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HAVRE, Mont. -- The No. 12 Eastern Oregon University football team completes its three-game road trip to begin the season at No. 23 Montana State-Northern Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium.

* Game 3: No. 12 Eastern Oregon (2-0, 2-0 Frontier) at No. 23 MSU-Northern (2-0, 2-0)
* When: Saturday, Sept. 17, 1 p.m. MT
* Where: Blue Pony Stadium, Havre, Mont.
* Forecast: Mid 70's and Mostly Sunny with 10 percent chance of precipitation.
* Live Stats: EOUSports.com      
* Live Video: EOUSports.com      
* Live Radio: KCMB 104.7 FM
* Series: Eastern holds an 8-5 all-time advantage over Northern.

GAME TIME
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. MT at Blue Pony 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 eight of the 13 meetings all-time versus the Lights.
* EOU has won the last five meetings with the Lights.
* The last time they met, the Mountaineers picked up only their second win in Havre, 39-36.
* In that game, Eastern rallied from a 27-point halftime deficit for the win.
* After EOU scored first, MSUN scored 34 straight points to lead, 34-7 at halftime. Eastern responded by outscoring the Lights, 32-2, in the second half.
* In 2010's first meeting, Northern led by 12 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 42 points in the last four games with MSU-Northern.

QUICK HITS
* EOU's five straight wins over MSUN is the longest streak against a team in the Frontier.
* The 730-mile trek to Havre is the longest trip of the season for the Mountaineers.
* The Mountaineers' Chris Ware is one rushing touchdown from breaking the Eastern
Oregon career school record. It would be his 13th school record.
* Eastern Oregon plays its first three games away from home for the first time since 2006. The Mountaineers went 1-2 in that stretch. It was also the last time EOU played three road games in a row.
* Eastern has only began four seasons by winning its first three games. The last in 1980.
* The Mountaineers have only won three games in a row 17 times in their 82-year history.
* EOU is back in the Top 25 poll at the highest position in program history at No. 12.
* Eastern's previous high was No. 17 after a 3-1 start on Oct. 10, 2005.
* Under Tim Camp, the Mountaineers are 16-6 when they score at least 30 points.
* Montana State-Northern returns to the Top 25 for the first time since the 2009 preseason poll, when it was ranked No. 18.

WARE ONE AWAY FROM OWNING LUCKY NO. 13
Eastern Oregon quarterback, Chris Ware, is one rushing touchdowns from breaking the school's rushing touchdowns in a career record. The senior has scored 21 rushing touchdowns in his career, tying Damien Johnson's seven-year-old record at EOU. Ware currently holds 12 school records. The Rainier, Ore. native has a chance to break record number 14 later this season. He is 57 rushing attempts from topping Tim Sicocan's 11-year-old school record.

SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE
Eastern Oregon and MSU-Northern enter this weekend's showdown as the top two teams in the conference. It marks the first time in five years, a school not named Carroll will be playing for the conference lead after three games. The Mountaineers enter the game as the conference leader in scoring offense averaging 36 points per game, while Northern's defense currently has the league's best defense giving up an average of 14 points per game. The Lights' defense have stymied opponents on the ground, allowing only 89 yards per game.

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 two of its seven trips to Havre, while MSUN has only one win in La Grande in six attempts. Saturday is Homecoming for the Lights and Northern will look to turnaround a 2-8 home record over the past two seasons.

SOME KIND OF UPSET
Eastern Oregon's monumental upset last week at No. 1 Carroll had many storylines. The Mountaineers ended the Saints' 44-game conference win streak, 31-game home conference win streak and 15-game win streak. The victory also broke a streak of 14 straight losses to Carroll for EOU dating back to 1999. It marked the first time in Eastern Oregon University history an athletic program beat a No. 1 ranked team. It was Tim Camp's first win over a Top 10 team. Nelson Stadium was quiet after the game as Eastern sang its fight song.

WELCOME TO NEW TERRITORY
The Mountaineers cracked the Top 15 in the NAIA Top 25 for the first time in school history Monday. Following Eastern's win at Carroll, the Mountaineers climbed to No. 12, the highest ranking in school history. EOU's previous high was No. 17 after a 3-1 start on Oct. 10, 2005. EOU climbed to No. 18 on Oct. 19, 2009. Also for the first time, the Frontier Conference has four of its six members ranked in the Top 25. Carroll dropped from one to five, Rocky Mountain entered the poll at No. 20, as did Montana State-Northern at 23.

NOT A BAD START
Eastern is 2-0 to begin the season, but can break ground with a win Saturday at Northern. The Mountaineers can start the season 3-0 for only the fourth time in the program's 82-year history. 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. The Mountaineers have posted three straight wins only 17 times in 82 years. EOU has won four straight games during a season six times since beginning football in 1929.

WARE GETS NATIONAL PRAISED
Eastern quarterback, Chris Ware, was named the NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week and the Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Ware passed for 281 yards and five touchdowns as he was 24-for-30 (.800) through the air. He also rushed 12 times for 71 yards and one score for a 5.9 yards per carry average. His rushing touchdown was the 13th school record that he has accomplished. The senior has been named national player of the week twice and conference player of the week six times.

THIRD DOWN? NO PROBLEM
The Mountaineers are taking care of business on third down so far this season. Eastern Oregon is currently second the country on third down, converting 62.1 percent of the time. EOU has made first downs on 18 of its 29 third down attempts. The Eastern defense has held opponents to just 37 percent on third down, 10 of 27. Last week at Carroll, EOU was 10 for 15 on third down. The Mountaineers are 19th in the nation on fourth down conversions as well. Eastern has made two of its three attempts on fourth down this season.

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 307 yards per game, while Ware is at 257.5. Lear, a sophomore, has thrown for 550 yards this season and Ware has thrown for 430. Lear's 275.5  passing yards per game is ninth in the country. He has thrown for 2,356 yards in his first 10 collegiate games. Lear has thrown for 542 yards in his two games against Eastern. He has completed 34 of his 56 pass attempts against EOU.

NAWAY OR THE HIGHWAY
Eastern Oregon's Abraham Naway had a breakout game last week at No. 1 Carroll. The sophomore was moved from running back to wide receiver this season and it paid off. Each of Naway's three receptions were touchdown catches last weekend. All three also came in the second half. He has caught six passes for 73 yards so far this season, after catching seven passes in 2010.