Game 10 - #5 SOU (9-0, 9-0) at #22 Montana Tech (6-3, 6-3)
11 a.m. PT Saturday | Alumni Coliseum | Butte, Montana
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ASHLAND – For weeks, the matchup looked bound to have Frontier Conference title implications. But as fifth-ranked Southern Oregon and No. 22 Montana Tech prepare to meet Saturday in Butte for the final game of the regular season, the Orediggers have been reduced from contenders to hopeful spoilers.

A perfect season and playoff seeding are still on the line for the Raiders, who at 9-0 have already nailed down their second Frontier title and a spot in the 16-team NAIA Championship Series. Kickoff at Alumni Coliseum is schedule for 11 a.m. Pacific Time. The postseason field will be announced at 2 p.m. Sunday – fans can watch the unveiling at the NAIA's official Facebook page – and another win would at least solidify SOU's ranking and guarantee a first-round home game on Nov. 18.

The Diggers (6-3), on the other hand, are likely to see their season end regardless of the outcome. The 2015 and '16 Frontier champions lost three of their last five games, and the fall from grace has sunk them 17 spots in the NAIA Top 25. They remained on solid ground until Oct. 28, when Rocky Mountain's last-second, 48-yard field goal made them 30-27 losers on their home field. The slide continued last week at The College of Idaho, where, without all-star senior quarterback Quinn McQueary, they couldn't keep pace in a stunning 64-35 loss.

Series History:
– The series, which originated in 2007, is tied 5-5. Five of those games were decided by five or fewer points, and two went to overtime – making Tech the only team SOU has played multiple overtime games against.
– The Raiders are 4-3 against Tech in Frontier play but lost the last two matchups, both in Ashland. Last year's game, also a regular-season finale, was a 38-27 decision in which McQueary passed for 333 yards, rushed for 65 and totaled three touchdowns. The Diggers racked up 554 yards of offense, the most for a Raider conference opponent in the last four years, and the win – their ninth in a row – gave them the outright Frontier title.
– SOU hasn't played in Butte since Nov. 8, 2014, when it won 31-10. The Raiders have a 3-2 record at Alumni Coliseum.
– The teams shared the conference title in 2012, SOU's first season in the Frontier. The Raiders topped the Diggers in the final regular-season game, 46-28 in Ashland, and with the victory secured their first postseason berth in 10 years.

NAIA Top 25: After four weeks at No. 7, the Raiders jumped two spots in Monday's poll. They benefitted from then-No. 2 Baker (Kan.)'s first loss of the season, which resulted in a five-spot drop, and they jumped sixth-ranked Grand View (Iowa), which stands at 9-1. Of the teams ahead of them, top-ranked Saint Francis (Ind.) is off this week; No. 2 Reinhardt (Ga.) visits 2-7 St. Andrews (N.C.); and No. 3 Morningside (Iowa) visits 6-3 Concordia (Neb.).

The Raiders have never entered the NAIA Championship Series ranked higher than No. 7, which was their spot in 2001 and '15. They're among six remaining undefeated teams in the NAIA.

The Run-down: SOU used last Saturday's 38-17 victory at last-place Montana State-Northern as an opportunity to get its running game back in order. Rey Vega was much obliged, netting 173 yards on 12 carries with a pair of touchdowns (including an 80-yard burst), and Austin May added 70 yards on 17 carries – career-highs for both backs. As a team SOU netted 191 rushing yards on 43 attempts, 80 yards over its season average coming into the day. If the Raiders have demonstrated a weakness, it's been the ability to generate rushing yardage: Their average of 3.7 yards per carry is the team's lowest since 2011. Their opponents, however, are generating just 3.5 yards per rush – the lowest clip against a Raider defense in 10 years.

Briefly:
– If the Raiders can win their 10th game, they'd join the 2014 national champions and 2015 national finalists as the only teams in program history to hit double figures.
– With no thanks to freezing temperatures and an early lopsided score, quarterback Tanner Trosin saw a couple streaks come to an end last week while completing 15 of 24 passes for 277 yards. His run of consecutive games with 300-plus passing yards ended at 10, and his run of consecutive games with at least one passing touchdown ended at 18. He still managed a rushing TD, the 20th of his SOU career – becoming the eighth Raider rusher ever to hit that number.
– The Raiders were up 31-0 by halftime at Northern, leading by at least three touchdowns at the break for the fifth time this season. Cumulatively, they've outscored opponents 208-68 in the first half and 122-113 in the second.
– Bronsen Ader caught four passes for 121 yards against the Lights for his fifth 100-yard game of the season. His other two outings: 31 yards at Montana Western, where he left with an injury in the first quarter, and 99 yards at Eastern Oregon.
– SOU features three of the top-five in sacks on the Frontier leaderboard: Sean Rogers (9 ½), Isiah Carter (7) and Tre Holmes (6 ½). Tyson Cooper ranks third in tackles per game (8.4).
– Carter needs six more tackles to become the fifth Raider to ever record 300 in a career.

About Montana Tech:
– Until last week, the Diggers hadn't lost back-to-back games since 2014, when they finished 1-9. Their loss to Rocky Mountain also ended a 15-game home winning streak.
– Though he missed last week with an injury, McQueary is listed at the top of the depth chart for Saturday's game. This year he ranks fourth in the NAIA in total yards per game (339.4) and is completing 66 percent of his passes with 23 TDs and 10 interceptions. He was picked off three times during both the losses in which he appeared.
– Tech's other weapons include sophomore running back Jed Fike, who ranks fifth in the NAIA in both rushing yards per game (139.1) and total TDs (12) but exited with an apparent injury after just four carries at College of Idaho. Dion Williams, a junior receiver, has four 100-yard games and nine TDs to his credit.
– Nationally, the Diggers are third in total offense (560.6), eighth in scoring (47.1), 15th in sacks (2.9) and 46th in points allowed (29.1).
– As the Frontier champs, the Diggers reached the national quarterfinal round each of the last two seasons.