The Matchup
• Fairmont State and Glenville State will meet in the annual battle for the bit on Thursday evening in Glenville. The game will be broadcasted live on West Virginia MetroNews as the Falcons will make their fifth appearance on the MEC Game of the Week.
• Fairmont State, which is 5-4 both overall and in the Mountain East Conference, has an opportunity to record just the school's third winning season in football since 2001 when it visits Glenville State Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at Morris Stadium in Glenville.
• The game is the annual "Battle of the Bit" as the teams will bid to possess the heavy mining bit trophy which currently resides in Fairmont after the Falcons' 40-36 victory last year.
• The Falcons have lost five in a row against the Pioneers on the road. Fairmont's last win at Morris Stadium came way back in 2004 when 2015 FSU Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Wendell Johnson ran for a career-high 248 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries to help the Falcons record a 48-20 victory. That rushing performance by Johnson still ranks as the fourth-best all-time in FSU history.
• Fairmont State escaped a late surge by Glenville State to pick up a 40-36 victory last September at Duvall-Rosier Field.
• Cooper Hibbs completed 25-of-36 pass attempts for 384 yards and three touchdowns in last year's matchup.
• Glenville State outgained Fairmont State in the game, 544-435, including 312 yards on the ground.
• Rahmann Lee racked up 300 yards of total offense in the game last season, including 220 yards on the ground to lead Glenville in the game.

Fairmont State Quick Hitters
• Fabian Guerra is currently in seventh-place in school history with 1,874 receiving yards in his three-year career. Guerra needs just 40 yards to move into sixth place on the all-time yardage list, passing Larry Goodline (1,913, 1972-75).
• Guerra is also in fifth-place in school history with 150 career receptions. He is just 20 receptions away from moving into sole possession of fourth place, passing FSU Hall of Famer Ed Coleman.
• Seven different FSU players have recorded an interception this season and four have multiple interceptions. Inside linebacker Marcus Porter has a team-high four interceptions this season for the Falcons and Jacob Jean-Charles, Calvin Pringles and Emanuel Ivey each have two.
• Porter leads the FSU defense with 65 total tackes, inlcuding six for a loss and a sack this season.
• FSU quarterback Cooper Hibbs is completing 58 percent of his passes this season and has thrown for 2,208 yards and 17 touchdowns this season. Hibbs went seven weeks without throwing an interception before throwing his first of the season three weeks ago against UVa-Wise. Hibbs had a tough afternoon against Shepherd, throwing a pair of interceptions.
• Hibbs is currently third in school history with 5,581 yards through the air. He is also third in school history in both passing touchdowns (42) and completions (449).
• Johnny Dearstine came to Fairmont in the fall of 2012 as an invited walk-on. He'll leave following this season as a school record holder.
Dearstine, a 5-9, 170-pound senior place kicker from Frederick, Md., booted a 28-yard field goal on the last play of the first half in FSU's 33-24 victory over Notre Dame two weeks ago. That field goal gives him eight for the season and 28 for his career – a new FSU record breaking the old mark of 27 set by Nathan White (1998-2001).
• For his career Dearstine is 28-of-46 on field goals (.608) and 110-of-119 on PATs (.923). He currently ranks second in FSU history in career made PATs behind White (132).
• In the Mountain East Conference, which is in its third year of existence, Dearstine ranks fourth in both career made field goals (20) and career made PATs (85).

Scouting the Pioneers
• Glenville State enters Thursday night's season-finale with an overall record of 7-3 and is 6-3 in MEC play.
• The Pioneers are coming-off a 41-14 victory over West Liberty last Thursday evening.
• Backup-quarterback Dante Roberts led GSC by completing 30-of-40 pass attempts for 338 yards and four total touchdowns against West Liberty.
• Starting quarterback Sean Steele leads the Pioneer offense with 2,159 yard through the air with 18 touchdowns and five interceptions.
• The two-headed monster of Tevin Drake and Rahmann Lee lead the GSC ground game as both backs are averaging over 100 yards rushing per game. Drake has already eclipsed 1,000 rushing on the season and Lee only needs five yards to join him.
• Dante Absher is the leading receiver for Glenville State with 753 yards and nine touchdowns. Ralph Gordon also has 760 yards and five touchdowns through the air.
• Marcus Umu anchors the defense with 68 total tackles and three forced fumbles. Umu has also recovered four fumbles
• Ian Andrews leads the team in tackles for a loss with 14.5.

A Look Inside The Statistical Rankings
• Marcus Porter currently leads the MEC in interceptions per game this season (.4). He is also tied with a league-best four interceptions this season.
• FSU defensive lineman Josh Ballard is second in the league with two fumble recoveries this season.
• Fabian Guerra is third in the MEC, averaging 6.1 recpetions per game this season.
• LaChristopher Lee is also third in the conference in punt return average (6.8) this season.
• Fairmont State has done a tremendous job taking care of the football this season, currently ranking first in the league and sixth n the nation in turnover margin (1.33).
• The Falcons are also sixth in the country in turnovers lost with just nine all season.
• FSU has also controlled the ball on offense, ranking 12 in the NCAA and second in the MEC in time of possession (33:22).
• Glenville has the No. 1 offense in the conference. The Pioneers average 202.7 rushing yards per game, 287.1 passing yards per game and 489.8 total yards per outing. GSC also scores 38.9 points per contest and has only been held below 30 points once all season in a 24-21 loss to West Virginia State on Oct. 24.
• Defensively the Pioneers also rank near the top of the league. Glenville allows just 344.6 yards and 27.1 points per outing. GSC also leads the MEC in quarterback sacks with 32.
• Penalties have been a problem for both the Pioneers and their opponents. Glenville is the most-penalized team in the MEC having been flagged 107 times this season for 1,204 yards – an average of 120.4 yards per game. The Pioneers' opponents have been penalized 109 times this season for 1,132 yards – an average of 113.2 yards per contest.