Fort Hays State aims for its first MIAA title in football on Saturday in Maryville, Missouri, in a matchup of Top 10 nationally ranked teams. The No. 6 ranked Tigers face No. 8 ranked Northwest Missouri State at Bearcat Stadium, beginning at 1:30 pm. FHSU enters at 9-0, looking to win the MIAA title outright, while NWMSU enters at 8-1 and looks to pull back into a tie for first with FHSU.

Listen to the game on Tiger Radio Mix-103 beginning at 12:30 pm with the Auto World Pregame Show. Listen Live

This game has plenty of storylines surrounding it and the biggest for FHSU is a chance to win the MIAA and hold on to the No. 1 ranking in Super Region 3. The Tigers vaulted to the No. 1 spot in the second release of the rankings thanks to a Northwest Missouri State loss at Pittsburg State last week. FHSU and Indianapolis are the only two teams in the Super Region that remain undefeated. The Tigers are playing for a potential bye in the opening round of the NCAA Playoffs and the right to host a home game.

Northwest Missouri State just had its 38-game win streak that dated back to the start of the 2015 season snapped last week at Pittsburg State in a 20-10 loss. NWMSU has not lost at home since 2014, which also happened to be to Pittsburg State on October 18 of that year. The Bearcats have won 23 straight at their home venue.

Fort Hays State looks to be the first team other than Northwest Missouri State to win the MIAA title outright since 2012. Missouri Western went 9-1 to win the title outright that season. Back then, Truman, Southwest Baptist, and Lincoln were still members of the conference in football. The Bearcats have won the MIAA crown five straight years, sharing it only once in 2014, when that aforementioned home loss to Pittsburg State led to a tie between those teams for the conference title at 10-1.

Now in its 12th year of membership with the MIAA, FHSU is on the brink of winning its first title in one of the most elite football conferences at the NCAA Division II level. It has been a long time coming for FHSU winning a conference title in football overall, 22 years in fact. The 1995 squad, members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference at the time, was the last to do so, going 6-0-1 in conference play. This Tiger team, though, has to endure the grind of the MIAA schedule with the entire season comprised of conference games. This team may have to go a perfect 11-0 to attain the title outright, playing four more conference games than any previous FHSU conference championship team ever had to play to win a title. FHSU has seen 10 conference championship teams in its history and the 1993 and 1995 teams had to play the most conference games of any of those 10, both playing just seven.

This game will feature two of the top defenses in the country. The Bearcat defense is the nation’s best in terms of scoring defense and total defense. The Bearcats allow only 8.7 points per game and just 205.2 yards of total offense per game. NWMSU has shutout four teams this year, including three on its home field. Central Oklahoma is the only visiting team that has put points on the board this year in Maryville with 10, a game that NWMSU won 17-10.

The Tiger defense has been solid all year long, allowing just 14.8 points and 289 yards of total offense per game. FHSU ranks 11th nationally in scoring defense and 18th in total defense. They are second in the MIAA behind NWMSU in both categories.

The Tigers have had the more high-powered offense between the teams this year, producing 475.7 yards of total offense and 34.8 points per game. Northwest Missouri State is averaging 408.9 yards per game, but just 26.9 points per game. Three of Northwest Missouri State’s wins this year have been by seven or less points. The Bearcats did not score more than 24 points against any of the teams currently with a winning record in the MIAA. FHSU has put at least 31 points on the board against every team this year except for Pittsburg State, winning that game 21-17.

With both defenses very sound this season, mistakes could become the key to victory on Saturday. Both teams are +4 in turnover margin this season. NWMSU has gained 14 turnovers, while giving the ball away 10 times. FHSU has gained 16 turnovers, while giving the ball away 12 times. However, up until last week, NWMSU was +9 in the turnover department. The Bearcats threw four of their five interceptions for the season last week and turned the ball over an uncharacteristic six times at Pittsburg State.

Jacob Mezera is the signal caller for the Tiger offense. He is nearing the 5,000-yard passing mark for his career, now with 4,823 yards. He averages 252.2 yards passing per game. His top target has been Monterio Burchfield, who has 39 receptions for 823 yards this season. FHSU has four players with 300 or more receiving yards, so Mezera spreads the ball around nicely each game. Balancing the offensive attack on the ground is Kenneth Iheme, the MIAA’s top rusher at 114.3 yards per game. He is the first MIAA running back to break the 1,000-yard barrier this season, now with 1,029 yards. Complementing him in the backfield is Charles Tigner, who averages 73 yards rushing per game. The FHSU offense has produced 200 or more rushing yards in each of the last four weeks and five times this season overall.

Jose Delgado leads the Tiger defense with 76 tackles for the season. Nathan Shepherd leads the Tigers in sacks with four, often drawing double or triple team coverage from opposing offensive lines. In the secondary, Doyin Jibowu has four interceptions, while Kamon Clayton has a team-best 12 pass break-ups. As a team, FHSU has 20 sacks, seven interceptions, and 40 pass break-ups this season.