KIRKSVILLE, Mo.  --  The Miners are being hosted by the Truman State Bulldogs this Saturday for the 40th meeting between the two teams in Kirksville. The game will be the 87th between S&T and Truman.
 
Series History
The Miners trail in the all-time series against the Bulldogs 57-25-4. Truman is on a five game win streak against S&T, having not lost a game in this series since 2018 when the Miners defeated TSU 34-33 in Rolla.
 
About the Bulldogs
Truman State was selected to finish second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Preseason poll, earning 55 votes (including one first-place vote). They finished second in the conference last season, going 9-2, with a 5-2 conference record.
 
The Bulldogs are led by Interim Head Coach Kellen Nesbitt who is taking on the role after serving for 14 seasons as the assistant coach/defensive coordinator for Truman State.
 
The Bulldogs' offense is led by Dylan Hair, a sophomore quarterback from Wardsville, Missouri who is in his first season as the starter. Hair currently averages 192.4 yards per game, placing him at fifth place in the conference. While most of Hair's stats are towards the median in the conference, he is tied for the fewest interceptions in the conference with just two this year.
 
Truman has the second-worst defense in average yards allowed per game with 385.2 yards per game and is tied for the second-worst defense in points allowed per game with 31.0 per game. Their defensive weakness stems from the pass defense, as they have the worst pass defense in the conference... allowing 247.4 yards per game.
 
The Bulldogs' have the tenth best punt return in Division II, averaging 19.71 yards per return. Punt returner Jake Closser is averaging 28.75 yards per return and has recorded a return touchdown. Additionally, kick returner Jack Butchko has 263 return yards on 7 kickoffs this season, as well as one return touchdown.
 
About the Miners
The Miners tied the school record for the most points scored in a GLVC contest last week in their 65-24 rout of the Southwest Baptist Bearcats. The team is now 2-3 and 1-1 in-conference.
 
Both Quarterback Tyler Gioia (Huntington Beach, CA/Edison) and Gideon Niboh (St. Charles, MO/Francis Howell) earned player Player of the Week honors for their roles on offense and special teams, respectively. Gioia threw for a career-high (and GLVC season-high) 372 passing yards as well as 4 touchdown passes with ties this season's GLVC high. Niboh had 275 all-purpose yards (the second-most by any GLVC player this season) and became the first player in S&T history to record a rushing, receiving, and return touchdown in the same game.
 
What's Next

The Miners will remain on the road with a trip to Liberty, Missouri on the 19th to play William Jewell.

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