It's safe to say the Lincoln Blue Tigers turned more than a few heads last week in their return to football in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Now the home crowd will get its chance to see the Blue Tigers tonight in their home opener against the Missouri Southern Lions. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. at Dwight T. Reed Stadium.
"As far as Lincoln is concerned, I think now our kids are starting to believe that they can possibly compete in this conference," Lincoln interim head coach Malik Hoskins said.
"But as far as the conference itself, and how other teams are going to view us, I honestly think they're still going to see us as the same old Lincoln."
Lincoln began its season last Thursday with a 49-27 loss at Washburn. The Blue Tigers held a touchdown lead in the second quarter and went into halftime tied at 21 with the Ichabods.
But after that, Hoskins said the new-look Lincoln started reverting to the old Lincoln in the second half.
"We just got complacent with being tied at halftime, came out and had a couple turnovers on special teams that put the defense in bad situations," he said. "With the offense not being able to get first downs in the second half, they just wore us down defensively."
There were a couple bright spots from the season-opening loss:Running back Hosea Franklin rushed for 251 yards, breaking a nearly 70-year-old record of 245 yards set by Leo Lewis.
"He's a kid that can get it done," Hoskins said. "It's just a matter of his stature and keeping him healthy."
The Lincoln defense compiled seven takeaways against Washburn. In 2017, the Blue Tigers had six takeaways for the entire season. Last season, that number only improved to 11, an average of one per game.
"Although we were pretty good defensively (last season), we just weren't getting the takeaways," Hoskins said. "It's been a point of emphasis this year to get the takeaways."
However, Lincoln is not the only team searching for a new identity this season in the MIAA. So is tonight's opponent.
Missouri Southern, under new head coach Jeff Sims, began its season last Thursday with a 39-27 loss to Nebraska-Kearney at home.
The Lions trailed 33-6 at halftime, then scored three unanswered touchdowns in the first 20 minutes of the second half to pull within one possession of the lead.
"It was a tale of two halves," Hoskins said. "They were one team in the first half, but they were a much better team in the second half, offensively and defensively.
"Knowing coach Sims, he's going to have his guys ready to play, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I expect for them to pressure us early, I expect for them to pressure us often."
Sims comes to Missouri Southern after spending the past four seasons at Garden City Community College in Kansas, winning a junior college national title in 2016.
The Lions also had plenty of turnover on the roster, starting at quarterback. Jacob Park, a senior transfer from Iowa State, threw for 351 yards and four touchdowns against Nebraska-Kearney.
"With a kid like that, you want to put the ball in his hands as much as possible," Hoskins said. "They got behind early last week, and they put it in his hands and he brought them back. They had an opportunity to win that game late."
Although he didn't play last week, Hoskins noted junior running back Taylor Thomas is another skill player the Blue Tigers will have to watch.
"He's as good as advertised," Hoskins said. "He can really play."
Wide receiver Dwayne Lawson (6-foot-7, 218 pounds) added six catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns, one of the scores going for 93 yards.
Defensively, Hoskins said Missouri Southern lines up in a three-man front, but there will be times when the Lions sneak an outside linebacker to the front.
"They're a high-pressure team," Hoskins said. "When they blitz, you just don't know where they're coming from.
"They're going to get off the bus blitzing, we know that."
Sophomore linebacker Richard Jordan Jr. had a team-high 18 tackles last week, while senior free safety Jatece Wright added 12 tackles. Also in the secondary, junior strong safety Malachi Broadnax and sophomore outside linebacker Cameron Vaughn - a Fulton High School graduate - each had 2 tackles for loss.
Tonight will be the last of the Thursday night games this season for Lincoln and the MIAA.
"With the little success we had last week, everybody is going to want to come see, 'Hey, what are they really doing over there?'" Hoskins said. "We expect a decent crowd and we expect the atmosphere to be a little different than it has in the past, but as far as talking to my guys about that, I haven't said a word because I don't want them to feel that pressure."
Notes: Missouri Southern leads the all-time series 8-2 against Lincoln. In their last meeting in 2013, the Lions defeated the Blue Tigers 59-10 at Joplin. Lincoln wide receiver C.J. Closser (Blair Oaks High School) broke his collarbone in last week's game and is expected to miss the rest of the season. "It happened on his touchdown," Hoskins said. "He went back out and we noticed that, as we threw him a pass, he couldn't raise his arm, so we brought him off." Hoskins said Closser is eligible for a medical redshirt. Franklin and sophomore safety Cody Alexander (Blair Oaks High School), who had two interceptions and a fumble recovery to go with seven tackles, were candidates for this week's MIAA offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively. Lincoln trails only Morehouse in turnovers gained in NCAA Division II. However, Morehouse's eight takeaways have come in two games. Franklin was one of three players to rush for 200 or more yards last week in Division II. Minnesota State's Nate Gunn had 242 yards rushing, while Grand Valley State's Aryuan Cain-Veasey had 200 yards rushing on just 11 carries.
Related Media
Lincoln Blue Tigers Football Podcast [Missouri Southern preview, Sept. 12, 2019]