

* Game 9: MSU-Northern (4-3, 4-3 Frontier) at No. 25 Eastern Oregon (5-3, 5-2 Frontier)
* When: Saturday, Oct. 29, Noon
* Where: Community Stadium, La Grande, Ore.
* Forecast: Mostly Sunny, Mid 50's and 10 percent chance of precipitation.
* Live Stats: EOUSports.com      
* Live Video: EOUSports.com      
* Live Radio: KCMB 104.7 FM
* Series: Eastern holds a 9-5 all-time advantage over Northern.

GAME TIME
Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Community Stadium with a live video stream on EOUSports.com. A live radio broadcast will also be available on KCMB 104.7 FM in La Grande and Baker City.

THE SERIES
* Eastern Oregon has won nine of the 14 meetings all-time versus the Lights.
* EOU has won the last six meetings with the Lights.
* The last time they met, the Mountaineers picked up only their third win in Havre, 48-29.
* In 2010's first meeting, Northern led by 11 heading into the fourth, but EOU won 50-46.
* The Lights last defeated Eastern Oregon on Sept. 13, 2008.
* Montana State-Northern has won only once in their six trips to La Grande.
* Eastern has averaged scoring 45 points in the last four games with MSU-Northern.
* The teams have a scored a combined 423 in their last six meetings, an average of 70.5 combined points per game.
* Chris Ware has thrown over 300 yards in the last two meetings against Northern.
* EOU's six straight wins over MSUN is the longest streak against a team in the Frontier.
* The 730-mile trek from Havre is the longest trip of the season for the Lights.
* Montana State-Northern returned to the Top 25 this season for the first time since the 2009 preseason poll, when it was ranked No. 18.

QUICK HITS
* EOU is looking for its sixth win in a season for only the 10th time in 82 years.
* The Mountaineers are 12-13 over the past five seasons in the month of October.
* The current four-year EOU players are one win shy of the most wins in school history over a four-year span. Eastern has won 22 games the past four seasons.
* Eastern Oregon is eighth in the NAIA in first downs per game (22.3) and sixth in the nation in third down conversions (46 percent)
* Kevin Sampson is 75 rushing yards away from breaking Tim Sicocan's 11-year Eastern Oregon school career record.
* Chris Ware is eighth in NAIA history in career total offensive yards. He is 13th in NAIA history in career passing yards.

SENIORITY RULES
The 14 Eastern Oregon student-athletes that are being honored at Senior Day Saturday have seen plenty of success while in La Grande. The Mountaineers have won 22 games over the past four seasons, one win shy of the best four-year span in school history. From 1978 to 1981, EOU totaled 23 wins and 15 losses. Eastern can equal and pass that four-year win total this season. A Mountaineer win Saturday equals the record. Eastern Oregon is 22-19 over the past four years.

THIRD DOWN AND BOUND
Two of the best third down offenses square off Saturday in La Grande. Montana State-Northern enters the game fourth in the NAIA converting 47.7 percent of the time on third down this season, while Eastern is sixth in the nationt 46 percent. The two schools are on top of the Frontier Conference in the stat category. The Lights are 51 of 107 in 2011, and EOU is 52 of 113. When they met this season, the Mountaineers were seven for 10 and Northern converted on nine of its 14 attempts.

ANOTHER WIN MEANS NUMBER 10
Eastern Oregon can do something it has only done nine times before in the 82-year history of the football program ... win six games in a single season. The Mountaineers can be the 10th team since 1929 to accomplish the feat with a win on Saturday. The last time EOU won six games in a season was just two years ago. The Mountaineers began 2009 with a 6-2 record after a Homecoming win over Montana Western. Eastern won six games each season from 2004 to 2006.

I CAN SEE CANADA FROM MY PORCH
Blue Pony Stadium in Havre, Mont. is only 34 miles from the U.S./Canadian border. There's a reason why they're called the “Northern Lights.” The distance betweeen Havre and La Grande is the largest in the conference. The 730-mile trek is a 12-hour bus ride and creates quite the home field advantage. Eastern has won in only three of its eight trips to Havre, while MSUN has only one win in La Grande in six attempts. Last season at EOU, Northern had an 11-point lead entering the final quarter before losing, 50-46.

IT'S ALL ABOUT RATINGS
The Eastern Oregon and Carroll Top 25 matchup last weekend had quite the audience. Not counting the near 2,000 people at the game, EOU and the Saints were a hit on the web. Courtesy of Lyon Media out of Helena, Mont. the Frontier Conference has had an incredible video-streaming capabilities in 2011. Last weekend's game in La Grande had an online audience of 1,102 unique viewers. A total of 4,516 streams watched Carroll hold off Eastern, 31-21 at Community Stadium.

NOT A BAD START
EOU has started two seasons, 4-0, including the school's best start in 1980, when Eastern won the first six games of the season. Eastern has won four straight games during a season six times since beginning football in 1929. The Mountaineers have posted three straight wins only 17 times in 82 years. The Mountaineers started the season 3-0 for only the fourth time in the program's 82-year history. Eastern has the opportunity to win its sixth game of the season after only nine games this Saturday.

SEATTLE'S BEST
Eastern runningback, Kevin Sampson, is in the top 15 in several statistical categories. He is sixth in the NAIA in rushing yards per game (105.0), and fifth in total rushing (783). Sampson is seventh in all-purpose yards (1,084). He is 11th in the nation in all-purpose yards per game (154.9). He is 15th in total scoring (60) and total scoring from touchdowns (60). The senior is 19th in scoring per game (8.6). The Seattle, Wash. native is 75 rushing yards away from breaking Tim Sicocan's 11-year Eastern Oregon school career record.

COMPUTER LOVE
The Mountaineers are getting some respect from a non-human ranking system this season. Eastern Oregon is currently No. 19 in the Massey Ratings system. EOU has spent much of the season at No. 2 in the poll, but got as high as the No. 1 spot after beating Carroll on the road. The Frontier Conference was previously listed as the toughest conference by the ratings in the NAIA. Carroll is No. 3 in the poll.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START
This season EOU has been outscored 144-111 in the first half, but outscored opponents, 148-115, in the second half. The Mountaineers have outscored opponents 99-57 in the fourth quarter this year, but have been outscored 84-52 in the second quarter. Eastern is 2-3 this season when trailing at halftime and 7-13 under Tim Camp. EOU is 1-3 this year when trailing after the third quarter and 5-15 under Camp. Eastern 14-3 when leading after three quarters under Camp.

AN AERIAL ATTACK
Montana State-Northern's Derek Lear and Eastern's Chris Ware are the leaders in the Frontier Conference in total offense. Lear averages 291.3 yards per game, while Ware is at 258.6. Lear, a sophomore, has thrown for 1,750 yards this season and Ware has thrown for 1,947. Both those stats are top of the conference. Lear's 250 passing yards per game is ninth in the country. Lear has thrown for 848 yards in his three games against Eastern. He has completed 65 of his 98 pass attempts against EOU.