The Matchup

- Fairmont State will attempt to bounce back Thursday when it hosts Mountain East Conference newcomer Frostburg State University in a 7 p.m. game at Duvall-Rosier Field.
- Thursday night is "Pink Out" Night at Duvall-Rosier Field. Fairmont State University and the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life will be hosting a pregame tailgate on Thursday evening and there will be a special presentation at halftime when the University makes a donation to a local cancer foundation. All fans are encouraged to wear pink.
- Thursday's game will be the first-ever meeting in football between Fairmont State and Frostburg. The Bobcats were previously members of NCAA Division III and are making the transition to Division II. Frostburg made the NCAA Division III playoffs the past two seasons.

- Thursday's game will be broadcasted live on SKY 106.5 FM, with a high-definition live stream available at FightingFalcons.com and on MountainEast.tv. Live stats will also be available on fightingfalcons.com.

- For the second time in three weeks, the Falcons are playing an opponent for the first time in school history (Wheeling in week 2).

- Fairmont State has started a season 1-2 three times since 2013. The Falcons have won their week four matchup each time (2013, 2014, 2015).

- This fall the Bobcats are off to a 2-1 start in MEC play. Frostburg fell 20-17 to West Virginia State in week one, but bounced back to top Concord 52-14 in week two and then posted a 27-24 win over West Liberty in week three.

- Frostburg is led by junior running back Gavin Lavat who has 338 yards and three touchdowns on 64 carries. Bobcat quarterback Will Brunson, a graduate student, has completed 41-of-68 passes for 603 yards and five touchdowns. He's been intercepted three times. His favorite target has been junior Terrell Brown who has 13 catches for 201 yards and one TD.

- The last time Fairmont State started a season 1-3 was under Mike Lopez in 2012. The Falcons finished that season 4-6.

Offensive Outlook

- Fairmont State's offense has been very productive through the first three games. The Falcons are third in the nation in NCAA Division II in total offense with an average of 561.0 yards per game and ninth in the country in scoring with an average of 47.0 points per outing.

- As a team the Falcons are averaging 315.3 yards per game through the air which is 12th in the nation and 245.7 yards per contest on the ground which ranks 16th in the country.

- Fairmont State ranks 12th in the country and first in the MEC in third-down percentage.

- Senior quarterback Takwan Crews-Naylor is 10th in the nation in passing yards. Crews-Naylor has completed 53-of-82 passes this fall for 918 yards and seven touchdowns. He's been intercepted twice. Against Notre Dame Saturday Crews-Naylor completed 19-of-30 passes for 364 yards and three TDs. He was intercepted once and sacked a season-high four times.

- Crews-Naylor also ranks eighth in the country in passing efficiency (182.0) and 17th in the country in completion percentage.

- Crews-Naylor is currently fifth in Fairmont State history in career passing yards (4,128) and fourth in school history in career touchdown passes (35).

- Crews-Naylor needs just 610 passing yards to move past Luc Tousignant for fourth in school history.

- Fairmont State junior running back Khalik Hamlin is 14th in the country in rushing yards. Hamlin has 332 yards and three touchdowns on 59 carries. Hamlin recorded his ninth 100-yard rushing performance of his career Saturday against Notre Dame, a team which came into the contest allowing just 37.5 rushing yards per game. Hamlin finished with 126 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries.

- Hamlin needs just 555 rushing yards to move into the top 10 in school history.

- Fairmont State has had a running back rush for over 100 yards in each of the first three games this season; Hamlin rushed for over 100 yards in week one against Charleston and in week three at NDC. Tyree Randolph and Timothy Smith each rushed for over 100 yards in Fairmont's week two win over Wheeling.

- Randolph, who has a team-high four rushing touchdowns this fall, currently ranks 19th in the country and third in the league in the category.

- Fairmont's top receiver this fall is junior Andre Hall who has 13 catches for 285 yards and three touchdowns. He currently ranks 25th in the nation in receiving yards. Javon Hayes has 13 catches as well for 232 yards and one TD. Hayes ranks 70th in the country in receiving yards.

- Senior receiver Aaron Lewis enjoyed his best day in a Fairmont State uniform in Saturday's loss to Notre Dame. Lewis, who started his career at New Hampshire before transferring to Fairmont a few years ago, caught a career-high six passes for a career-high 141 yards and two touchdowns.

- Fairmont State has three players that currently rank in the top 10 in the conference in all-purpose yards per game. Hamlin ranks fifth in the league (136.33), Randolph ranks ninth in the league (122.67), and Smith ranks 10th in the league (102.00). Hamlin ranks 32nd in the country in all-purpose yards.

Special Teams Outlook

- Punt returner Javon Hayes currently ranks 25th in the country and first in the league in punt return average at 10.0 yards per return.

- On kickoff returns, Tyree Randolph currently ranks 24th in the country and first in the MEC in kick return average at 27.2 yards per return.

- Samuel Tucker's 37.5 yards per punt average currently ranks first in the conference.

- Fairmont State's Timothy Smith currently ranks 40th in the country and fourth in the league in combined kick return yardage (185).

Defensive Outlook

- The Fairmont State defense is off to a slow start in 2019. The Falcons are allowing 37.6 points per game and 399.7 yards of total offense per contest, including 150.3 yards per outing on the ground and 249.3 yards per game through the air.

- Those numbers are all significantly higher than Fairmont State's defense has allowed the previous three seasons. In 2016 when the Falcons finished 10-2 and made the NCAA Division II playoffs Fairmont gave up just 19.0 points per game and 322.5 yards of total offense. In 2017 the 8-3 Falcons allowed just 15.6 points per outing and 281.2 yards of total offense and last season the team, which finished 9-2, allowed 18.5 points per contest and 324.3 yards of total offense.

- Fairmont was also plus six in turnover margin in 2016, plus seven in 2017 and plus 13 in 2018. This season the Falcons are even (7-7) in turnover margin.

- Senior linebacker Trevon Shorts leads the Falcons in tackles this fall with 25, including six for losses. He's tied for 89th in the nation in total tackles, tied for 22nd in solo tackles (17) and tied for 13th in the country in tackles for losses.

- Shorts currently ranks sixth in the league in total tackles per game (8.3), and is first in the league in tackles for loss (2.0).

- Junior defensive end Chrinovic Mukulu, a transfer from Morehead State, is also off to a solid start for Fairmont State. He recorded a team-high eight tackles against Notre Dame, including 3.5 for losses and one sack. In three games he has total of 14 tackles, which ranks third on the team.

- Senior safety Siddiq Kanneh has also played well for Fairmont in its first three games. Kanneh, who has battled a number of injuries for much of his Falcon career, is currently second on the team in tackles with 15, including nine solo stops. He has 2.5 for losses and returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown against NDC Saturday.

- Kanneh's fumble recovery TD against NDC was the first of the season for the Falcon defense.