It has been more than two weeks since the Lincoln Blue Tigers played their football season opener against Washburn.
Lincoln head coach Malik Hoskins hasn't thrown away the film from the 64-point loss, but he also isn't repeatedly watching it.
"We used it to show what giving up looks like, and that's what happened," Hoskins said. "We gave up, they took the fight out of us.
"This is not who we are, and who we want to be. Next week, we should not turn on the film and see the same thing."
Lincoln resumes its season tonight with another MIAA matchup against the Fort Hays State Tigers. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. in Hays, Kan.
The Blue Tigers canceled last Thursday's game against No. 4 Northwest Missouri due to COVID-19 concerns. Lincoln had a player test positive, and that position group had to quarantine for at least five days, according to MIAA COVID-19 guidelines.
Those players would not have returned from quarantine in time for kickoff, leading to the game's cancellation, which will go down as a "no contest" for both teams.
"Practices were a scale of what they would normally be," Hoskins said. " We were still able to get some work done, we just couldn't do a lot as a team, which is expected when you have a whole position group out."
Lincoln was able to resume full practices starting Monday.
"Having to be in quarantine for five days, we had to be careful about how we re-acclimated them back to practice," Hoskins said. "The load had to be light for those particular guys, but I think we're smart enough to that, whatever our scheme is, we'll be able to go into the game and execute."
Fort Hays State has dropped each of its first two games by a single possession, lost 15-7 in the opener to Northwest Missouri and 38-31 last week at Missouri Western.
"They've lost to two pretty good football teams," Hoskins said, "and both games were close."
The Tigers (0-2) were picked to finish in the top three in the MIAA in both the coaches and media polls.
"We'll expect for them to come out and take their frustrations on us," Hoskins said. "We just have to be ready for the challenge."
The Fort Hays State offense is led by junior quarterback Chance Fuller, who broke school single-game records last week with 471 yards passing and 39 completions.
In the 2019 meeting against Lincoln, Fuller was 24-of-32 passing for 296 yards and five touchdowns.
"Chance came in here and lit us up," Hoskins said.
Tight end Hunter Budke led Fort Hays State last week with nine catches for 122 yards and a touchdown, while running back Adrian Soto added five catches for 104 yards.
Monterio Burchfield led the Tigers in receiving in Week 1, with five catches for 118 yards against Northwest Missouri.
"He's big, he can run and he's a senior," Hoskins said. "He's seen it all, especially coming from the Jayhawk Conference at Garden City. There's not a coverage he hasn't seen, and he's gone against big cornerbacks and big safeties."
The Tigers have struggled a bit in the running game, as running back Tristan Tucker is their leading rusher with 96 yards on the ground through two games.
"He brings that power, but he also brings that elusiveness," Hoskins said. "He's a complete back. He's going to be hard to tackle, so we've got to do a really good job of the things we did not do well against Washburn."
Defensively, Hoskins said Fort Hays State has lined up in a 4-3 front.
"They do a really good job of just playing sound," he said. " The strength of their defense is their defensive line. They do a really good job of working together and creating havoc for opposing offenses."
The defensive line is led by Colin Christman-Gourley and Javaris Sanders, who combined for 13 tackles in the season opener.
"Those two guys inside, they make it hard for you to run the football," Hoskins said.
Other defensive standouts for the Tigers are Jaqualen Brown at cornerback, Ty Cooper at safety and Jordan Starks at defensive back.
"It's a group of experienced football players on that side of the ball," Hoskins said. "They're tough to rattle."
Hoskins said the focus since the season opener has been working on consistency.
"We're a really young football team," he said. "It's hard to put two days back-to-back of consistency. We're working to be more consistent, day in and day out, of everything that we do, including practice."
Notes: Fort Hays State defeated Lincoln 66-6 in their 2019 meeting at Dwight T. Reed Stadium. "They came in here and they did everything they wanted to, from the first kickoff to the final buzzer," Hoskins said. "We can't have that happen." Lincoln backup running back Brandon Mackey Jr. left the field late in the game against Washburn with a concussion. He has been out of practice this week due to COVID protocols and is doubtful to play tonight. Offensive guard Shasmo DeSalle suffered a high-ankle sprain earlier this week in practice and will be a game-time decision.