ABOUT THE GAME

• Millersville faces its biggest test to date in week three as 11th-ranked Slippery Rock visits Biemesderfer Stadium. Slippery Rock has won three-straight PSAC West titles and was the preseason favorite again in 2022. Millersville's season has started with two close losses, including a 16-10 loss to a visiting Gannon team a week ago. The Rock has yet to be challenged, winning its week one game against Wayne State 42-10 and then topping West Chester 35-14 on the road last week. 
• 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 has been within a score late in the second half in each of the first two games. Muffed punt returns which led to short field opponent touchdowns have occurred in the third quarter of both games.
• The Marauders are looking for a faster start on offense. Millersville has yet to score a touchdown before the fourth quarter in either game. They've reached the red zone four times but have come away with just one touchdown. Third downs have been a problem as Millersville has converted 21.9 percent, which ranks last in the PSAC. It won't get any easier against Slippery Rock, as it ranks second in the PSAC in third down defense, holding opponents to a 30% conversion rate. 
• Anthony Butler will be the Marauders quarterback again this week with Jack Stagaard still out with an injury. Butler has accounted for both of Millersville's touchdown passes and has completed 54.8% of his passes. In last week's start, Butler connected on 13-of-23 passes and threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to Mekhi Alexander--the longest play of both players' careers. 
• Millersville enters the game ranked 15th in the PSAC in total offense while Slippery Rock ranks second in total defense, allowing just 247 yards per game. 
• Millersville's defense has faced two polar opposite offenses in the first two games. First, it dealt with pass-heavy Saint Anselm, which attempted 42 passes to 19 runs. Gannon ran the ball 48 times and passed 29 times. Slippery Rock is far more balanced, rushing 62 times and passing on 61 snaps. Millersville ranks in the middle of the pack in scoring defense and 11th in total defense but are fifth in first downs allowed and seventh in opponent third downs conversion (34.4%). 
• Freshman kicker Christian Makanoeich has quickly proven capable. Millersville made just one field goal in the entire 2021 season. Makanoeich has already knocked home two, hitting from 20 yards against Saint Anselm and 30 yards against Gannon. Punter Zach Banta has also been solid. His 67-yard boot last week was the second-longest in the PSAC this season. He leads the league in punts landed inside the 20-yard line, and he is seventh in average. 
• Millersville's linebacker corps has delivered. Garrett Cox (10.5) and Rafael Lozada (10.0) rank third and fourth in the PSAC in tackles per game. Cox's two sacks ranks seventh, and he is third with 3 1/2 tackles for loss. On the outside, Imir Lilliston has been active, breaking up three passes, which is tied for fourth in the PSAC. 
   

SCOUTING THE ROCK

• Slippery Rock has scored at least one touchdown in seven of eight quarters of the season and its 38.5 points per game ranks third in the PSAC. Reigning PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week Chris D'Or is coming off his first 100-yard rushing performance and averages 7.6 yards per carry. Quarterback Noah Grover was the week one PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week. He's thrown for at least 250 yards in each of the first two games, connecting for four touchdown passes to one interception. 
• The Rock has a trio of capable receivers in Jacob Odom, Kyle Sheets and Cohen Russell. Odom leads the team in catches and yards while Sheets and Russell share the team lead with two touchdown catches apiece. 
• Slippery Rock's defense, allowing just 12 points per game, has limited opponents to 3.7 yards per carry. They've been opportunistic, picking off four passes, and holding teams to just 123.5 passing yards per game--a mark that ranks second in the league. Slippery Rock ranks first in the PSAC in defensive efficiency as opponents have completed just 35.5% of pass attempts. 
• Four different players have recorded an interception and 14 players have at least one half-tackle for loss. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Slippery Rock has won the last nine meetings dating back to 2005, and it has won 13 of the last 14 going back to 1989. Scoring points has been the problem for the Marauders in those 14 meetings. Millersville has not scored more than 17 points in the last five games against Slippery Rock and has not scored more than 24 in any meeting since 1989's 27-24 victory. Slippery Rock has shutout Millersville in two of the last three meetings and has averaged 56.8 points per game in the last four meetings. Slippery Rock has won the last four games played at Biemesderfer Stadium. 
• THE LAST MEETING (Slippery Rock 49, Millersville 0 (Sept. 21, 2019): Slippery Rock entered the game with the No. 1 scoring offense and No. 1 passing attack in all of Division II. Quarterback Roland Rivers III was on his game again against Millersville, throwing six touchdown passes, including five in the first half, as The Rock won, 49-0.

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: Gannon 16, Millersville 10  (Sept. 10, 2022) -  Millersville had just pulled within six points and had Gannon backed up on its own 1-yard line with time ticking away in the fourth quarter. But Gannon's rushing attack, which it relied on all afternoon, flipped field position with one big run from Antonio Wright and effectively eliminated any hope Millersville had of a late rally. Outside of a 52-yard touchdown pass from Anthony Butler to Mekhi Alexander in the fourth quarter, Millersville struggled to move the ball with consistency. Butler, filling in for the injured Jack Stagaard, went 13-for-23 with 121 yards. The running game managed 22 net yards, and Millersville totaled seven first downs to Gannon's 20.
• Slippery Rock: Slippery Rock 35, West Chester 14 (Sept. 10, 2022) - Slippery Rock held a 408-253 advantage in yards, rushing for 158 and passing for 250. The Rock held West Chester to 37 yards in the second half until the final drive. Slippery Rock recorded four sacks and two interceptions.