• The Washburn Ichabods travel down the I-335 Turnpike for the most-played series in program history as they will face-off with Emporia State for the 119th time.
• Washburn fell to 1-5 on the season and 0-5 in the MIAA after losing to Missouri Western last time out 61-21.
• The Hornets are 4-2 this season and 3-2 in the MIAA after their comeback bid at No. 3-ranked Pittsburg State came up short in a 33-25 loss.
• The Washburn/Emporia State series is the second-most played series in NCAA Division II history as South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State have reclassified to NCAA Division II. Those two schools have met 135 times dating back to 1895.
• The Hornets lead the all-time series 59-53-6 winning the last two meetings and 10 of the last 12 after the Ichabods had won 10 of 11 meetings between 2002 and 2011 including a streak of eight in a row between 2004 and 2011.
  • Taylon Peters climbed into sixth on the all-time rushing chart at Washburn with 2,295 yards … his 495 carries is tied for seventh all-time at Washburn.
• The Ichabods have played 14 true freshmen so far this season and have also played 18 redshirt freshmen this season.
• The Ichabods are 17th in the nation in kickoff returns averaging 24.9 yards per return.
• D.J. Bell is 16th in the nation in kickoff return average at 28.5 per return.
• D.J. Bell leads the team with 14 plays of more than 20 yards including 10 kickoff returns of more than 20 yards and Bell is also second in the MIAA in all-purpose yards per game with 118.8.
• The Ichabods are looking to avoid their first 0-6 start to MIAA play since the 1993 season when they started 0-10 in league play.
  • The Washburn Ichabods have two former players on NFL rosters this season.
• Kyle Hinton is on the 53-man roster of the Atlanta Falcons.
• Corey Ballentine was elevated to the 53-man roster in Green Bay for its game on Sept. 24. Washburn Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
• was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001.
• is 138-97 (.599) in his 21st season as the Ichabod head coach and the sixth-longest tenured football coach in MIAA history.
• is 121-84 (.603) against the MIAA in league games.
• has led the Ichabods to four NCAA Playoff appearances and four bowl appearances and three bowl championships.
• led the Ichabods to the 2005 MIAA regular season outright championship.
• led the Ichabods to the program's first 10-win season and their first NCAA or NAIA playoff game victory in school history with a win over Abilene Christian during the 2011 season.
• is Washburn's all-time winningest football coach with 138 wins.
• is 11-9 against Emporia State.
 
Emporia State head coach Garin Higgins . . .  
• has a career record of 152-87 in his 21st season as a head coach.
• is 101-79 in his 16th season at his alma mater.
• had a 51-9 career record as the head coach at Northwestern Oklahoma, including two trips to the national championship game.
• was quarterback for Emporia State from 1987-90 and was on the 1989 national runners-up team.
• is 8-7 against Washburn.
  • The Hornets are 3-2 this season in the MIAA and 4-2 overall.
• ESU is coming off a 33-25 loss at No. 3 Pittsburg State last time out.
• The Hornets lead the nation in kickoff return average at 34.2 per attempt.
• ESU is also ranked No. 4 in passing offense at 344.8 yards per game, No. 6 in sacks allowed at 0.7 per game, No. 4 in turnover margin (+1.67).
• QB Braden Gleason leads the nation in completion percentage at 73.6 completing 171 of 232 passes with 20 touchdowns and only one interception for 1,902 yards (317.0 per game)
• Jaylen Varner is second in the MIAA in receiving yards per game at 94.2 per contest and has 40 catches for 565 yards and seven touchdowns and Tyler Kahmann is third in the MIAA in receiving with 45 receptions for 470 yards and eight touchdowns at 78.3 yards per game. Montrell Wilson leads the MIAA in forced fumbles with 0.33 per game.
• Chance Rodriguez leads the defense with 41 total tackles and Jordan Williams is fifth in the MIAA in tackles for loss with 5.5 for 12 yards.
  (Oct. 1, 2022) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod scored 21-unanswered points over the final 10:43 of the fourth quarter but it was not enough as the Ichabods fell 42-35 to Emporia State.
Washburn (3-2, 3-2 MIAA) fell behind 14-0 midway through the second quarter but then got the offense on the board with a 1-yard rush by Kellen Simoncic right before the half taking a 14-7 deficit into the halftime break.
After the Ichabods were forced to punt from deep in their territory to start the third quarter, the Hornets took over and marched 31-yards on seven plays to take a 21-7 lead.
Emporia State (3-2, 3-2 MIAA) added to its lead going up 28-7 with seven minutes to play in the third quarter, but the Simoncic hit Peter Afful on a 77-yard touchdown pass cutting the ESU lead to 28-14.
The Hornets added two more scores stretching lead to 42-14 just into the fourth quarter. The Ichabods would then start their comeback with a 17-yard touchdown reception by Afful and after the teams traded punts, Collin Wilson pulled down a 12-yard touchdown pass with 3:05 to go in the game as the Ichabods trailed 42-28.
The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Hornets and the Ichabods again forced a punt. Washburn needed four plays as James Letcher, Jr. capped a 50-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown catch from Simoncic with 1:54 to go, but the Hornets again recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock with three kneel downs to finish off the game.
Simoncic passed for 334 yards completing a school-record 35 of 48 attempts with four touchdowns. He passed the previous best of 34 set by Mike Atkins vs. Wayne Statein 1980 and Mitch Schurig at Emporia State last season. Afful had 114 yards receiving on five catches and two scores. Letcher finished with 10 catches for 74 yards and one score. Taylon Peters had 36 yards on nine carries.
Grant Bruner led the Ichabods with 14 tackles and Derrick McClendon had eight.
The Ichabods were outgained 471 to 408 in the game outgaining the Hornets 182 to 39 in the fourth quarter. • The Hornets lead the all-time series 59-53-6 winning the last two in the series.
• Washburn is 24-30-2 in games played in Emporia and they are 29-29-4 all-time against the Hornets in Topeka.
• The Ichabods are looking to snap a two-game losing streak in Topeka to the Hornets.
• The Ichabods fell in their last meeting in Emporia in a 35-30 loss on Oct. 2, 2021 … Washburn's last win in Emporia came on Nov. 2, 2019 in a 37-17 victory - the last win in the series.
• ESU has won 8 of the last 10 meetings dating back to 2012 … prior to that the Ichabods eight in a row from 2004 to 2011.
  (Oct. 7, 2023) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod football scored on its opening drive and was tied midway through the first quarter at 14-all, but they could not hold on as the Griffons scored 47-straight points in a 61-21 loss in Yager Stadium on Oct. 7.
The Ichabods took the opening kickoff and marched 91 yards on 10 plays capped by a Taylon Peters' 4-yard touchdown rush staking Washburn (1-5, 0-5 MIAA) to an early 7-0 lead. The Griffons (5-1, 4-1 MIAA) scored on their first drive of the game with a 6-play, 75-yard drive knotting the score at 7-7.
On Washburn's next possession, the Griffons blocked a punt and returned it 38 yards for a score as they went up 14-7, however the lead was short-lived as Teondre Carter made a couple of unreal moves down the sidelines for a 92-yard kickoff return for a touchdown tying the score at 14-all with 5:23 to go in the opening quarter.
From that point it was all Missouri Western as they scored 30 points in the second quarter and 17 in the third quarter jumping out to a 61-14 lead and the end of three quarters.
Washburn put the final points of the game on the board when Grayson Sprouse hit Maury Sullivan on a 28-yard touchdown pass across the middle with 6:06 to play in the game flipping the scoreboard to 61-21.
Jay'Len Rushing in his first action of the season led the Ichabods on the ground with 56 yards on six carries averaging 9.3 yards per carry. Percy Mitchell had 54 yards on four carries. Connor Searcy had three catches for 21 yards and Sam Van Dyne had 104 yards passing. Defensively, L.J. Minner, Jr. had seven tackles and Carter Bussone and Mason Capper each had six.
Washburn finished with 336 yards in total offense on 60 total plays and the Griffons finished with 561 on 65 plays. Seth Cromwell had 154 yards on 11 carries to pace the Western rushing attack. Armani Edden was 13 of 16 for 154 yards passing..
  • move the Ichabods to 2-5 on the season.
• snap a two-game winning streak by the Hornets over the Ichabods.
• avoid the Ichabods' first 0-6 start to MIAA play since 1993.
• be the first win over the Hornets since a 37-17 win on Nov. 2, 2019 in Emporia. • be the third-straight win by the Hornets over the Ichabods.
• be the Ichabods' second-straight loss in Emporia.
• drop the Ichabods to 0-6 in MIAA play and 1-6 overall.
  • the loss ended the Ichabods' two-game winning streak over the Griffons.
• the loss was the Griffons' first win over the Ichabods since Oct. 5, 2019 in a 46-21 win in Topeka.
• the loss dropped the Ichabods to 0-5 in MIAA play and 1-5 overall.
• was the most points scored by the Griffons in the series history passing the 60 MWSU scored in a 60-28 win over the Ichabods on Oct. 22, 1994.
  • Washburn is 576-605-44 (.484) in the 133rd year of Ichabod football.
• The Ichabods are ranked 15th in NCAA Division II history in wins.
• The Ichabods have 12 conference titles with the last coming in 2005 in the MIAA.
• Washburn has had 171 first team all-MIAA picks and 61 first team all-MIAA selections.
• Washburn has had 96 All-American selections and 72 All-American picks since joining the NCAA Division II ranks in 1989.
• Washburn has made 14 postseason appearances including bowl games and tournament games going 5-2 in a bowl games.
• Seven Ichabods have been picked in the NFL Draft.
  The Ichabods, under head coach Craig Schurig, have been ranked or have received votes in the AFCA poll 79 times and have been ranked in the top 10 a total of 15 times.
  The Ichabods will return to Topeka to play their next two games in Yager Stadium with Fort Hays State on Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. and then Northwest Missouri on Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. for Homecoming.