18 UIndy Greyhounds (7-1, 4-0 GLVC) at Saint Joseph's Pumas (6-2, 3-1)
Saturday, Nov. 2, 1 PM ET, Rensselaer, Ind.
live stats  |  audio  |  game notes

ON TAP
Just one game back of UIndy in the GLVC standings, the upstart Pumas of Saint Joseph's College look to end the 18th-ranked Greyhounds' five-game win streak.  Kickoff from Rensselaer, Ind., is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

STREAM WEAVER
No video will be available this week.  However, the game can be heard on WICR 88.7 FM and online at wicr.uindy.edu/audio.

ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH'S
With a 6-2 record through eight weeks, the Pumas have already matched their win total from a year ago.  SJC is 3-1 in conference play and are one game back of GLVC leaders UIndy and Truman.  The Pumas' only conference loss came in a slim 14-13 loss at Missouri S&T.

Saint Joseph's sports a strong one-two punch of quarterback Billy VandeMerkt and running back Braxton Shelton.  The former ranks second in the GLVC in total offense (220.7 ypg), while the latter tops the league in rushing (112.1 ypg, 10 TDs) and is tied for first in touchdowns (10).

GREYHOUNDS vs. PUMAS
Separated by just 107 miles, UIndy and Saint Joseph's have by far the most history between them among the Hounds' 11 opponents this season.  The in-state rivals faced off in all but one season between 1971-2007 before renewing the series last season.  UIndy has a 26-10-1 advantage in games versus the Pumas and has won each of the last 13 contests.  The 37 previous meetings are the second most for any UIndy opponent, second only to another Indiana adversary -- Franklin College (51).

Last year in Indianapolis, the Greyhounds racked up 601 total yards while holding the Pumas scoreless in a 56-0 homecoming shutout.  Running backs Klay Fiechter and Matt Ripp went for 159 and 129 rushing yards, respectively, marking the only time the Hounds had two 100-yard rushers in the same game since the 2008 opener.

LAST TIME OUT
The Greyhounds notched their fifth consecutive win with a 52-0 blanking of Kentucky Wesleyan last week.

In its first shutout since the aforementioned meeting with Saint Joseph's last season, UIndy scored on each of its first eight offensive possessions and didn't punt the ball until midway through the final quarter.

Amidst all the scoring was a stellar effort by the UIndy defense, KWC was limited to a mere 73 total yards, good for the lowest total by a Greyhound opponent in six years.

RACE TO 30
In just his 43rd game at the helm last week, Bob Bartolomeo notched his 30th win as the UIndy head coach, becoming the fastest Greyhound mentor to reach the mark.  Only two other UIndy coaches have more wins than Bartolomeo -- Bill Bless (114) and Joe Polizzi (85).  Below is a breakdown of the trio's winning percentage in their first 43 contests.

	RECORD	WIN PCT
Bartolomeo	30-13	.698
Bless	26-17	.605
Polizzi	17-25-1	.407

REGIONAL CONCERNS
With the release of the year's first NCAA Division II regional rankings, the Greyhounds debuted at No. 6 on the Super Region Four list.  UIndy is on pace for their second straight playoff berth, as just six teams from each region will advance to the 24-team NCAA D-II Championships next month.

A total of 40 teams make up Division II's fourth "super region," as members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (GLIAC), the Lone Star Conference (LSC) and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) comprise the lot.

Undefeated teams Colorado State-Pueblo and Ohio Dominican occupy the top two spots, while Saginaw Valley State, Midwestern State and West Texas A&M round out the top five.  The Greyhounds are the only GLVC team in the top 10.

POLL POSITION
UIndy climbed up two spots to No. 18 in this week's American Football Coaches Association Division II Top 25 Poll.  The Hounds have appeared in all nine editions of the coaches' poll this season and have been ranked for a school-record 12 consecutive polls dating back to 2012.

50-50 CHANCE
The Greyhounds are coming off back-to-back 50-point games for the third time in their history and the second time in the last two years.  UIndy's combined point totals during the occasions -- 108 the last two weeks, 110 in weeks 6 & 7 last season -- are still short of the program record of 112 points scored in consecutive weeks.  That mark belongs to the 1988 UIndy team that put up 56 points in back-to-back weeks versus Northwood and Valparaiso.

The Greyhounds have yet to score 50 points in three straight games.

AN OCTOBER TO REMEMBER
The Hounds ran the table in the month of October, compiling a perfect 4-0 record while out-scoring their opponents by a combined 187-13.  The gaudy point total averages to an approximate final score of 47-3.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK... AGAIN
GLVC accolades keep coming for the Greyhounds, especially for Klay Fiechter.  After twice winning the league's Offensive Player of the Week award earlier this season, the versatile back garnered Special Teams Player of the Week honors Monday.  Fiechter racked up 176 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns, including a 54-yard punt return for a TD, in the Greyhounds victory against KWC.

Fiechter leads the conference with three GLVC Player of the Week nods this year.  No other player has more than one.

ON THE RECORD
Fiechter's performance last week upped his career all-purpose yardage to 5359, snapping the former record of 5198 put up by Indiana Football Hall of Famer Dick Nalley (1973-76).

With a good game this week, Fiechter could surpass two agruably more significant records; he needs one touchdown to tie Dick Nyers (1952-55) for most career touchdowns, and 148 rushing yards to pass Nalley as the school's all-time leading rusher.

MODEL OF EFFICIENCY
Since taking over for the injured Chris Mills, sophomore QB Connor Barthel has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the nation, at least according to the official NCAA stat that bear that terminology.

In his three starts, Barthel boasts a passing efficiency rating of 234.1.  The Division II leader, Jonathon Jennings of Saginaw Valley, can claim "only" a 193.8 in the category.  The single-season D-II record* is owned by Grand Valley State's Curt Anes who compiled a rating of 221.6 in 2001.

^{* minimum 100 completions}