UIndy Greyhounds (1-1, 0-0) at Saint Xavier (1-1, 1-1)
Saturday, Sep. 20, 7 pm ET, Bolivar, Mo.
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ON TAP
UIndy opens conference play this week when it travels to GLVC-newcomer Southwest Baptist Saturday.  The contest marks the end of a season-opening three-game road trip for the Greyhounds.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
Southwest Baptist is one of two associate members to join the GLVC as football-only competitors this season – the other being Lincoln University.  Both SBU and Lincoln migrated over from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) as part of a Strategic Conference Football Scheduling Alliance between the GLVC and the MIAA.  Though each school will remain full active members of the MIAA in all other sports, the four-year agreement will provide scheduling stability and non-conference flexibility for both conferences in the sport of football.

SBU earned its first-ever GLVC win last week in a 42-21 triumph at aforementioned Lincoln.  Senior QB Willie Tindal went 19-for-24 passing for a whopping 447 yards, coming a mere two yards short of tying the GLVC's single-game record.  Despite being sacked five times, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native racked up four touchdown passes and zero interceptions and was later named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week.

Tindal heads into week 3 as the Division II leader in passing yards (842), while his go-to wide out Nathan Mourik leads the nation in receiving yards (426).

The Bearcats – who have already matched last season's win total – finished 1-10 in 2013.  Their lone win came at home versus Missouri Southern State.  Other '13 results of note included a slim 40-37 week-one loss at Truman State and a 51-28 defeat at Lincoln in the season finale.

HOUNDS vs. BEARCATS
Saturday brings the first-ever meeting between UIndy and Southwest Baptist.

#HASHTAG
This season, interact with your fellow Greyhound football fans on Twitter with game-specific hashtags.  Be sure to follow @UIndyAthletics and use #UINDYvsSBU to join the conversation.  Also, follow all the action in the Great Lakes Valley Conference this weekend via #GLVCfb.

STREAM WEAVER
A video stream of this Saturday's game can be seen online at portal.stretchinternet.com/sbu2/.  Watch it from home or join other Greyhound fans at a viewing party hosted by McQ's Pub & Eatery.  A proud sponsor of UIndy athletics, McQ's is located just southeast of campus at 3149 E. Thompson Road.

LAST WEEK
The Hounds hit a speed bump last Saturday, dropping a 19-14 decision at NAIA No. 16 Saint Xavier.  After falling 51-20 at UIndy last season, the host Cougars (2-0) forced three turnovers while yielding zero on the way to the five-point win.  Two of the Greyhound miscues – a first-quarter interception and a second-quarter fumble – led to nine points for the home team.

It marked the first time the Greyhounds faced a +3 turnover margin in a game since a week-two loss at FCS Western Illinois Sep. 8, 2012.

Sophomore Andrew Walker delivered his first career touchdown with a four-yard rush in the second.  The Hounds' only other score came on a nine-yard TD reception by senior Logan Young in the third quarter.  Defensively, three Greyhounds compiled double-digit tackle totals, including a personal-high 15 by sophomore linebaker Rob Dury.

TEEN ANGST
Last week's final represented the first time the Hounds lost a game when allowing less than 20 points since a 19-3 defeat at Ashland Oct. 31, 2009.  Coach Bob Bartolomeo is now 23-1 in such games since taking over as the UIndy head man in 2010.

SEVERE BLOCKAGE
The UIndy special teams came up with a pair of blocked kicks at Saint Xavier.   Sophomore Tommy Taylor got a paw on the Cougars' first extra-point attempt, while senior Andre Smith blocked a 37-yard field goal try in the third.  It was Taylor's first career block and Smith's second.

The last time the Hounds blocked two kicks in a game came in 2004 in a 24-21 home win versus Ashland.  Only four D-II teams have blocked more than two kicks thus far this year.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Though they have had only two chances to return kickoffs this season, the Greyhounds lead the nation in kickoff returns, averaging 55.5 yards per attempt.  

Freshman Tuwan Payton has handled both returns, with the highlight coming in the form of a 94-yard return for a touchdown to opening the second half at Saginaw Valley in week 1.  It marked the longest kickoff return by a Hound since 2011 and matched the longest since 1982.

Below is a list of UIndy's kickoff returns for TDs since the school record was set in 1982.
 

Date	Player	Yds	Opponent
10/30/82	Dave Horvath	100	Valparaiso
09/06/14	Tuwan Payton	94	at Saginaw Valley
11/12/11	Joe Leach	94	at Ohio Dominican
09/18/93	Mike Gillock	90	SAINT JOSEPH'S
11/09/91	Mike Gillock	87	ASHLAND
11/05/88	Paul Redding	79	HILLSDALE
09/22/07	Stephen Geller	77	at Saint Joseph's
10/24/98	Brian Lauck	45	at Saint Francis

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
For the second time in three years, UIndy is starting the schedule with three consecutive road games.  The last time it occurred, the Hounds started the season 0-2 before winning week 3 at Quincy to jump-start a 10-game winning streak that did not end until the second round of the playoffs.

POLL POSITION
For the first time since October of 2012, the Greyhounds are not ranked in the AFCA Division II Top 25 Poll.  Last Saturday's loss knocked them from 15th to out of the top 25, breaking a streak of 18 consecutive appearances in the weekly poll.  UIndy is still receiving votes, however, coming in at the virtual No. 27 spot.  See below for UIndy's AFCA poll history.
 

	Pre	W1	W2	W3	W4	W5	W6	W7	W8	W9	W10	W11	Final
2012	RV	-	-	-	-	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	19	18	15
2013	19	14	12	22	21	T21	21	20	18	13	11	10	18
2014	18	15	RV

_{RV = receiving votes}

HOUNDS ON TV
With the Greyhounds' home opener just around the corner, here's a reminder that UIndy's home football games will be shown prominently on both local and natioanl television this season.  The Hounds' first three home date (9/27 vs. Hillsdale, 10/11 vs. McKendree and 10/25 vs. Lincoln) will be produced by WebStream Productions an aired on WRTV 6.2 HTSN and the RTV6 app.  Click here to find where to tune into HTSN in your area.

In addition, the Greyhounds and the GLVC will receive some national attention Thursday, Oct. 30 as the match-up with in-state rival Saint Joseph's has been chosen as the CBS Sports Network NCAA Division II Game of the Week.

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS
UIndy entered the season as the favorite to win the Great Lakes Valley Conference.  The Greyhounds took each of the first two GLVC football crowns, compiling a perfect 15-0 record in league play since the conference began sponsoring the sport in 2012.  As a result, the Hounds were selected as the unanimous No. 1 in the GLVC preseason coaches poll.

Last year, UIndy finished 7-0 versus GLVC opponents, holding off a trio of contenders at 5-2; Missouri S&T, Saint Joseph's and GLVC-newcomer Truman State all finished tied for second.  After a convincing 34-3 victory against S&T in the conference opener, the Hounds needed fourth-quarter scores to secure wins versus both SJC and Truman.