Kickoff

• Trinity International kicks off league play this week, when they travel west to take on the St. Ambrose Bees in MSFA Midwest League action. Kickoff from Brady Street Stadium in Davenport, Iowa is set for 1:00 p.m.
• An audio broadcast of Saturday's contest will be available at TIUTrojans.com.
 

Quick Hits

• The Trojans are in the third game of a program-record five-game road trip, including four straight MSFA contests away from home.
• Trinity will look to bounce back from a 41-24 loss at Concordia last week, and snap their current two-game slide.
• Through three games this season, the Trojans rank 2nd in the MSFA, and 12th in the NAIA, with 250 rushing yards per game.
• St. Ambrose are coming off their first win of the season, 24-19, at Lindenwood-Belleville two weeks ago.
• 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.
• Linebacker Riley Schussler ranks 10th in the NAIA with 11.5 tackles per game; Justin Hackley sits 12nd in the NAIA leaderboard with 3.5 sacks through 4 games this season.
 

Series History

• This weekend will be the 21st meeting all-time between the Trojans and Bees, with both sides meeting every year since 1996.
• The Trojans have one win in the series, coming at home in 2003.
• The last time the two sides met in Davenport, Trinity posted their second-highest point total ever against the Bees, falling 31-28 in the 2013 season.
 

Last Time vs St. Ambrose

• On a overcast and windy Homecoming, Trinity looked competitive, but costly turnovers proved to be the difference, as the No. 25 Bees came away with the win, 41-13 on Oct. 3, 2015.
• The Trojans suffered from eight turnovers on the day, comitting three interceptions, and losing five of six fumbles on the day. The Bees were starting their drives on average at their own 40-yardline, taking advantage of a short field on multiple occasions.
• Zachary Chesser finished with 256 passing yards on the day, completing 24 of 33 passes and finding wideout Brad Hargis for his one passing TD. Cory Windle collected 105 receiving yards on five catches, while Dillon Turk led the team with six receptions.

About St. Ambrose

• The Bees are off to a 1-2 start to the season, after an eight-win campaign in 2015.
• St. Ambrose is averaging 303.7 passing yards per game, good for the 10th-best average in the NAIA.
• Wideout Brad Connor leads the SAU receiving corps with six receptions per game, ranking 13th in the NAIA. His average of 99.0 yards per game is good for 18th nationally.
• Defensively, the Bees allow 38.7 points per game, the second-highest average in the MSFA. A season-high 62 points were given up after SAU's road loss to #20 Dakota State (S.D.) on Sept. 10.

A Trojan Win Would...

• ... Improve the team's record to 2-3.
• ... Be the first win over St. Ambrose since 2003, and just the second in the all-time series.
• ... Snap a six-game road losing streak, dating back to last season.

A Trojan Loss Would...

• ... Drop the Trojans' overall record to 1-4.
• ... Be the third straight season with a loss in the MSFA opener.

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. 5 in the NCCAA rankings, the second-highest program from the NAIA. 
 

Trojan Football History

• The Trinity International Trojan football program has an all-time record of 103-172-2 (.375), 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 169.5 passing yards per game this season, completing 60.4 percent of his passes and throwing eight TDs on the year.
• Senior Alex Johns-Moore leads the Trojan receiving corps with 14 receptions. Brad Hargis has collected a team-high 275 receiving yards, good for 68.8 yards per game.
• Sophomore running back Isaac Branch leads the Trojans with 368 yards on the ground, including a career-high 181-yard performance against Valparaiso on Sept. 17.
• Branch is averaging 92.0 rushing yards per game, and has reached the century mark twice this season.
• 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 33 points, going 6-for-7 on field goals, and a perfect 15-for-15 on extra points.

Defensive Leaders

• Linebacker Riley Schussler continues to lead the Trojan defense, with 46 total tackles. Schussler recorded a team-high 16 tackles last week at Valparaiso.
• Justin Hackley was named MSFA Midwest League and NCCAA National Player of the Week after his performance against Concordia on Saturday. 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. 
• Mauricio Portillo has made a team-high 6.5 tackles for loss, and 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 55-71 (.437) against unranked teams.
• When TIU is unranked, they are 51-121 (.297) since the poll's debut in 1999.