ABOUT THE GAME

• It is Homecoming Saturday at Millersville. Millersville and Shippensburg both come into the game with 2-2 PSAC East records. Millersville is looking to score its third PSAC East win for just the second time since 2006. The Marauders pushed now-No. 3 Shepherd for 30 minutes last week, trailing just 21-17 at the half. Shippensburg faced similar second-half scenario last week at home against Kutztown, trailing 16-10 at halftime but failing to score in the final 30 minutes. 
• Shippensburg is 2-1 on the road this season while Millersville is 1-2 at home. On paper, the Marauders and Raiders are two evenly matched teams. Millersville averages 18.1 points per game while Shippensburg averages 19.6. Millersville's defense has surrendered 28.0 points per game while Shippensburg has allowed 25.6. Both teams have played strong schedules as well. Shippensburg ranks first in the PSAC and 19th nationally is strength of schedule (.610) while Millersville ranks third in the PSAC and 32nd nationally (.585). 
• Both teams have relied heavily on defense. Shippensburg is 3-1 when scoring at least 20 points. Millersville has scored more than 20 just twice in seven games but is 2-0 when it hits that mark. 
• The Marauder Concert Series and Tailgaiting Zone returns for the 2022 season. Live music and a bounce house opens in the designated tailgating area 2 ½ hours before kickoff. There is a $5 charge to park in the tailgating zone. RV requests must be made 24 hours in advance of the game.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville picked off the reigning Harlon Hill Trophy winner two times and recovered two fumbles last week against Shepherd. The Marauders have been a turnover-generating machine of late, causing at least one turnover in each of the last six games and two or more in the last five. Millersville has recorded an interception in each of the last four games and has generated 12 total turnovers in that stretch. Six different players have picked off a pass and five others have recorded a fumble recovery. Only Steve Sweeney (two interceptions and one fumble recovery) has at least one of both. Sweeney also scored the Marauders' first non-offensive touchdown of the season last week, scooping and scoring a fumble on a kickoff return. 
• Jaheim Morris has quickly become a versatile player for the Marauders. Over the last five games, Morris has rushed for 403 yards on 81 carries, averaging 4.98 yards per carry while scoring three rushing touchdowns. Morris is also second on the team in receptions (17) and yards (194) and tied for first in receiving touchdowns with three. He's scored six touchdowns in his last five games and is tied for eighth in the PSAC in touchdowns scored. Morris is just 159 yards shy of becoming the second Marauder since 2009 to rush for 600 yards in a season. 
• Freshman Robert Footman Jr. took the bulk of the snaps of QB for the third-straight game and attempted a career-high 24 passes last week against Shepherd. Footman had helped Millersville to back-to-back wins by rushing for 103 yards against Lock Haven an East Stroudsburg. Millersville will need to find that part of its offense again this week after Shepherd limited Footman to -12 yards on six carries. 
• Millersville has not passed for more than 160 yards in a game this season, but explosive plays continue to happen. Five different players have caught a pass of at least 30 yards. Last week at Shepherd, Hakim Melvin recorded a season-high five catches for 72 yards, and he had catches of 30 and 36 yards. Mekhi Alexander has a 52-yard catch and an 88-yard catch this season. He ranks 15th in the PSAC in receptions. 
• Punter Zach Banta averaged over 40 yards per punt for the fourth-straight week and booted his third 60-yard punt of the season last week at Shepherd. Banta ranks second in the PSAC in average (41.3), second in punts inside the 20, second in punts of 50-plus yards and his 67-yarder is the second-longest in the PSAC this season. 
   

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS

• Shippensburg has long been known for its strong running game, but the team has struggled in that area in 2022. Only once has Shippensburg rushed for more than 79 yards in a game. That happened against Shepherd and 80 of the team's 144 yards came on one play. Khalid Dorsey is the team's top rusher with 305 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, and that includes his 80-yarder against Shepherd. Shippensburg has scored just three rushing touchdowns this season. 
• Sam Johnson III has thrown at least one touchdown pass in six-straight games but has also throw an interception in five of seven games and in three in a row. Along with his 10 touchdown passes, Johnson has thrown nine interceptions. Turnovers may be the key to the game as Millersville's defense has picked off seven passes in the last four games. 
• The match-up in the red zone is also intriguing as Shippensburg ranks 14th in the PSAC in red zone offense, converting just 8-of-16 opportunities, while Millersville's defense ranks fourth in the league, holding teams to a 66.7 conversion rate. 
• Defensively, the Raiders feature one of the PSAC's top linebackers in Matt Feeney. Feeney is the PSAC leader with 15 1/2 tackles for loss and ranks fourth in total tackles with 70. He's also broken up four passes. Feeney leads an aggressive defense that has recorded double-digit tackles for loss four times. The Raiders, however, rank 12th in the PSAC in sacks with 12. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Shippensburg has won the last 17 games in the series--a streak that dates back to 2001. Millersville's last win over the Raiders came on Sept. 16, 2000, by a 27-19 score. Shippensburg has won eight in a row at Biemesderfer Stadium. The last two games between the teams were played at Shippensburg. Shippensburg's last trip to Biemesderfer Stadium was in 2018, and that resulted in a 37-0 win for the Raiders. Millersville has struggled to score points against Shippensburg, scoring just one touchdown and seven total points in the last three games. That touchdown came in the fourth quarter of the 2021 meeting. Millersville has not scored a first-half point against Shippensburg since 2016 and has not scored more than 16 points since 2009. Shippensburg, meanwhile, has scored at least 37 points in nine of the last 10 meetings. 
• THE LAST MEETING (Shippensburg 38, Millersville 7 (Oct. 23, 2021): Shippensburg scored a touchdown on four of its first five possessions and raced to a 28-0 lead at the half, and it led 38-0 before Millersville got on the board when Jack Stagaard led a scoring drive in his first collegiate appearance. Shippensburg rushed for 212 yards as a team. Millersville totaled just 16 rushing attempts, and 10 of those attempts were by quarterbacks. With sacks included, Millersville finished with -61 rushing yards. 

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: Shepherd 55, Millersville 17 (Oct. 15, 2022) - For the first 30 minutes, Millersville gave the Shepherd Rams all they could handle. But the nation's No. 1 offense and the Harlon Hill Trophy winning quarterback Tyson Bagent could only be held in check for so long, and the Rams pulled away by scoring 34 unanswered points. Shepherd outgained Millersville 258-18 in the second. Shepherd scored two defensive touchdowns in the game as well. 
• Shippensburg: Kutztown 29, Shippensburg 10 (10/15/22) - Shippensburg faced a six-point deficit at the half but held the ball for just 4:14 in the second half as Kutztown pulled away with two field goals and a fourth quarter touchdown. Shippensburg finished with 131 yards of offense including 18 rushing yards.