ABOUT THE GAME

• Millersville travels to Shippensburg Saturday for a clash of two teams seeking a correction of course. Millersville started its season 3-1 before running into a recent plague of turnovers and inability to create turnovers. Shippensburg has also lost three in a row and has seemingly been one play away in the majority of its six losses, having dropped four games by seven points or fewer. 
• Last week produced frustrating results for both teams. Millersville received a career-high 229 yards rushing from Jaheim Morris and trailed nationally ranked Shepherd by just two points late in the fourth quarter despite playing with starting QB Robert Footman Jr. Shippensburg took PSAC East-leading Kutztown into overtime before giving up a 25-yard run on the Golden Bears' first snap of the OT period. 
• Both teams have played significant stretches of the season without some of their primary offensive performers. Millersville has had Morris healthy in the backfield for just two of six games and played without Footman last week. Shippensburg has used four different quarterbacks through seven games. 

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Turnovers is priority No. 1 as the Marauders enter week eight of the season. That includes limiting turnovers on offense and creating more on defense. Millersville played turnover free football in its 2-0 and start and committed just two turnovers and fumbled just twice in the first four games. On the defensive side, the Marauders generated eight turnovers in the first four games. In the recent three-game slide, Millersville's offense has committed 10 turnovers (four interceptions and four fumbles) while the defense has picked off just once pass and not recovered a fumble. Since week five of the 2022 season, Millersville is 7-3 when the defense creates at least one turnover and 1-2 when it comes up empty. 
• Jaheim Morris returned to the lineup in record-breaking fashion last Saturday, rumbling for 229 yards--the most by a Marauder running back since Cardoza Jacks ran for 275 against Cheyney in 2008. It was the ninth-most yards by any running back in Division II this season. Morris has received more than 10 carries in a game twice this season, and in those two games, he's rushed 54 times for 406 yards and two touchdowns. Morris has also shown an ability to make explosive runs. Last week, he had one run of 51 yards and a school-record-tying 93-yarder. That run, which tied Marc DeBellis' 30-year-old mark, is the longest in the PSAC this season and the longest by a PSAC runner since 2021. Against West Chester, Morris broke a 40-yard run. Incredibly, Morris ranks third in the PSAC in rushing yards per game despite recording just 16 carries in his three other appearances. Morris now has four career games with at least 150 yards. Millersville is 5-4 in games in which Morris receives at least 17 carries. 
• Millersville continues to hold the PSAC lead in sacks, now with 23 after recording two against Shepherd. Garrett Cox recorded one on Saturday and is now tied for the PSAC lead with 6 1/2. Cox is also ninth in Division II in sacks. He leads the PSAC and ranks fifth nationally with 15 tackles for loss. Cox is second in the PSAC and fifth nationally in total tackles at 10.3 per game. Cox has recorded at least 1 1/2 TFL in each game this season and has five consecutive games with at least 10 tackles. Randy Okungu also provided a half-sack last week, moving him into the top-10 in the PSAC with 4 1/2 sacks.
• Kicker Trent McDowell made a field goal for the fourth-straight game, and he’s now connected on four in a row, hitting from 35, 38, 39 and 28 yards. McDowell has also hit 14-of-15 PAT attempts since week two. 
   

SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG

• Shippensburg's defense has forced seven turnovers in the last five games, and it is a unit that ranks fourth in the PSAC in total defense, allowing just 292 yards per game. Only four opponents have managed to rush for over 100 yards against the Raiders, and only Newberry and Kutztown topped the 150-yard mark. Shippensburg is stingy in the passing game as well. Opponents have completed more than 15 passes just once all season while passing for more than 250 yards just once. 
• On offense, the Raiders have seen improvement in the running game in recent weeks. After totaling just 151 yards in the first three weeks, Shippensburg rushed for at least 109 yards in three of the last four games. The Raiders, however, still rank 15th in the PSAC in rushing offense. While four different quarterbacks have thrown at least 14 passes, Shippensburg has passed for at least 241 yards four times. 
• Sam Stoner is listed as the No. 1 QB on this week's depth chart. He threw for 272 yards against Shepherd and 268 against Shippensburg before going 4-for-10 for 22 yards in tough weather conditions against Kutztown last week. He did not finish the game, however. Evan Falco made his first extended appearance of the season. He gives the Raiders a dual-threat as he rushed 13 times for 56 yards. Falco was the quarterback last season when Millersville earned a 17-14 win at home. Falco went 14-for-17 for 122 yards and rushed 14 times for 10 net yards. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville snapped a 21-year skid against Shippensburg last season with a 17-14 home win. The next hurdle for the Marauders is to beat Shippensburg on the road for the first time since 1996. That win came by a 34-29 score. The Raiders have since won nine in a row at home, and MIllersville has not scored more than 17 points in any of those games. 
• THE LAST MEETING (Millersville 17, Shippensburg 14 (Oct. 22, 2022): Robert Footman Jr. rushed for 127 yards including 75-yard touchdown scamper and threw for 192 yards, completing 11-of-19 passes. On the drive that set-up Christian Makanoeich's go-ahead field goal, Footman went 5-for-6 for 66 yards, converting three third downs while also rushing for 15 yards on three carries. It was a 14-play, 73-yard drive that chewed up more than six minutes of game clock. 
  Then, the defense got the stop it needed. Aided by a KeShaun Jones sack that knocked Shippensburg from the Millersville 33 to the 45, and an all-out-effort pass breakup from safety Steve Sweeney on a deep shot to the end zone, the Marauders held when Jackson Montross' 53-yard field goal try fell short.