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In addition to seeking a successful start to their defense of last year's PSAC-West title off on the right foot, the Green and White hope to extract revenge for the 33-27 setback handed them by the Golden Knights in Week 10 action last fall. That loss on Nov. 5, 2011, denied SRU of the outright PSAC-West championship and also cost The Rock a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

And, as if that weren't enough motivation for The Rock, Gannon has beaten SRU in the last three meetings in the all-time series. The Golden Knights won a 24-20 decision in the 2010 meeting in Slippery Rock and a wild 51-48 shootout in Erie in 2009.

A brief game preview is posted below.

Live Coverage: The SRU Sports Information Office will provide a live statistics feed of the game at the link above. The game will also be broadcast live on WLER-FM 97.7 and via the World Wide Web at the link above.

The series:  Thanks to their three consecutive wins, Gannon owns a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series. The last Rock win over the Golden Knights was a 24-16 win in 2008 in Slippery Rock.

Home-field advantage: The Rock ride a six-game home win streak into the game as they are unbeaten since the stadium was renamed in honor of head coach George Mihalik as part of the home opener Sept. 8, 2011, vs. Cheyney. Overall, The Rock own a 134-62 (.684) record in 36 seasons at the stadium and are 92-40 (.697) in home games under Coach Mihalik.

Rock stars:  Redshirt sophomore quarterback Jared Buck has thrown for 252 yards and five touchdowns in the first two weeks of the season, but he may not play today due to injury. His backup, junior Nigel Barksdale has passed for 99 yards and one TD and also run for a TD. Junior wide receiver John Schademan, who has caught seven passes for 152 yards and two TDs. Senior running back Akeem Satterfield has rushed for 250 yards and two TDs this fall. Defensively, junior linebacker Gary Allen leads the team with 15 tackles, including two tackles for loss and one quarterback sack. Junior 'backer Quindell Dean has 13 tackles, while three other players, including senior defensive end Jeff Thompson (2.5 TFLs)  have recorded 10 tackles each. Senior kicking specialist Kurt Brackman has been perfect this fall (12 extra points, one field goal) and junior punter James McCombie leads the country with a 48.8 yards per punt average.

Scouting Gannon: The Golden Knights nipped Lake Erie (Ohio) by a 36-33 score in season-opening action, then lost a 21-17 PSAC crossover decision last Saturday at West Chester. Gannon's attack is led by quarterback Liam Nadler, who has passed for 687 yards and six TDs in the first two weeks of the season. Nadler's favorite receivers are Abraham Ocasio (15 receptions, 282 yards, 3 TDs), Justin Caliste (10 catches, 188 yards, 1 TD and Quad Law (9 catches, 93 yards, 1 TD). The Gannon ground game has been virtually non-existent in the first two weeks of the season as the Golden Knights average a mere 32.5 rushing yards per game. Defensively, Will Giles has recorded 15 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one QB sack and has one INT. Ian Jeffers and Khayree Connors have each made 14 tackles.

The coaches: George Mihalik owns a 162-99-4 career win-loss record in 25 seasons as The Rock's head coach. He is SRU's all-time leader in career wins and ranks third among active PSAC coaches, fifth on the conference's all-time wins chart and sixth among active NCAA D-II head. Since being named as The Rock's head coach in 1988, Mihalik has compiled a 2-4 record against Gannon.

Brad Rzyczycki is in his first season as head coach at Gannon after serving five seasons as the Golden Knights' assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. In his previous role, he helped lead Gannon to three wins in four games played vs. The Rock.

Up next: The Rock travels to Erie next Saturday to take on Mercyhurst  in a 1 p.m. PSAC-West contest. The following week (Sept. 29), SRU entertains defending PSAC champion Kutztown in a rematch of last year's conference championship game and The Rock's Hall of Fame game. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.