BLOOMSBURG – The fourth-ranked Bloomsburg University football team faces it biggest test of the season this weekend.  BU takes on tenth-ranked Shippensburg University in a battle of undefeated teams on Saturday, Oct. 27 at SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.  The winner earns at least a share of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division crown and a spot in the PSAC Championship game on Nov. 10.
 
The game will be broadcast live on WHLM (930-AM) based out of Bloomsburg with Jim Doyle and Andy Ulicny calling all the action. In addition, listeners throughout the world can listen to and watch the game live on BU's website at www.buhuskies.com. The pre-game show will begin 30 minutes before kickoff.
 
The sports information offices of each school have agreed to use gameoftheweek as its official hashtag in reference to the game. D2Football.com also encourages fans to use d2fb in their tweets regarding games.
 
The Bloomsburg University athletic department will be sponsoring a non-student fan bus to the game. For full information, follow the link above.
 
The Huskies (8-0 overall, 5-0 PSAC East) and Red Raiders (8-0, 5-0) are two of nine undefeated schools in Division II.  BU's nine-game winning streak dating back to last season is tied for third longest ac­tive streak in Division II. Shippensburg's 12 straight lead Division II and is second in the NCAA behind Division III Concordia Chicago's 13 straight.
 
Along with each team ranked in the top-10 in this week's American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) national poll, BU and SU are also included in the top three in the first NCAA regional rankings.  Shippensburg is ranked first in the region with Bloomsburg coming in at third, as the top six teams in each region will move onto the NCAA playoffs.
 
Bloomsburg and Shippensburg meet for the 76th time since its first meeting in 1917.  The Raiders lead the series, 42-33, but the Huskies have won the last two games including a 38-18 win last season when the Huskies were ranked third in Division II.
 
As each team has experienced great success this season, they have gone about winning in two different ways.  Bloomsburg has used a pair of explosive junior running backs and an experienced offense line to hold the third-rated rushing offense in Division II at 333.63.  Shippensburg has one of the top quarterbacks in the country and the best passing (413.00) and total offense (565.63) in Division II.
 
Fans can expect a high scoring contest with two of the top scoring teams in the PSAC.  Shippensburg has topped the 60-point mark twice this season and even scored 73 against Kutztown to average 52.13 points per game for second in Division II.  Bloomsburg is averaging just under 40 points per game at 39.5, good for third in the PSAC.
 
Bloomsburg's best scoring option this season has been junior back Franklyn Quiteh (Tobyhanna/Pocono Mountain West).  Quiteh is second in Division II in rushing at 168.75 yards per game. He has scored two or more rushing touchdowns in four straight games and five overall this season. His 14 overall TD's are tied for the PSAC lead.
 
Quiteh has the chance to move his way up the PSAC rushing list on Saturday and pass a former Red Raider.  With 128 yards, Quiteh would move into fourth on the conference rushing list and pass current Green Bay Packer John Kuhn.  Quiteh enters Saturday's game with 4,449 yards.
 
He is joined in the backfield by fellow junior Eddie Mateo (Bethlehem/Freedom), who is also averaging triple-digits on the ground.  At 121.57 yards per game, Mateo is fifth in the conference in rushing and gives Bloomsburg the advantage of always having fresh legs behind the quarterback.
 
Handing the ball off to Quiteh and Mateo this season has been redshirt-freshman quarterback Tim Kelly (Camp Hill/Cedar Cliff).  Kelly has exceeded expectations this season by not only throwing the ball downfield, but taking care of the ball and allowing the Huskies to control the clock.  Kelly has tossed 18 touchdown passes in 2012 with just four interceptions.
 
Kelly has not thrown an interception in three straight games. During this three-game stretch, Kelly has completed 29-of-49 passes for a 59.2% com­pletion rate and has thrown for eight touchdowns for a passer efficiency of 194.15.
 
His top target lately has been senior wide receiver Ryan Dickerson (Harleysville/Souderton).  Dickerson has caught a touchdown pass in four straight games and is one of four Huskies since 2003 to have a receiving touchdown in four straight games (Kyle Ream in 2008, Brahin Bilal in 2007, Steve Burke in 2003).
 
Defensively, senior linebacker Jarrett Pidgeon (Barnegat, NJ/Southern Regional) is Bloomsburg's leading tackler with 65 and will look to have a performance this week similar to last year's game against Shippensburg.  Pidgeon had a career-high 17 tackles in BU's win over Shippensburg in 2011.
 
Saturday will also feature two of the PSAC leaders in sacks.  Along with being the tallest players on their teams at 6-7, BU's Larry Webster (Hagerstown, MD/Elkton) and SU's Jake Metz have run through opposing offensive lines this season.  Webster rates fourth in the PSAC with 8.5 sacks, as Metz is tied for second with nine.
 
The Raiders are coming off a 42-24 victory over West Chester last week in which they trailed 21-0 after the opening quarter.  They have taken the conference by surprise this season as SU was picked fifth in the PSAC Preseason Poll.
 
Shippensburg quarterback Zach Zulli has put up eye-opening numbers in the Red Raider passing attack.  He's thrown for 3,065 yards and tossed 38 touchdowns with just three interceptions for the top passing efficiency (183.65) and total offense (396.00) in the PSAC.
 
The Shippensburg defense has been able to stop the run this season, but will undoubtedly have its greatest challenge of the season on Saturday.  SU allows 90.75 rushing yards per game and 320.25 yards of total offense, good for second in the conference.
 
Following its highly-anticipated contest with Shippensburg, Bloomsburg returns home to face West Chester on Saturday, Nov. 3 for a 1 p.m. kickoff.  Shippensburg also hosts its final game of the year as Cheyney comes to town on Nov. 3 for a 1 p.m. kickoff.