ROLLA, Mo. -- Missouri S&T will look to bounce back from a loss in its conference opener against a team looking to do that as well as the Miners welcome Truman State to Rolla for a Great Lakes Valley Conference contest on Homecoming Saturday afternoon.  Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Allgood-Bailey Stadium.

The Miners come in a 2-3 overall after falling 31-28 at Quincy last week after the Hawks scored the deciding points of the game on an interception return in the fourth quarter.  S&T continues to rank among the national leaders in total offense, entering Saturday's game with an average of 512 yards per game that is good for fourth in NCAA Division II after racking up 573 in the Quincy contest. 

Last week, quarterback Brennan Simms (Punta Gorda, FL/Charlotte) completed 33-of-45 passes for a career-high 379 yards and has thrown for 696 on the season, while Luke Hertzler (St. Louis, MO/Parkway North) -- who started the two previous games -- has thrown for 683 yards and eight touchdowns.  S&T's big target in the passing game has been Breon Michel (Colorado Springs, CO/Vista Ridge), who added a career-high 13 receptions to his record last week and has 36 on the year for 714 yards and nine touchdowns.  Michel currently ranks second in NCAA Division II in receiving yards and touchdowns.

Aaron Moya (Canutillo, TX/Canutillo) leads the rushing attack with 396 yards and five scores, while Payton McAlister (Decatur, TX/Decatur) has 221 yards rushing and has caught 17 passes out of the backfield; he had touchdowns both rushing and receiving last week.

Linebacker Ben Straatmann (Washington, MO/Washington) is coming off a huge game at Quincy, as he recorded 11 tackles, six for a loss and five sacks; the latter two were S&T single-game records.  Straatmann has a team-high 41 tackles on the season, with 10.5 for a loss and 6.5 sacks.  Justin Onwugbufor (Wichita, KS/Northwest) has 36 tackles this season and Cameron Clemons (St. Louis, MO/Lutheran North) has broken up seven passes.

On special teams, Zach Glaess (Queen Creek, AZ/Queen Creek) has kicked six field goals this season and has made three from 49 yards or longer.  S&T is also getting a boost in its return game from Gideon Niboh (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell), who has averaged 30.6 yards per kickoff return this fall and has a 93-yard runback for a touchdown to his credit.
 
ABOUT TRUMAN STATE: The Bulldogs fell from the national rankings and ranks of the unbeaten last week following a 31-21 loss in their GLVC opener to Lindenwood.  Truman got out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, but committed three turnovers which included two that led to 10 Lion points.  The Bulldogs dropped to 4-1 with the loss, a mark that does include a win over a then nationally-ranked Tiffin squad.
 
Quarterback Nolan Hair has completed 62.4 percent of his passes for 866 yards and nine touchdowns, but has also thrown five interceptions.  His leading target has been Dante Ruffin with 22 receptions, the sixth-most in the GLVC this season, while Matt Hall has made 14 receptions and Cody Schrader and Jaylen Jefferson have 13 apiece.

Schrader leads the Bulldogs in rushing with 766 yards, the second-highest total in the GLVC and just five shy of the top spot in the league.  He has also scored nine touchdowns on the ground, including one last week when he ran for 132 yards.  Jaylen Jefferson is the national leader in kickoff return yardage with 42.2 per runback.

Cornerback Ben Thomas is the top tackler for the Bulldogs with 41 and also has eight pass breakups, while linebackers Isaiah Estes and Ulysses Ross have recorded 32 tackles apiece.  The Bulldog defensive unit has held opposing teams to just 79.6 rushing yards per game, the 14th-best mark in NCAA Division II and has recorded 11 sacks as a team.

Truman has won the last two matchups over the Miners, winning 41-39 in Kirksville in 2019 and 46-27 in Rolla back on April 15 of this year.