Kickoff

• Trinity International hits the road for the season's only night game this week, when they travel to Bourbonnais and take on the Olivet Nazarene Tigers.
• Streaming video and live stats of Saturday's contest will be available at TIUTrojans.com.

Quick Hits

• The Trojans are in the fourth game of a program-record five-game road trip, including four straight MSFA contests away from home.
• Trinity will look to end their current three-game slide, coming off of a 38-28 loss at St. Ambrose last week.
 • The Trojans rank 2nd in the MSFA, and 15th in the NAIA, with 227.0 rushing yards per game.
• Junior linebacker Riley Schussler became Trinity's all-time leading tackler last week, setting a new program record with 381 career tackles.
• On Aug. 27, senior wide receiver Cory Windle set the all-time TIU record for receptions, now with 124 catches over three-plus seasons. Windle is 250 yards from setting Trinity's receiving yards record as well.
• Senior kicker Jeremiah Carter is 5th in the NAIA, with six field goals this season. His 37 points scored is the 8th-highest among kickers in the NAIA.

Series History

• Olivet Nazarene and Trinity International is the longest-running rivalry in program history; the two sides have met every season since 1990.
• The Tigers hold a 19-7 lead in the all-time series.
• Trinity will look to end a two-game slide against ONU, with their last vicotry coming in Deerfield in 2003. Olivet has claimed four of the last five contests over the Trojans.

Last Time vs Olivet Nazarene

• Trinity International's defense kept the Trojans within striking distance for much of the day, but the offense struggled in a 22-6 loss to the visiting Tigers, on Oct. 10, 2015.
• The Trojans scored their lone touchdown of the day on the final play of the first quarter, when Leland Orrin picked up a fumble and returned the ball 42 yards for the score. 
• Mauricio Portillo led the team with a career-high 22 tackles, just one shy of the single-game TIU record. Riley Schussler, who holds that record, collected 18 tackles on the day.

About Olivet Nazarene

• The Tigers have posted a 1-4 record on the season, with an 0-1 start to Midwest League play after last Saturday's 42-14 loss at Robert Morris.
• Olivet is averaging 228.4 passing yards per game, ranking 37th in the NAIA and 7th in the MSFA.
• Sophomore wideout Rashaan Gaymon leads the team with 21 receptions through five games, with an average of 87.8 receiving yards per game.
• Sebastian Swift leads the Tiger defense, averaging 13.5 tackles per game, the 4th-best average in the NAIA.

A Trojan Win Would...

• ... Improve the team's record to 2-4.
• ... Be the first win over Olivet Nazarene since 2013, and the first road win in the series since 2010.
• ... Snap a seven-game road losing streak, dating back to last season.

A Trojan Loss Would...

• ... Drop the Trojans' overall record to 1-5.
• ... Be the third straight loss in Bourbonnais.

Leslie Frazier Field

• TIU is 11-23 at home in the Wherritt era, and are 52-79-1 all-time at Frazier Field.
• The Trojans are 15-11-1 all-time in home openers, and have won the first game of the year at Frazier Field in five of the the past seven seasons.
• TIU's head coach for the inaugural season in 1989 through 1996 was Leslie Frazier. Frazier was a member of the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears, and is currently the secondary coach of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. He had a record of 38-37-3 while at TIU, and remains the winningest coach in Trinity International history.

NCCAA Victory Bowl

• The top two eligible teams in the NCCAA based on Massey Rating will meet at the end of the season in the 2016 Victory Bowl.
• The Trojans are ranked No. 6 in the NCCAA rankings, the third-highest program from the NAIA. 

Trojan Football History

• The Trinity International Trojan football program has an all-time record of 103-173-2 (.374), dating back to their first season as a varsity program in 1990.
• Trinity has won three MSFA Midwest League titles in school history (1994, 1995, 2003).
• TIU has earned two NAIA Football Championship Series berths (1994, 2004). The program is still searching for their first NAIA playoff victory, falling to Northwestern (Iowa) and Georgetown (Ky.), respectively.
• TIU has one appearance in the NCCAA Victory Bowl, where they fell to Garner-Webb (N.C.), 54-14, in 2001.
 

Offensive Leaders

• Senior quarterback J.J. Burmeister is averaging 140.0 passing yards per game this season, completing 60.6 percent of his passes and throwing nine TDs on the year.
• Junior Brad Hargis leads the Trojan receiving corps with 17 receptions and 388 receiving yards, good for 77.6 yards per game.
• Sophomore running back Isaac Branch leads the Trojans with 442 yards on the ground, including a career-high 181-yard performance against Valparaiso on Sept. 17.
• Branch is averaging 88.4 rushing yards per game, and has reached the century mark twice this season. The Wheeling, Ill. native can reach the 1,000-yard mark with an average of 93 rushing yards over the season's final six games.
• Senior kicker Jeremiah Carter is Trinity's all-time leader in field goals made, and points scored by a kicker. This season, Carter leads the team with 37 points, going 6-for-8 on field goals, and a perfect 19-for-19 on extra points.

Defensive Leaders

• Linebacker Riley Schussler continues to lead the Trojan defense, with 61 total tackles. Schussler ranks 2nd in the MSFA and 8th in the NAIA with 12.2 tackles per game.
• Justin Hackley was named MSFA Midwest League and NCCAA National Player of the Week after his performance against Concordia on Sept. 24. Hackley recorded three sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss against the Cardinals, and is now the team leader with 3.5 sacks on the year. 
• Hackley and junior linebacker Mauricio Portillo are tied for the team lead with 6.5 tackles for loss; Portillo is second on the team with 35 total tackles.

Campbell Trophy Semifinalist

• Senior linebacker Riley Schussler was selected as a semifinalist for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments.
• Schussler is just one of 156 players across college football, and only one of four NAIA players to be named a semifinalist.
• To be nominated, a player must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
• Schussler becomes the first player in Trinity history to be nominated for the award.

TIU in the Polls

• TIU has been ranked 29 times in the program's history, and holds an all-time record of 15-12 (.556) as a nationally-ranked team.
• Trinity was ranked as high as No. 21 on Oct. 7, 2013, following their win over Olivet Nazarene.
• The Trojans are 7-51 (.121) all-time against ranked opponents, and 55-72 (.433) against unranked teams.
• When TIU is unranked, they are 51-122 (.295) since the poll's debut in 1999.