ABOUT THE GAME

• A week after playing No. 15-ranked Shepherd tough, Millersville travels to Shippensburg to play a team that is 3-0 at Seth Grove Stadium and 5-2 on the season. The Raiders only two losses have come on the road against nationally-ranked Kutztown and Shepherd.
• The Marauders have proven a tough opponent, having hanged in against a pair of teams now ranked in the nation's top 11 (Cal U and Shepherd). In recent years, the Marauders have had trouble scoring against Shippensburg's defense (zero points in the last two meetings), and this year, Millersville's highest offensive point total in any game is 23 points (scored in the 31-29 win over Clarion). Shippensburg was held to just three points against Kutztown last week, but has been oustanding on offense at times this season, posting games of 62 and 51 points while scoring at least 25 in six of seven games.
• There are plenty of connections in this game as Millersville head coach J.C. Morgan served 13 years as an assistant coach at Shippensburg, some of which was under Coach Mark Maciejewski. Offensive coordinator Jeff Tomasetti spent five seasons on the Shippensburg staff after playing four seasons for the Raiders and graduating in 2013. Running backs coach Evan Dudick is a 2018 graduate of Shippensburg and was a student assistant coach for the program. Linebackers coach Dan Beard served as a graduate assistant at Shippensburg. Quarterback Cole Klayman started his collegiate career at Shippensburg. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• After injuries to both Jared Jenkins and Anthony Butler, Millersville turned to game one starter Cole Klayman against Shepherd and he went 17-of-39 for 128 yards, one TD and one interception in tough weather conditions. On the season, Klayman has completed 54.2 percent of his passes and throw two touchdowns in 72 attempts. 
• Millersville's offensive personnel is extremely young. It's leading passer, leading rusher, and leading receiving (yards) are all redshirt freshmen. True freshman T'iar Young has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last two games and has averaged 31 yards on those two catches. Fellow true freshman Timmy Smith has flashed the last two games in the run game, totaling 53 yards on eight carries (6.6 per carry). On this week's depth chart, 10 of the 22 offensive players listed are either true or redshirt freshmen. Additionally, 13 players are in their first season playing at the Division II level. 
• Millersville gave a Shepherd defense ranked No. 1 in the nation in passing offense and second in scoring offense all it could handle last week. Tyson Bagent was the nation's leading passer coming in, and the Marauders picked him off three times (his season total prior to the game) and sacked him three times. He had been sacked just three times entering the game. That performance moved Millersville into a tie for the PSAC lead in interceptions with 10 and up to fifth in sacks with 17. Millersville also moved up to sixth in the league in red zone defense. One area where the Marauders are looking to improve on both sides of the ball is on third down. The defense is allowing teams to convert 42.6 percent of its third downs (ranked 13th) and the offense is ranked 15th, converting 20.4 percent of third downs. 
• Isaiah Onuschak remains the PSAC’s leading tackler, averaging 10.4 per game. He's made at least seven tackles in each game this season and also has three passes broken up. He recorded a sack against Shepherd to boost his season total 3 ½.
• Tyler Tate has been a monster on the defensive line this year. He was in on two half sacks last week to boost his season total to 8 ½--the most by a Marauder since 1999. He's third in the PSAC, trailing the leader by just two sacks. Tate also ranks fourth in tackles for loss with 12 ½. Tate is just 1 ½ sacks away from becoming the fifth Marauder with double-digit sacks since 1987. 
• Steve Sweeney and Tyler Patron-Penn are making a name as ballhawks in the secondary. Sweeney picked off his third pass of the season against Shepherd, giving him eight passes defended, which ranks third in the PSAC. Patron-Penn's nine passes defended rank second. 
   

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS

• Shippensburg is 5-0 when rushing for at least 100 yards as a team. Quarterback Brycen Mussina is also a threat as he's thrown for over 300 yards twice, including a 392-yard performance against Bloomsburg. He threw at least one touchdown pass in each of the first six games but has thrown an interception in each of the last three. Mussina is completing 63.7 percent of his passes, which ranks fourth in the PSAC. 
• Shippensburg utilizes a pair of running backs in Bill Williams (56.1 yards per game) and Khalid Dorsey (51.0 yards per game). Williams averages 4.1 yards per carry while Dorsey averages 3.8. 
• On the defensive side, Shippensburg is holding teams to 309.7 yards per game. The Raiders held their first four opponents to no more than 84 yards rushing but the last three opponents have each rushed for 100 yards, and Shepherd and Kutztown both rushed for over 200 yards, and they've allowed a run of at least 37 yards in each of the last three games. 
• Defensive back Trey Paul leads the PSAC in passes defended with 10 and is the leader in interceptions with four. 

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: #15 Shepherd 38, Millersville 13  (Oct. 16, 2021) - Millersville gave No. 15 Shepherd quite a scare early and frustrated the nation's top-ranked passer all afternoon with three interceptions and three sacks, but despite a special teams touchdown in the first quarter, the Marauders could not keep pace. Two crucial turnovers--one just before halftime and one immediately after halftime--gave Shepherd 10 points and helped the Rams pull away. 
• Shippensburg: #25 Kutztown 20, Shippensburg 3 (Oct. 16, 2021) - Shippensburg managed just 143 yards of total offense. Redshirt-junior quarterback Brycen Mussina was 18-of-33 for 124 yards and an interception. Freshman Ian Sheehan caught a game-high seven catches for 66 yards. Kutztown sacked Mussina seven times.

SERIES HISTORY

• Shippensburg has been a nemesis to Millersville since 2001, winning 16-consecutive games and winning those games by an average margin of 41.2-11.2. Scoring points has been a serious issue for Millersville against Shippensburg. The Marauders have been shut out in each of the last two meetings and haven't scored more than 16 points since 2009--a stretch of 10 games. Shippensburg has won eight consecutive meetings at home. Millersville's last win in the series came by a 27-19 score in 2000, and the last win at Shippensburg was a 34-29 victory in 1996. 
• THE LAST MEETING (Shippensburg 27, Millersville 0 (Oct. 19, 2019): The Raiders used a ball-control running game led by Luke Durkin for a 27-0 win. Durkin rushed for 213 yards on 31 carries and scored twice as Shippensburg finished with 236 yards on the ground and 459 total. Shippensburg limited Millersville to 22 rushing yards. Millersville made stops on the first three drives before Shippensburg broke through with a 38-yard run from Durkin in the second quarter.