Game 8 – #17 Southern Oregon (4-3, 4-2) at College of Idaho (2-5, 1-5)
12 p.m. PT Saturday | Simplot Stadium | Caldwell, Idaho
Live Stream/Stats | Live Audio

ASHLAND – In an attempt to rebound from a deflating loss, visiting a team that's down on its luck and limping toward the finish line is an ideal place to start for 17th-ranked Southern Oregon.

Down nine spots in the NAIA Top 25 after last week's 39-29 loss to Eastern Oregon, the Raiders (4-3 overall, 4-2 Frontier Conference) return to the drawing board and a field that's been very kind to them Saturday against the College of Idaho Coyotes (2-5, 1-5). Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. Pacific Time (1 p.m. local) at Simplot Stadium, where SOU has averaged 600 yards of offense in its last two trips.

The Yotes, however, revealed themselves to be a formidable opponent three weeks ago in Ashland, when they took two shots at the end zone to potentially upset the Raiders in the final seconds before falling, 31-27. It was the second piece of an active four-game losing streak that was extended Oct. 8 in Caldwell with a 28-25 loss to Carroll and last week with a 30-20 loss at 21st-ranked Montana Western.

The Raiders – who are currently in a three-way tie for second place with EOU and Rocky Mountain, all one game back of No. 8 Montana Tech – are on the road again next week at Montana Western before wrapping up the regular season at home against Montana State-Northern and Montana Tech. In all likelihood, advancing to the 16-team NAIA Championship Series for the third year in a row will require winning out.

Series History:
– SOU leads the all-time series, 8-2, and has won all five meetings since the C of I joined the Frontier Conference in 2014. That was the Yotes' first year back on the field after the program shut down following the 1977 season.
– The first meeting was the 1948 Pear Bowl. The Yotes won, 27-20, and the Raiders had to wait 15 years for a rematch.
– The Raiders were outgained 501-441 in this year's first meeting and committed three turnovers to none for the Yotes. In the four previous FC matchups, the Raiders averaged 590 yards of offense and won by an average margin of 34 points.
– SOU's two visits to Caldwell for Frontier games resulted in a 66-16 win on Oct. 25, 2014, and a 42-27 win on Sept. 19, 2015. The Raiders' only loss at C of I was a 21-14 decision on Sept. 21, 1968.

NAIA Top 25: Outside of SOU's misfortune, the Frontier Conference is thriving in the national poll with four ranked teams – tied with the Great Plains Athletic Conference for the most in the nation – and the two biggest jumps in last week's poll, as No. 12 EOU and No. 21 UMW both moved up four spots. Additionally, SOU and UMW are the only three-loss teams in the top 25.

If the Raiders do their part, their chances of moving up are reliant on teams in front of them losing. This week, there are four top-25 matchups that could make that happen:
– No. 24 Robert Morris (Ill.) visits No. 4 Saint Francis (Ind.).
– No. 3 Reinhard (Ga.) visits No. 6 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.).
– No. 23 Dakota State (S.D.) visits No. 12 Dickinson State (N.D.).
– And No. 21 Montana Western visits No. 12 Eastern Oregon.

Matt Part: On Saturday, senior receiver Matt Retzlaff made his return after missing two weeks due to injury. On Monday, he was voted the Frontier's offensive player of the week after providing most of SOU's highlights on a stormy night against Eastern Oregon and breaking another school record in the process.

Retzlaff hauled in nine catches for a career-high 180 yards, three touchdowns and a two-point conversion. He claimed SOU's career receiving yards record (2,983) and took sole possession of the top spot on SOU's career receiving touchdowns list with 36. He already owned the record for total receptions and bumped that number to 209. Despite missing two games, he still leads the Frontier this season in receptions (43) and receiving TDs (nine) and is just two yards off the receiving yards lead with 580. In eight career games against Eastern Oregon, he totaled 52 catches for 756 yards and 13 TDs.

Gage Strikes Again: Two weeks ago, Devvon Gage was named the Frontier's defensive player of the week following an outstanding performance at Rocky Mountain in which he recorded 14 tackles and four for losses, forced a fumble, and shared a sack. Last Saturday, he may have been even better.

Gage's 19 tackles against Eastern Oregon – including 17 solo and four more for losses – are tied for the second-most in SOU single-game history. The last person to record 19 was Greg Hobson against Western Oregon on Oct. 14, 2000. After totaling 38 tackles in SOU's first five games, Gage has 33 in the last two. On the NAIA leaderboard, he ranks 16th in tackles per game (10.1) and 47th in total tackles for losses (8 ½) even though eight of them were picked up in two weeks. Among the Frontier Conference, his 71 total tackles rank first.

Briefly:
– SOU has lost consecutive Frontier games in the same season just once: during the 2013 season, Nov. 2 at Carroll (48-30) and Nov. 9 at Eastern Oregon (38-37). Following the Raiders' five other Frontier losses that weren't the last regular-season games on their schedule, they've won their ensuing conference games by an average of 38 points.
– The Raiders are 16-7 all-time on the road in Frontier play, including a 14-4 mark against unranked teams.
– The Raiders' Achilles' heel has been turnovers: Overall, they're at a negative-11 turnover margin, and in Frontier play they're at negative-six. Last week they were intercepted twice and fumbled six times; none of the fumbles were recovered by Eastern Oregon, but one resulted in a safety that was soon followed by a blocked punt. In the secondary, the Raiders have generated two interceptions compared to their opponents' 12 this season.
– SOU put up 448 yards last week and now ranks seventh in the NAIA at 507.3 per game. However, the Raiders are also the 10th-most penalized team in the NAIA at 89.1 yards per game.
– After another stellar performance, Louis DesPrez – who started the season as a backup – is averaging 42.3 yards per punt, the fourth-best mark in the nation.
– Sean Tow's scoring streak was extended last week by a one-yard touchdown reception. The 5-foot-7 senior has now found the end zone in 11 straight regular-season outings and is up to 31 career total TDs.

About College of Idaho:
–As they did in their first meeting, the Yotes will use a two-quarterback look. Against SOU, Darius-James Peterson rushed 17 times for 132 yards and a TD, and Tyler Cox completed 17 of 38 passes for 206 yards and two TDs. At receiver, Shayne Robinson hit up the Raiders for two touchdowns.
– The Yotes are 22nd in the country in scoring defense, allowing 22 points per game. In the secondary, Malike Whitfield leads the NAIA in passes defended and All-American Nate Moore had an interception in the meeting against the Raiders.
– All-Frontier tight end Marcus Lenhardt is their most dangerous offensive threat with 42 catches this season, the 10th-most in the NAIA.
– They're averaging 376.4 yards per game on offense and giving up 389.9.