ABOUT THE GAME

• If the first two weeks of division play are any indication, the PSAC East is going to be wild in 2023. Six teams have one loss with just one team unbeaten and six teams have an overall record above .500. Millersville travels to East Stroudsburg Saturday for a pivotal division game. Both teams are coming off one-score losses in which they led in the second half and held two-touchdown leads. Millersville committed five turnovers and rushed for a season-low 69 yards in its loss to Lock Haven while ESU allowed a season-high in passing yards (285) and passing touchdowns (4) while surrendering a season-high five sacks.
• Both teams are looking to get back on track and do what they do well. For Millersville, that's running the ball with success. The Marauders had averaged 186.3 yards per game and had at least one rush of 20 yards or longer in the first four weeks but averaged a mere 1.8 yards per carry last week. East Stroudsburg also seeks balance, having averaged 205.5 yards rushing in the first four weeks before averaging 1.7 yards per carry against Kutztown.
• Saturday marks Millersville's third night game in five weeks. The Marauders opened the season with a home win under the lights before falling at Slippery Rock in week three. Millersville is 41-32 all-time in night games but has not won two night games in the same season since 2006.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• In the Marauders' 3-1 start, they excelled in the run game and taking care of the football. Before last week's loss, the Marauders had rushed for at least 133 yards in each game while averaging 204 yards rushing in the three wins. Millersville also fumbled just once in the first four weeks but put the ball on the ground seven times against Lock Haven, losing four and also throwing an interception. After finishing minus-four in turnover ratio last Saturday, the Marauders are now plus-two on the season. Steve Sweeney's interception against Lock Haven extended the defense's streak of consecutive games with a turnover forced to eight. Since week four of the 2022 season (13 games), Millersville has 13 interceptions and 24 turnovers created.
• Millersville generated six sacks against West Chester--its most since the 2015 season opener--and three more against Lock Haven, boosting its PSAC-leading total to 17. Randy Okungu ranks second in the PSAC with four sacks, and Garrett Cox is tied for sixth with 3 1/2. Millersville's pass rush against East Stroudsburg pass blocking is a match-up to watch. The Warriors' 17 sacks allowed are the most in the PSAC, and opponents have sacked ESU quarterbacks at least three times in each of the last four games.
• Cox continues to play at an elite level at linebacker as he has totaled 10 or more tackles in four of five games and recording at least two TFL in all five. He has either recorded a sack or forced a fumble in four of five games. He ranks second in the PSAC in tackles (10.2 per game), first in TFL (2.30) and tied for sixth in sacks. Cox ranks fifth nationally in tackles for loss and sixth in total tackles. 
• Robert Footman Jr. threw for a career-high 329 yards with 22 completions on a career-high 38 attempts against Lock Haven. Footman tossed three TD passes in the first half and has now thrown at least one TD pass in all five games. He is tied for fourth in the PSAC in passing touchdowns. 
• Special teams have given the Marauders a boost in recent games. Punter Zach Banta was named PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week after the win over West Chester for averaging 47.2 yards per punt and setting a school record with an 83-yard boot. The previous record of 81 yards was set by Jeff Lawson in 2012. Banta set Millersville's single season record for punting average in 2022. Banta ranks sixth in the PSAC in punting average at 40.5. 
• After missing on the first four field goal attempts of the season, Millersville has connected on two in a row, turning to Trent McDowell for makes of 35 and 38 yards in the last two games. 
• In week three, Hakim Melvin opened the Slippery Rock game with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It was Millersville's first touchdown on a kickoff return since 2014 and one yard shy of tying the longest in school history. In 1980, Brent Thomas returned a kickoff 100 yards vs. Mansfield, and Kevin Cannon did the same in 1995 against Shepherd. Melvin also had a touchdown return nullified by a penalty in the fourth quarter of the week two game against Gannon. Melvin ranks ninth in the PSAC in average (26.1), and his 99-yard return is the second longest in the PSAC this season. He is one of five players with a return touchdown.
   

SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG

• East Stroudsburg is possibly the most balanced team in the PSAC, ranking third in total offense and third in total defense and also ranking first in rushing offense and first in rushing defense. The Warriors have averaged 177.2 yards per game on the ground while surrendering just 77.0, and that makes Saturday's match-up with Millersville, a team that ranks third in the PSAC in both rushing offense and rushing defense, a battle of strength vs. strength. Running back Tyriq Lewis averages 79.4 yards per game, but after rushing for 129 yards against Seton Hill, he has totaled 61 yards on 19 carries in the last two games. 
• Sean McTaggart has taken over as the team's starting QB in the last two weeks, and he has been efficient, completing 33-of-55 passes with seven touchdowns and two interceptions. McTaggart has thrown an interception in each of the three games that he's attempted a pass. He ranks third in the PSAC in passing efficiency rating (164.0). He's also shown the ability to scramble as he ran for 67 yards on eight carries in a back-up role against Seton Hill. 
• The Warriors boast a bevy of weapons that can hurt teams in the passing game. ESU has already totaled 18 touchdown catches from 11 different players. John Siggins leads the team with three. 
• On defense, the Warriors have been stout against the run, allowing just three rushing touchdowns, and only two teams have topped 100 yards. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville owns three wins over East Stroudsburg since 2017, and the key in all three wins was keeping the game low scoring. In 2017 and 2018, Millersville won by scores of 12-0 and 11-10. Last season at Millersville, the Marauders won by a 20-14 score. East Stroudsburg scored 50 and 27 in its 2019 and 2021 victories. Another commonality in all three Millersville wins is the ability to successfully run the ball. Millersville produced a 100-yard rusher and rushed for over 200 yards in each of those three wins. Millersville averaged 245.3 rushing yards in those three wins.
• While ESU holds a 44-28-1 lead in the all-time series, the series favors Millersville by a 19-18-1 count since 1984, and the Marauders are 11-8 on the road in that stretch. ESU has won two in a row at home against Millersville. The Marauders' last road win in the series came in 2017.
• THE LAST MEETING (Millersville 20, East Stroudsburg (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. Robert Footman Jr., making his first career start, totaled 58 yards. The 'Ville defense generated three turnovers. Two forced and recovered fumbles led to short fields and a pair of field goals.

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: Lock Haven 38, Millersville 31 (Sept. 30, 2023) - Leading 21-7 and on the verge of running away with its fourth win in five games, Millersville imploded with four turnovers, a lost onside kick and injurious 15-yard penalties that allowed Lock Haven to sneak back into the game and build a lead with 24 unanswered points. Even with those self-inflicted mistakes, Millersville had a first-and-goal from the Lock Haven four in the final minute but could not score the game-tying touchdown, giving Lock Haven a 38-31 victory. 
• East Stroudsburg: Kutztown 34, East Stroudsburg 27 (Sept. 30, 2023) - East Stroudsburg rallied from a 20-7 deficit to take a 27-20 lead early in the fourth quarter, but Kutztown scored twice in the final nine minutes to pull off a win at home. ESU was limited to 64 rushing yards on 36 runs while Sean McTaggart completed 18-of-31 passes for three touchdowns and one interception. The ESU defense picked off two passes.