GAME 3 – No. 25 SOU (1-1) vs. No. 7 Montana Tech (3-0)
1 p.m. Saturday | Ashland, Oregon | Raider Stadium (Laurel Field)
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ASHLAND – The Frontier Conference's split into two divisions means Southern Oregon and Montana Tech are no longer fighting each other for a championship. But, given both teams' NAIA Top 25 credentials and the recent one-sided nature of their rivalry, that won't make Saturday's matchup any more cordial.

Three of the four teams left on the Raiders' home schedule are nationally ranked, and the No. 7 Orediggers (3-0) appear at the moment to be the best of the bunch. The FC East Division favorites, behind new running back Wykece Johnson, a Mississippi State transfer, have already knocked off then-No. 5 Montana Western and No. 25 Carroll (Mont.). In a 1 p.m. kickoff at Raider Stadium's, No. 24 SOU (1-1) will attempt to end Tech's seven-game winning streak in the head-to-head series

NAIA TOP 25: Monday's first poll of the regular season had the Raiders down two spots from their preseason post at No. 24, a dip that can be attributed to their 27-7 loss at NCAA Division II squad Western Oregon two weeks ago. Two teams from the FC East, No. 7 Montana Tech No. 11 Dickinson State (N.D.), are ranked along with three teams from the FC West: No. 9 Montana Western, No. 25 Carroll and SOU. College of Idaho, another West representative, is the first team outside of the Top 25. Tech made the biggest jump of the Frontier teams, climbing four spots, while defending national champ Grand View (Iowa) remained the unanimous No. 1.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: SOU is 7-12 in the all-time series with Tech, which dates back to 2007, and went 6-9 against the Diggers in conference games after joining the Frontier in 2012. Included in the Diggers' active seven-game winning streak were three games at Raider Stadium, where they are 6-3 overall. The Raiders got their last win against Tech 44-12 on Sept. 15, 2018, in Ashland after finishing an unbeaten Frontier season on Tech's home field in 2017, while the Diggers clinched Frontier titles with wins at SOU in both '15 and '16. Last year's matchup was a 42-35 decision in Butte that went to Tech despite Raider running back Gunner Yates' four touchdowns. The Diggers took advantage of three SOU lost fumbles and held on late after going up by three touchdowns early in the fourth quarter.

QUICK HITS:

• Senior receiver Brandon Barthel followed his seven-reception, 182-yard, three-touchdown performance in SOU's debut win against Simpson with seven more catches for 66 yards at Western Oregon. No Raider has accumulated more receiving yards through the first two games of a season since Bronsen Ader (330) in 2017. On the Frontier West leaderboard, Barthel is second (124.0), Trevor Jaasko is seventh (65.0) and Donovan Glover is 11th (41.5) in reception yards per game.
• Junior linebacker Will Kanavalov Jr. leads the Raiders with 20 tackles, having posted 12 at WOU. Junior safety Spencer Kuffel has 13, and his four tackles for losses are second-most in the FC West. Kuffel is also one of four Raiders with an interception.
• Junior running back Gunner Yates, the reigning Frontier Offensive MVP, became the fourth member of the team's 40-touchdown club during the opener. The WOU game, in which he carried the ball only four times, was his first without a TD in 14 outings dating back to 2023.
• The Raiders have gotten positive returns from both of their new quarterbacks in action. Dom Montiel, the Oregon State transfer, has completed 65% of his passes for an average of 319 yards per game, the fourth-best clip in the country. Rieger Sayre, the Ashland product and Butte C.C. transfer, has rushed 11 times for 81 yards and three TDs, including SOU's only score at WOU.
• Twenty of SOU's last 22 opponents have been held to fewer than 30 points. Montana Tech is the lone exception, scoring 42 last year and 31 in 2023.
• Senior All-FC defensive end Gabe Foster didn't record a sack last time out – he led the FC with 10 a year ago and had registered eight in his previous four outings – but he did collect his first interception as a Raider.
• The Raiders are 3-5 against ranked opponents under third-year coach Berk Brown, but they defeated each of the last three to visit Ashland.

MORE ON TECH:

• The aforementioned Wykece Johnson, who did not appear on the field for Mississippi State in his two seasons with the team, rushed for 167 yards against Montana Western, 178 against Carroll, and 139 against Rocky Mountain. He ranks second nationally in yards per game (161.3), is netting 5.7 per carry, and has already scored six TDs.
• Tech is attempting nearly three times as many rushes (137) as passes (52). Its new quarterback, sophomore Jarrett Wilson, went 10-of-17 for 101 yards last week, marking season highs in all three categories. He also rushed 12 times for 37 yards.
• Redshirt-freshman defensive back Justin Webber is the reigning FC Defensive Player of the Week after claiming two interceptions at Rocky. Webber has helped Tech mount an eight-to-two takeaway advantage over opponents. On the line, Anthony Okes led the team with 5 ½ sacks last year and is among three Diggers with two apiece this season.
• The Diggers feature a prolific returner in All-FC selection Levi Torgerson, who last year took the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown against SOU.
• Kyle Samson owns a 34-15 record in his sixth season as head coach. He brought the Diggers to the NAIA Championship Series in 2023 for the first time in seven years, bowing out in the first round, then did it again last season.

HOME HISTORY: SOU's 59-0 season-opening win against Simpson – the team's first shutout in seven years – marked its eighth consecutive home victory dating back to 2023. The last 10 visitors have averaged 15.4 points against coordinator Tyler Stinn's defense. SOU went 6-0 at home last season and is 117-70 all-time at Raider Stadium.

COMING UP: SOU plays its fourth and final non-divisional game next week against FC East opponent Dakota State (S.D.) (1-1). It'll be the teams' first-ever matchup. On Oct. 4, the Raiders are back home for their first divisional game against FC West favorite Montana Western. The Bulldogs took their only conference loss last year at SOU.