- Fairmont State will face another significant test Saturday, Oct. 13 when it pays its final visit for now to Ram Stadium for a big Mountain East Conference battle with Shepherd University at noon.

- Shepherd, which is leaving the MEC after this school year to join the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, is currently 4-1 both overall and in the league. The Rams are alone in second place in the MEC standings behind Notre Dame. Shepherd's lone loss this season was a week one, 35-33, setback against Notre Dame on the road.

- Shepherd leads the all-time series with Fairmont State 36-32-7. The Rams have dominated the series between the two schools in recent years winning nine straight. Fairmont's last win against Shepherd was a 46-42 victory at Ram Stadium back in 2008. That win halted a seven-game winning streak in the series by the Rams.

- Since the fall of 2000, Shepherd is 15-3 against Fairmont State. All three of Fairmont's wins in the series during that span have come in Shepherdstown.

- Fairmont State has won eight of its last 10 games dating back to last season. In addition, Fairmont State has suffered just nine losses in its last 37 games.

- During the last game between Fairmont State and Shepherd in Shepherdstown, the 6,751 in attendance set a new record for Ram Stadium. Both teams were ranked in the top 25 during the matchup. 

Offensive Notebook

- The Falcons come into Saturday's game ranking fourth in the league in passing offense (238.2) and fourth in the MEC on the ground (182.5).

- Fairmont State has been very efficient on third down this season, converting on nearly 42 percent of the time. The Falcons are currently second in the league in the category behind Cal (PA).

- Fairmont State sophomore running back Khalik Hamlin ran for 85 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries in the loss to Notre Dame.

- For the season Hamlin is currently seventh in the nation in NCAA Division II in rushing with 711 yards and five touchdowns on 119 carries. Hamlin is averaging 118.5 yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry.

- Hamlin currently ranks third in the conference in rushing TDs (5) and is sixth in the MEC in all-purpose yardage (119.83).

- Falcon quarterback Takwan Crews-Naylor has completed 93-of-151 passes for 1,385 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's been intercepted four times.

- Crews-Naylor currently ranks in the top 35 in the country in the following categories: pass efficiency (159.6), passing TDs (12), passing yards (1,385), yards per completion (14.89) and yards per attempt (9.17).

- Fairmont's receiving leaders are Shawn Harris, who has 28 catches for 456 yards and two TDs, Javon Hayes, who has 28 receptions for 373 yards and six touchdowns, Alquawn Vickers who has 18 catches for 264 yards and two scores and Aaron Lewis, who has 12 receptions for 230 yards and one touchdown.

- Lewis' TD catch was a 40-yarder from Crews-Naylor which gave the Falcons a 21-17 lead over Notre Dame Thursday night with 9:03 left in the fourth quarter. It was the junior transfer from New Hampshire's first touchdown reception at Fairmont State.

- Hayes currently ranks 16th in the country in receiving TDs (6) and is third in the league in total TDs.

- In Fairmont State's two losses this season penalties have proved to be costly. In a 23-17 setback to Charleston two weeks ago the Falcons were flagged 15 times for 119 yards and in the loss to Notre Dame Thursday Fairmont State was penalized 13 times for 98 yards.

- This season Fairmont State has been penalized well over twice as much as its opponents. The Falcons have been flagged 58 times for 458 yards – an average of 76.3 yards per game. Fairmont's opponents have been penalized just 24 times for 239 yards – an average of just 39.8 yards per game.

Special Teams Notebook

- Fairmont State kick return specialist Lyrics Klugh has been a game-changer on special teams this season, averaging 28.3 yards per punt return – which ranks second in the country and first in the league.

- Klugh also ranks 19th in the country and second in the league in kickoff returns, averaging 27.5 yards per return.

- He is currently has the third-most combined kick return yards in the country (583).

- Klugh is a two-time MEC Special Teams Player of the Week (9/10/18, 9/17/18).

- In addition, redshirt-freshman kicker Colin Harvath currently ranks 13th in the country in field goals per game (1.33) and is 46th in the country in field goal percentage (.667). Harvath is third in the league in scoring at 7.8 points per game.

- In the punting game, Sam Tucker ranks 13th in the country, averaging 38.89 yards per attempt.

Defensive Notebook

- Defensively, the Falcons are currently third in the league against the pass (192.7) and sixth against the run (159.2). Fairmont State is fifth in the league in total defense (351.8) and is second in the league in points allowed (20.0).

- The Falcons have performed very well in the defensive redzone, allowing opponents to score on just 63.6 percent of attempts – which ranks 12th in the country and first in the MEC.

- The Fairmont State defense has also forced 13 turnovers this season, including seven interceptions and six fumble recoveries. The six fumble recoveries ranks 26th in the country.

- Six different players have recovered fumbles for the Falcons this season.

- Five different players have picked off a pass this season, led by Stephen Turner and Michael Porter with two apiece.

- Stephen Turner's interception two week's ago against UVa-Wise was his second of the season. He now has 10 career interceptions and has returned them for a total of 225 yards. Turner is tied for ninth place in school history with seven other players in career interceptions and is fourth all-time in Fairmont State history in interception return yards.

- Senior linebackers Jerry Iweh and Antonio Harris continue to lead Fairmont State's defense with 48 and 46 tackles respectively. Senior safety Stephen Turner is third with 38 tackles, junior linebacker Trevon Shorts is fourth with 32 stops and senior defensive tackle Josh Ballard is fifth with 31 tackles.

- Iweh currently ranks 26th in the country and third in the league in forced fumbles per game (0.33).

- After ranking in the top 30 in the country in sacks the last two seasons, the Falcons currently rank 115th in sacks this season, averaging 1.50 per game. The Falcons have just nine quarterback sacks this season, compared to 30 in 2017 (2.72) and 38 in 2016 (3.16).

- Linebacker Antonio Harris has a team-high 2.5 sacks this season.

Scouting The Rams

- The Rams are led by standout true freshman quarterback Tyson Bagent, who led Martinsburg High School to pair of Class AAA state championships and claimed both the Gatorade Player of the Year and House Award, which goes to the state's top quarterback last fall.

- Bagent is among the national leaders in NCAA Division II in both passing yards and touchdown passes. He's completed 133-of-204 passes for 1,831 yards and 16 touchdowns. He's also thrown just five interceptions.

- His favorite target is senior receiver Ryan Feiss, who has 48 catches for 590 yards and five touchdowns. Feiss is currently fifth in the country in yards per game (118.0) and first in receptions per game (9.6).

- Four different Shepherd receivers have 12 or more receptions this fall and three of those four have five touchdown catches.

- For the first time since 1986 someone besides Monte Cater is the head coach at Shepherd. Cater, who coached at Shepherd from 1987-2017, compiled a 245-93-1 record at the school (.724). His teams won 17 conference championships and made 13 postseason appearances. He had six teams finish undefeated during the regular season and his 2015 squad played for the NCAA Division II National Championship losing to Northwest Missouri State University.

- Shepherd is under the direction now of longtime Rams assistant coach Ernie McCook, who was with the program for 18 years prior to taking over in January as head coach. McCook served as both the team's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach in the past.

- Shepherd's offense currently ranks first in the country in passing (368.4) and 77th in the country on the ground (151.2). The Rams also rank 25th in the country and first in the league in scoring offense (37.6) and are third in NCAA Division II in time of possession (37:23).

- Defensively, the Rams are 49th in the country and fourth in the league against the run (127.2) and are 57th in the country and fifth in the MEC against the pass (198.8).

- Linebacker Chrys Lane is currently leading the Ram defense with 41 tackles this season, including 29 solo stops.