WHEELING, W.Va. (Sept. 11) – The Wheeling University football team will look to bounce back from a tough loss in week one when they travel to Fairmont State on Thursday, September 12 for a kick-off at 7 p.m.

LIVE INTERNET COVERAGE
• Live Stats |  Provided by Fairmont State
• Live Streaming Video |  Provided by Fairmont State and MountainEast.TV
• Twitter  |  All scoring information and in-game updates.

GAME NOTES (pdf.)

WHEELING WEEK IN REVIEW: A score with 31 seconds left in the game allowed West Liberty to escape with a 33-30 win over the Cardinals in the first-ever varsity game in Wheeling University program history. Wheeling drove all the way to the West Liberty 39-yard line, but a deflected ball was intercepted at the Hilltopper 28-yard line in the final seconds to send the Cardinals to a heartbreaking loss.

FAIRMONT STATE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Falcons out-scored Charleston 36-7 in the second half, but were unable to overcome a 32-point halftime deficit in their  42-39 loss. Both teams finished with north of 500 yards of total offense and 49 combined first downs.

FAIRMONT STATE HEAD COACH: Head Coach Jason Woodman has recorded at least eight wins in each of the last three seasons at Fairmont State. He is the first head coach since Wally Hood in 1988 to lead the Falcons to a winning campaign in four-straight seasons.

LOW EXPECTATIONS: The Cardinals were picked to finish last in the MEC Preseason Coaches Poll in August, but gave West Liberty all it could handle in the season-opener last week. Despite trailing 14-0 in the first half, Wheeling rallied for 17-straight points to take its first-ever lead with 6:26 in the third quarter.

SPREADING IT AROUND: Sophomore quarterback Tucker Strachan finished with 26 completions, including seven to three different targets. Strachan's 401 yards passing was the second-highest total among NCAA Division II quarterbacks last week.

ON NOTICE: Sophomore linebacker James Reese III turned a few heads against West Liberty. The Columbus, Ohio native finished with 13 tackles and an NCAA-best 3.0 sacks to go with five tackles for loss.

COMMANDING THE TRENCHES: One of the biggest concerns for the Cardinals heading into the season was the play of its offensive and defensive lines. However, Wheeling got to the quarterback five times and kept Strachan upright throughout the entire game versus West Liberty. Despite the passing games' success, the Cardinals struggled on the ground and rushed for only 29 yards.

GETTING OFF OF THE FIELD: Wheeling will need to be better defensively on third down against Fairmont State. West Liberty converted 10 of 17 third down attempts, including multiple third downs on scoring drives.

HALFTIME ADJUSTMENTS: The Cardinals were limited to three points in the first half, but came out of the locker room with their best drive of the afternoon. Wheeling converted a third down and a fourth down before a three-yard rush by Cam'Ron McClain capped off a 14-play, 81-yard drive that got the offense going in the second half. 

NEXT UP: The Cardinals will play the first home night game in program history when they welcome Urbana to Bishop Schmitt Field on Thursday, September 19 for a kick-off at 7 p.m.