ABOUT THE GAME

• With wins in each of the last two weeks, Millersville heads to Shepherd for its stiffest test of 2022. The Rams are 6-0, ranked No. 4 in Division II and boast the nation's best offense, averaging 525.3 yards featuring reigning Harlon Hill Trophy winner Tyson Bagent. Millersville has found its own spark at quarterback in the last two weeks with true freshman Robert Footman Jr., leading six touchdown drives off the bench against Lock Haven before earning his first start in the home win over East Stroudsburg. 
• Millersville is looking to play the role of spoiler against Shepherd as the Rams have established themselves as the frontrunner in the East and a contender for the conference championship. Shepherd won a key crossover game against Cal U in overtime in week three and topped Kutztown 42-35 in week four. None of Shepherd's final five opponents currently have a record above .500. 
• A 2-1 in the East, the Marauders have a tougher road with games remaining against the teams currently in the top three spots in the standings--two of which are on the road. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville concocted a strong defensive game plan against Bagent and the Rams last season, picking off three passes and recording three sacks. Bagent, a first team All-American last season and the Don Hansen DII Offensive Player of the Year, threw just five total interceptions in his 10 other 2021 regular season games. While being the only team to hold Bagent under 200 yards passing, Millersville made three key turnovers on offense that swung the game in favor of the Rams. Millersville will certainly look to slow Bagent again Saturday, but the Rams are more than just their quarterback. Last week, they rushed for 296 yards while also passing for 296 yards. Millersville's defense has been outstanding lately, especially against the run. The Marauders have held their last three opponents to 49.3 yards per game and 1.5 yards per carry. Millersville's defense is also on a turnover binge, having recovered three fumbles and picked off five passes in the last three weeks. Millersville still ranks 10th in the league in both total defense and scoring defense, but it is up to sixth in sacks with 14 after tallying 10 in the last three games. Millersville is also the No. 2 red zone defense in the PSAC, holding teams without a score on 12-of-19 trips. Only Shepherd has been better (9-for-18). 
• Millersville's two recent wins have been about defense and the run game. Millersville has rushed 104 times for 526 yards in the last two games. The 269 yards against East Stroudsburg were the most by the Marauders since 2008, and it is the first time since 2007 that Millersville has rushed for 200 yards in back-to-back games. Jaheim Morris ran for a career-high 156 yards against East Stroudsburg, becoming the first Marauder to rush for 150 yards since 2017. 
• Morris was named the PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career Monday. Morris averaged 7.8 yards per carry with the longest rush of his career (37). He's had two 30-yard runs in the last two weeks. He's scored at least one touchdown in each of the last four games. 
• Footman's passing numbers won't blow anyone away as he's connected on 15-of-25 for 242 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. But he's been effective moving the ball. He went 7-for-10 with a touchdown on third downs last week. 
• Punter Zach Banta is the back-to-back PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week. Last week, he averaged 45.1 yards per punt, dropping five of seven inside the 20 and booting a long of 65. Banta has averaged better than 40 yards per punt in four of the last five games and has a punt longer than 50 in the last two games. He is now second in the PSAC at 41.0 yards per punt. He'll set a school record if he can maintain that average through the season. 
• Garrett Cox recorded a sack for the second week in a row, boosting his season total to four, tying him for ninth in the PSAC. 
   

SCOUTING THE RAMS

• Shepherd is one of just two teams in Division II (Ouachita Baptist being the other) averaging more than 500 yards of offense per game. The Rams have scored more than 40 points in four of six games. While Bagent ranks second in Division II in passing yards per game (332.0) and has tossed 18 touchdown passes, the key to slowing the Rams is to make them one dimensional by stopping the run. The only two teams to come within one score of the Rams (Cal U and Kutztown) held them to just 25 total rushing yards. Bagent, however, threw for nearly 1,000 yards in those two games, chunking Cal U for 490 and Kutztown for 456. 
• The Rams are capable of running the ball just as well. They rushed for 192 in week one, 357 against Edinboro in week two, 204 vs. Shippensburg in week five and 296 against Lock Haven last week. Ronnie Brown has rushed for 700 yards and is averaging an eye-popping 10.3 yards per carry. He ranks 11th nationally in rushing yards and first in yards per carry. 
• While four different receivers have at least 23 catches, Marlon Cook is Shepherd's big-play threat. He is averaging 19.58 yards per catch on 36 grabs. Ryan Beach has made 35 catches and while he's averaged 7.46 yards per catch, teams have to account for him in the red zone as he has a team-leading five TD grabs. 
• Shepherd's offense may grab the headlines, but the defense is no slouch. The Rams rank second in the PSAC in rushing defense, allowing just 68.8 yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry. They rank second in scoring defense (15.3) as well. Millersville will need to effectively throw the ball as Shepherd has proven susceptible through the air. The Rams' passing defense is last in the PSAC in yards allowed, but it has picked off 10 passes (second in the PSAC) while allowing nine touchdowns 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville owns the all-time lead in the series by a 15-8-1 margin, but Shepherd has won the last four meetings, starting in 2006. The series began in 1938 but the teams did not play between 1941 and 1971. The teams played 15 times between 1982-1999 with Millersville holding a 11-3-1 advantage. That stretch of games included a 21-14 NCAA Playoff win for the Marauders in 1999. 
• In the four games since 2006, Shepherd has averaged 34 points per game while holding Millersville to 9.3 points per game. Millersville's highest point output in the last four meetings was the 13 points scored last season, and that included a special teams touchdown. 
• THE LAST MEETING (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 and fell, 38-13. Millersville held the Rams to nearly 200 yards under their season average. 

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: Millersville 20, East Stroudsburg 14 (Oct. 8, 2022) -   Behind Jaheim Morris' career-high 156 yards and a late-game defensive stop, the Millersville Marauders won their second-straight game, holding off rallying East Stroudsburg, 20-14. Morris led a rushing attack that piled up 269 rushing yards against a Warriors defense that had surrendered just 119 total rushing yards in the previous two weeks.
• Shepherd: Shepherd 72, Lock Haven 7 (Oct. 8, 2022) - Tyson Bagent accounted for four touchdowns as Shepherd scored 20 points in the first quarter and 28 in the second for a 48-0 halftime lead en route to a 72-7 win. Shepherd totaled 592 yards of offense.