The Matchup

- Fairmont State will look to snap a three-game losing streak when it plays host to West Virginia State Saturday at 1 p.m. at home at Duvall-Rosier Field.

- The Falcons have not endured a three-game losing streak in a season since dropping the last three games of the 2014 campaign when they finished 3-7.

- This will be the 52nd meeting between the two schools. Fairmont State holds a 36-14-1 edge in the series and has won eight of the last nine meetings with the Yellow Jackets. The only win for West Virginia State in recent years came in the 2015 season opener when the Yellow Jackets rolled to a 59-34 victory over the Falcons at Duvall-Rosier Field.

- Fairmont State comes into Saturday's game 1-4 both overall and in the Mountain East Conference. West Virginia State, on the other hand, is 4-1 overall and a perfect 4-0 in MEC play. The Yellow Jackets are currently second in the MEC standings behind 5-0 and No. 5 ranked Notre Dame College.

- West Virginia State's only loss this season came on the road at the hands of NCAA Division I FCS Subdivision foe Southeast Missouri State University (56-10). Southeast Missouri State is currently ranked 20th in the country.

- The Yellow Jackets have wins this fall over Frostburg State (20-17), Glenville State (33-30), Concord (33-23) and West Liberty (39-29).

- Fairmont State is under the direction of seventh-year head coach Jason Woodman, who has a 40-29 overall record at the school. Woodman is 5-1 as a head coach against the Yellow Jackets.

- John Pennington is in his third season as the head coach of West Virginia State. Pennington has never had a losing season at State. His overall record is 16-11 at the school and he has a 14-10 mark in MEC contests. Pennington is 0-2 as a head coach against FSU. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 9.0px Helvetica}

- Fairmont State's 1-4 start is the worst for the program under Woodman. The last time the Falcons started a season 1-4 was in 2012 when the team finished 4-6. Fairmont State has not started a season 1-5 since 2008. That fall Fairmont got off to a 1-6 start and finished 3-8.

- The 4-1 start for West Virginia State is its best in 11 years. The 2008 Yellow Jackets started the season 5-0 en route to a 7-3 overall record.

Offensive Outlook

- Despite its 1-4 start, Fairmont State's offense has been productive through five games. The Falcons are fourth in the nation in NCAA Division II in total offense with an average of 516.8 yards per game and 22nd in the country in scoring with an average of 38.0 points per contest.

- Of the top 20 teams ranked in the nation in total offense only Fairmont State (4th), Chowan (9th) and Central Washington (18th) have losing records.

- As a team the Falcons are averaging 305.8 yards per game through the air which is 14th in the nation and 211.0 yards per contest on the ground which ranks 30th in the country.

- Fairmont State ranks 14th in the country and first in the Mountain East Conference in third down percentage (.507).

- Senior quarterback Takwan Crews-Naylor is eighth in the nation in passing yards. Crews-Naylor has completed 83-of-144 passes for 1,501 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's been intercepted eight times. He's tied for 17th in the country in TD passes. His eight interceptions this fall are the most he's thrown in his career in a single season. Prior to this season Crews-Naylor had only thrown a total of eight interceptions in his career.

- Crews-Naylor is currently fifth in in Fairmont State history in career passing yards (4,711) and fourth in school history in career touchdown passes (40).

- Crews-Naylor needs just 27 passing yards to move past Luc Tousignant for fourth place in school history.

- Opponents have sacked Crews-Naylor 13 times this season, including 12 times in the Falcons' last three games. Last fall, Fairmont State only allowed a total of eight quarterback sacks all season in 11 games.

- Fairmont State junior running back Khalik Hamlin is currently 18th in the nation in NCAA Division II in rushing yards with 508 and four touchdowns on 95 carries. Hamlin has rushed for 100 or more yards in a game nine times during his career.

- Hamlin needs just 379 rushing yards to move into the top 10 in school history.

- Fairmont State sophomore running back Tyree Randolph is currently 54th in the nation in rushing yards with 372 and four touchdowns on just 47 carries. Randolph needs just 67 more rushing yards to go over 1,000 yards rushing for his career.

- Juniors Andre Hall and Javon Hayes lead Fairmont State in receiving this fall. Hall has 21 receptions for a team-high 496 yards and four touchdowns, while Hayes has a team-high 24 receptions for 422 yards and three scores.

- Hall ranks 16th in the country in receiving yards and is tied for 40th in touchdown receptions. Hayes, meanwhile, is 34th in the nation in receiving yards.

- For his career Hall, who missed the final four games of the 2017 season and all of last year with a knee injury, has 88 catches for 1,433 yards and seven touchdowns. Hayes, meanwhile, has 68 career receptions for 1,116 yards and 11 touchdowns. Hall needs 30 catches and 208 more yards to move into the top 10 in school history in career receptions and career receiving yards. Hayes, on the other hand, needs just four more touchdown receptions to move into a tie for 10th in school history in career TD receptions.

- Senior receiver Shawn Harris, who has missed Fairmont State's last three games with turf toe and a bone bruise, has 80 career receptions for 1,238 yards and nine touchdowns.

Defensive Outlook

- Fairmont State's defense ranks fourth in the 11-team Mountain East Conference in total defense (357.2 yards allowed per game) and 69th in the nation.

- The Falcons are allowing 118.6 yards per game on the ground, which is fourth in the MEC and 46th in the country.

- Fairmont's pass defense is allowing 238.6 yards per contest which ranks eighth in the MEC and 124th in the country.

- The Falcons are also giving up 35.2 points per game, but a number of those points can be attributed to special teams and Fairmont's offense. Last week Fairmont State allowed just 22 points against Glenville State, but 13 of those points came on a pair of interception returns by the Pioneers. Fairmont also gave up a blocked punt return for a touchdown against Notre Dame College.

- Fairmont is a disappointing -5 in turnover margin this fall, which has the Falcons tied for eight place in the MEC in that category. The last time a Fairmont State team finished negative in turnover margin was back in 2014 when the Falcons were -11 and ended the season with a 3-7 overall record.

- Fairmont State senior linebacker Trevon Shorts leads the Falcons in tackles with 44, including a team-high 28 solo stops and 8.5 for losses. Against Glenville State last week, Shorts became the first Fairmont State player since Stephen Turner in 2016 to return a failed two-point conversion attempt for two points when he intercepted a Pioneers two-point conversion pass and returned it for the score. Ironically, Turner's return also came against Glenville State.

- Shorts, for his career, now has 168 total tackles, including 102 solo stops. He also has 26.5 career tackles for losses. Shorts needs just 5.5 more tackles for losses to move into a tie for 10th place in school history in that category. Junior defensive end D.J. Adediwura, who is fourth on the team in tackles this fall with 20 and second in tackles for losses with 6.0, needs just 4.5 more tackles for losses this fall to move into a tie for 10th place in school history in that category.

- Junior defensive end Chrinovic Mukulu is second on the team in tackles with 22, while true freshman linebacker Alec Solano is third with 21.

- Seven different Falcons have interceptions this fall. Junior cornerback Desoto McKenzie, who used to play wide receiver for the Falcons, leads the team with two.

Special Teams Outlook

- Fairmont State sophomore kicker Colin Harvath saw his Mountain East Conference record for consecutive made PATs come to an end last week in the Falcons' 22-15 loss to Glenville State.

- Harvath, who had hit an MEC and Fairmont State record 77 consecutive extra points dating back to the 2018 season, hit the left up right on his first PAT attempt against the Pioneers. Harvath is currently 22-of-23 on PAT attempts this season and is a perfect 4-of-4 on field goal attempts.

- Sophomore Tyree Randolph currently ranks 37th in the nation and second in the MEC in kickoff return average at 26.1 yards per return.

- Junior Javon Hayes is 49th in the nation and first in the MEC in punt return average at 6.8 yards per return.

- Senior Sam Tucker is currently second in the MEC and 85th in the nation in punting with an average of 37.6 yards per punt.

Last Season vs. WV State

- Fairmont State broke open a close game with a big second-half performance ignited by a blocked punt by the Falcons' Troy Hollis which was recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by Ekoue Aziaba midway through the third quarter to give Fairmont State a 20-6 lead en route to a 41-12 victory at Lakin Field.

- Fairmont outscored the Yellow Jackets 28-6 in the final 30 minutes.

- Playing on a grass field for the first time in 31 games and doing it in wet, rainy and muddy conditions, Fairmont State rolled up 333 yards rushing as a team led by Khalik Hamlin's career-high 183 yards on 27 carries. The Falcons also got 90 yards and one TD on the ground from Tyree Randolph.

- West Virginia State, which came into the contest averaging 33.8 points and 456.9 yards per game, including 223.5 yards per contest on the ground, was held to just 309 total yards and 12 points by Fairmont's defense. The Yellow Jackets finished with just 118 rushing yards which was their second lowest total in a game last season.

- Fairmont State, on the other hand, rolled up 463 yards of total offense in the win. Falcon quarterback Takwan Crews-Naylor only threw the ball 13 times in the victory, but completed four for 130 yards and one touchdown – a 74-yard, second-half strike to Javon Hayes, who finished with two receptions for 103 yards and a score.

Scouting WV State

- Despite being outscored in every quarter so far this season West Virginia State enters Saturday's game with Fairmont State with a 4-1 overall record and a perfect 4-0 record in Mountain East Conference play.

- The Yellow Jackets are seventh in the MEC in scoring (27.0) and third in the league in total offense (441.0 yards per game.) State is third in the MEC in passing (271.8) and fourth in rushing (169.2).

- Defensively West Virginia State allows 31.0 points per contest which ranks sixth in the MEC. The Yellow Jackets are giving up 184.8 yards per game on the ground, which ranks ninth in the MEC and 246.8 yards per contest through the air which is also ninth in the conference. State is giving up 431.6 yards per game which is 10th in the MEC.

- West Virginia State, like Fairmont, is -5 in turnover margin this season. The Yellow Jackets have 11 quarterback sacks which is third in the MEC, but have only allowed three sacks which is second in the league.

- The Yellow Jackets are the most penalized team in the MEC. State has been flagged 52 times this fall for 475 yards or an average of 95.0 yards per game.

- West Virginia State quarterback Austin Hensley has completed 101-of-174 passes for 1,218 yards and eight touchdowns this fall. He's been intercepted five times. His favorite targets are senior receivers Zach Pate, who has 29 catches for 321 yards and three touchdowns and Isiah Scott, who has 20 receptions for 389 yards and four scores. Pate started his college football career at Fairmont State in 2014 before transferring to West Virginia State.

- The Yellow Jackets are led on the ground by junior Dylan Lucas, who has 314 yards and one TD on 65 carries.

- Junior linebacker Dustin Crouser leads State in tackles with 54. He's currently second in the MEC in total tackles. Last fall Crouser, a transfer from UNC-Charlotte, recorded a season-high 10 tackles against Fairmont State.