Lincoln coach Steven Smith is getting a little tired of repeating himself.
Turnovers have doomed the Blue Tigers in their four losses this season. Two of Lincoln's three turnovers led to touchdowns last Saturday, including the go-ahead score for Albany State in its 30-10 win against the Blue Tigers.
"That's the story of our life right now," Smith said. "We've got to stop turning the ball over."
Lincoln held a 10-9 lead at halftime against Albany State, the third time in five games the Blue Tigers have been ahead entering the second half.
On the first possession of the third quarter, Lincoln fumbled on its on 37-yard line. Four plays later, Albany State found the end zone and finished the game with 21 unanswered points.
"That was the big thing in the second half," Smith said. "We came out, had good runs and fumbled the ball. It let the air out of the tire at that time."
Lincoln enters today's game against Missouri S&T with a turnover margin of minus-14, which ranks 165th out of 168 NCAA Division II teams.Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
One of the reasons the Blue Tigers' turnover margin is so high is because the defense has yet to record a takeaway this season. Still, Smith said that doesn't excuse the offense's struggles to hold onto the football.
"If you go back and look at the five games we played, that's the only key," Smith said. "We can't turn the ball over. Every game we have lost, if we don't turn the ball over, it's a different ballgame."
Lincoln's best chance at a takeaway today will likely come through the air, but it won't come easy against the Great Lakes Valley Conference's leading passer. Missouri S&T quarterback Tyler Swart has completed 128-of-201 passes (63.7 percent) for 1,879 yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
"They love to throw the ball," Smith said. "They're a spread team and the quarterback is pretty good. They have really savvy receivers."
Speaking of wide receivers, the Miners also boast the GLVC's leading receiver in Braxton Graham, who had 36 catches for 603 yards and five touchdowns. He leads the conference in all three categories among receivers.
Graham is also the reigning GLVC Special Teams Player of the Year. This season, he leads the conference with 165.8 all-purpose yards per game.
To pile on, Missouri S&T also has the GLVC's leading rusher. Running back Deshawn Jones has 786 yards on the ground through six games.
Jones is the reigning GLVC Offensive Player of the Week, gaining a school record 275 yards rushing and tying a school mark with four touchdowns in the Miners' 52-30 win at St. Francis (Ill.).
For now, Smith and Lincoln (1-4, 0-2 GLVC) are more concerned with Missouri S&T's air attack.
"I can say this, what I've seen more consistent out of them is the young man sitting in the pocket and throwing the ball," Smith said. "That's what we're more focused on.
"We don't want to get run on, because they have done it before, but what they've shown consistently is that they can throw the ball very well."
Missouri S&T (4-2, 2-0 GLVC) is averaging 34.0 points per games and allowing an average of 24.3.
The Miners' defense is led by linebacker Austin Truvillion, who was All-GLVC honorable mention last season. Truvillion has a team-high 52 tackles.
Defensive end Tershawn Wharton leads Missouri S&T with 5.5 sacks, while linebacker Landon Compton was the Miners' top defensive performer last week with 12 tackles and one interception.
Smith said Missouri S&T utilizes a 3-4 defense and loves to blitz.
"They're going to put pressure on us," he said. "They have good (defensive backs) back there. They're going to play a cover-4 or a cover-1 look. They do a little variation."
While parts of practice this week have been focused on Missouri S&T, Smith said other parts of practices have been emphasized on not making mistakes.
Translation: not turning the ball over.
"That's one of the biggest keys for us," Smith said. "I'll tell anybody, you have to play us head up if we don't turn the ball over and make mistakes."
III
Missouri S&T won last year's meeting 65-16 in Rolla against Lincoln. The Miners own a 21-11 advantage in the overall series and have won seven of their last eight games against the Blue Tigers. Today's game will be the fifth straight road game for Missouri S&T. The Miners dropped their first two games of the season at home, then won four consecutive games on their road trip. Three of their final four games this season will be at home. Today's game pairs the GLVC's top passing offense against the top passing defense. Missouri S&T is averaging 315.8 yards passing this season, while Lincoln is holding opponents to 127.0 yards through the air.
Related media:
Lincoln Blue Tigers Football Podcast [Missouri S&T preview, Oct. 14, 2017]