ROLLA, Mo. – Missouri S&T's football team opens a two-game road swing to close the 2012 season this weekend with plenty at stake, beginning with Saturday's Great Lakes Valley Conference finale against Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind.

Kickoff is at noon for the contest between the Miners, who come into the game at 8-1 on the season and Pumas, who bring a 5-4 mark into play.  S&T is looking to close its conference season on a winning note that would guarantee no worse than sole possession of second place in the final standings and keep it in the hunt for a share of the GLVC's first football title.

League leader Indianapolis, who is 7-0 in the GLVC to the Miners' mark of 6-1, is playing a key non-conference game Saturday against traditional NCAA Division II power Delta State and will close the regular season next weekend on the road against an Urbana team that the Miners edged 13-12 last week.  A win Saturday by S&T would force the Greyhounds to have to win that game to claim the outright conference title.

Not only does Saturday's game carry conference implications, but also on the regional level as well as the Miners jumped to seventh in the latest NCAA Division II Super Region Four rankings.  S&T will need wins on Saturday and in its final regular season next week at South Dakota School of Mines to keep itself in contention for post-season play as the top six teams in the region will advance to the national playoffs that begin Nov. 17.

Saturday's opponent, Saint Joseph's, has won its last two games and has put up a total of 103 points in those victories over William Jewell and Kentucky Wesleyan.  Quarterback Billy VandeMerkt was named as the national “Player of the Week” after throwing nine touchdown passes in the win at William Jewell and has thrown for 1,879 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season.

Wide receiver Julian Walker is second in the GLVC in pass receptions to S&T's Smook Thomas (Quincy, Fla./East Gadsden) with 71 grabs for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns; Walker has also thrown three touchdown passes this season.

The Miner defense, who has the task of slowing down this attack, continues to rank among the national leaders in several categories.  S&T is second in NCAA Division II in sacks and ranks third in turnover margin, while sitting 17^th in total defense in NCAA Division II, 18^th in scoring defense and 13^th in both rushing defense and pass efficiency defense heading into Saturday's contest.

Linebacker Chris Horn (Tulsa, Okla./Booker T. Washington), who had two interceptions in the win over Urbana, was named as the GLVC's “Defensive Player of the Week” for his performance as the Miner defense currently ranks in a tie for third nationally with 19 interceptions.

Thomas has 72 receptions for the Miners and Joseph Hyman (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades) has caught 36 passes, including 13 for touchdowns.  Curterris Golden (Chicago, Ill./John Hope) ran for a career high 137 yards a week ago and leads the Miners in rushing with 576 yards on the season.

Game Notes: Miners vs. Saint Joseph's

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