• The Washburn Ichabods will open their 133rd season of football on Aug. 31 when they travel to Pittsburg, Kan. to face the Gorillas at 7 p.m.
• The Ichabods are coming off a 7-4 season in 2022 and received votes in the AFCA Preseason Coaches Top 25 poll and were picked fourth in both the MIAA Coaches and media polls.
• The Gorillas are coming off a 12-1 season going 11-0 in the MIAA winning the conference title and were picked No. 4 in the AFCA Preseason Poll and No. 3 in the D2Football.com Preseason Poll.
• The Ichabods are 80-46-6 all-time in season openers and the Ichabods have never faced the Gorillas in their season opener.
• Overall the Ichabods have won their last six season openers dating back to 2016.
• The Ichabods are 1-0 on Aug. 31 all-time with the lone win coming at Northeastern State in a 31-7 win in 2017.
• Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig has 10 of Washburn's 27 wins against Pittsburg State in the 92 overall meetings.
• Washburn is looking for its fifth-straight win in the Jungle dating back to the 2011 NCAA second round playoff game.
• Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig spent eight years as a graduate assistant and full-time assistant at Pittsburg State from 1993-2001 prior to coming to Washburn.
• Ichabod football strength and conditioning coach David Trupp was the defensive line and offseason strength and condition coordinator for the Gorillas from 1996 to 1998.
  • Under the new rules, the game clock will continue to run when a first down is gained. The game clock will be stopped when a first down is gained during the last two minutes of either half. Previously, the game clock stopped when a first down was gained, and the clock restarted when the offense was awarded a first down.
• Teams will be prohibited from calling consecutive team timeouts.
• Penalties at the end of the first and third quarter will carry over and be enforced on the first play of the next quarter.
  • Entering the 2023 season, the Ichabods will have true freshmen in uniform for the opener at Pittsburg State … this season, a new rule passed by the NCAA permits football players in their initial year of college enrollment at a Division II school to participate in up to three contests without using a season of competition.
• Kellen Simoncic finished the 2022 season 12th in the nation  in completions per game with 21.8 and was also 13th in passing yards per game at 265.9 and 18th in total offense with 270.9 per game.
• Jake Zeller was 16th in the nation in punting averaging 41.9 yards per attempt.
• As a team the Ichabods were 14th in third down conversion rate at 47 percent.
• The Ichabods were also 14th in passing offense in 2022  with 277.5 yards per game and were ranked second in punt returns averaging 20.87 yards per return.
• Taylon Peters enters his senior season 10th on the all-time rushing chart with 1,871 yards.
• Taylon Peters enters his senior season 10th on the all-time rushing chart with 1,871 yards.
• Kellen Simoncic's 31 passing touchdowns is tied for 10th all-time at Washburn.
  Washburn Ichabod head coach Craig Schurig . . .
• was named head coach of the Ichabod football program Dec. 28, 2001.
• is 137-92 (.599) in his 21st season as the Ichabod head coach and the sixth-longest tenured football coach in MIAA history.
• is 119-77 (.603) against the MIAA.
• 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 137 wins.
• is 10-9 against the Gorillas.-
 
Pittsburg State head coach Brian Wright . . . 
• Brian Wright is in his fourth season as head coach at Pittsburg State.
• he was hired as the program's 15th all-time head coach on December 7, 2019. Wright led the Gorillas to a 2-2 record during the abbreviated 2020 season; and he has compiled an 22-6 overall mark at Pitt State. He has a 27-5 record as a collegiate head coach.
• Wright came to Pitt State after serving the previous four seasons as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at the University of Toledo.
• In his four seasons with the Rockets, Wright helped guide offenses that have been among the best in the Mid-American Conference while boasting four NFL draft picks.
• Prior to coming to Toledo, Wright coached at Florida Atlantic for four seasons as the Owls' offensive coordinator. He stepped in as interim head coach for the final four games of the 2013 season, leading the Owls to four consecutive victories and bowl eligibility (6-6) for the first time since 2008.
• is 1-1 against Washburn.
  • The Gorillas are coming off a 12-1 season going 11-0 in the MIAA winning the conference title.
• Pitt State reached the second round of the NCAA playoffs in 2023 after topping Indianapolis 35-0 in the first round before falling to eventual champion Ferris State 17-14.
• Pittsburg State University football team drew the No. 4 ranking in the 2023 American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) NCAA Division II Top 25 preseason poll.
• The Gorillas were tabbed as the preseason favorites in the 2023 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and MIAA Preseason Media Poll released July 25.
• Pitt State head coach Brian Wright, and his staff, welcomed back 14 players (seven offense, seven defense) who started four or more games during the Gorillas' 2022 MIAA Championship campaign.
  (Nov. 5, 2022) TOPEKA, Kan. – The Washburn Ichabod football team wrapped up the home slate falling 37-23 to the No. 5-ranked Pittsburg State Gorillas on Saturday in Yager Stadium. 
The Ichabods (6-4, 6-4 MIAA) opened the scoring on their first drive of the game when Jared Taylor connected on a slant pass with James Letcher, Jr., who scampered 84 yards for the 6-0 after the extra point went off the upright.
Pitt State scored the next nine points – the first off an 8-yard rush by Caleb Lewis with 10:30 to go in the first half and after the Ichabods held the Gorillas on a fourth down from the Washburn 3, a safety on the first play of Washburn's drive with 5:50 to go in the frame building a 9-6 lead.
After the Ichabod free kick, the Gorillas (9-0, 9-0 MIAA) marched eight yards on 34 plays going up 16-6 just before the quarter. The Ichabods cut into the lead on their first drive of the second quarter when Taylon Peters scored from 6-yards out trimming the lead to 16-13 with 13:07 to play in the half.
The Gorillas stretched the lead to 10 at 23-13 on their next drive  with 8:59 to play in the half. The Ichabods turned it over on their next drive and PSU needed seven plays scoring pushing the margin to 30-13 wrapping up the scoring in the half.
Washburn scored on its second drive of the third quarter when Taylor hit Matthew Simmons on a 2-yard toss as the Ichabods pulled back within 10 points at 30-20 with 5:34 to play in the third.
Pitt State was picked off on its first play by Channon Ross returning possession to the Ichabods and Kameron Lake connected on a 44-yard field goal as the difference was seven at 30-23.
The Gorillas finished off the scoring the first of the fourth quarter pushing the lead back to 14 at 37-23 with 14:02 to play as the Ichabods and Gorillas would trade punts sandwiched with an Ichabod interception by Jordan Finnesy to end the game.
Taylor finished 20 of 38 passing for 251 yards with two touchdowns in his first Ichabod start. Letcher, Jr., had five catches for 127 yards including 97 yards after the catch and one score. With his yardage total, Letcher also went over the 1,000-yard mark pushing his season total to 1,005 becoming the first Ichabod since James Brania-Hopp had 1,144 in 2018.
Grant Bruner had a game-high 14 tackles giving him 127 on the season (ranking sixth on the single-season chart) and Derrick McClendon had 11 tackles.
Washburn was limited to 11 yards rushing and was outgained by the Goriilas 425 to 262.
  • The Ichabods trail the all-time series with the Gorillas 63-28-1, after having their four-game winning streak snapped in 2022 but have still won nine of the last 15 including four-straight in Pittsburg … overall in games played in Pittsburg the Gorillas are 14-29-1.
• Washburn is 13-34 in games played in Topeka.
• Overall Washburn is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings.
• The Ichabods have never won five in a row on the road against the Gorillas … entering the contest, the Ichabods winning streak is the current four-game streak.
  (Nov. 12, 2022) JOPLIN, Mo. – The Washburn Ichabods wrapped up the regular season with a 37-20 win over Missouri Southern on Saturday in Joplin. The Ichabods, who recorded their seventh-straight win over Missouri Southern, finish the season at 7-4.
The Ichabods scored first on a six-yard touchdown pass from Jared Taylor to James Letcher, Jr. to go up 7-0 following the extra point by Kameron Lake with 1:57 to play in the opening quarter. The five-play scoring drive was set up by a Micah Skebo interception return of 42 yards down to the Missouri Southern 26 setting the Ichabods up just outside of the redzone.
After the Ichabods forced a Lion (4-7, 4-7 MIAA) punt on their next drive, the Ichabods marched 65 yards in 13 plays when Tyler Bowden scored from two yards out pushing the lead to 14-0 with 9:28 to go in the first half. On the Lions' next drive, after the Ichabods tried an onside kick, the Lions scored on a 43-yard touchdown pass cutting the Ichabod lead in half at 14-7.
It only took six plays for the Ichabods to go back up two scores when Taylon Peters scored on a 4-yard run as Washburn stretched its leads back to 14 at 21-7 midway through the second quarter with the final points of the first stanza.
On the Ichabods' first drive of the second half, after an Ichabod punt, the Lions returned Jake Zeller's punt 83 yards for a touchdown as the Washburn lead shrunk to 21-13.
Washburn's next drive failed to produce a first down, but after Zeller's punt to the Missouri Southern 7-yard line, Washburn's Caeden Spencer blocked the Lions punt for a safety and a 23-13 Ichabod lead.
After the free kick by the Lions, Peters scored his second touchdown of the day on a 24-yard run building a 30-13 lead with 6:17 to play in the third quarter.
The Lions scored with 12:46 to play in the game pulling back the Ichabod lead to 10 on a 1-yard score and on the ensuing Ichabod drive, they were picked off in the endzone returning possession to the Lions with 6:57 to go.
The Ichabod defense held the Lions to a three-and-out setting up an 89-yard punt return by Letcher off of a 71-yard Missouri Southern punt. The score was Letcher's second punt return for a touchdown and his fifth overall in an Ichabod jersey as Washburn pushed out to the 37-20 lead finishing off the scoring in the game.
Peters finished with 83 yards on 19 carries and the one score while Taylor was 16 of 22 passing with two touchdowns and 215 yards. Letcher had six catches for 71 yards and one score.
Defensively, the nation's leading tackler, Grant Bruner, had 10 tackles adding an interception and a tackle for loss while Brent Peavler had eight tackles. The Ichabods had eight tackles for loss in the game with Daniel Piburn and Braden Rose each recording two. Rose had two of the Ichabods' three sacks in the game.
The Ichabods outgained the Lions 337 to 283 overall.
  • start the 2023 season on the right foot.
• improve the Ichabods to 80-46-6 all-time in season openers.
• improve the Ichabods to 28-63-1 all-time against Pitt State.
• be the Ichabods' fifth-straight win in the Jungle.
• make for a better drive home.
  • drop the Ichabods to 79-47-6 all-time in season openers.
• snap a four-game winning streak in Pittsburg.
• be the Gorillas' first win over the Ichabods at home since Nov. 26, 2011 in a 31-22 loss in a NCAA Second Round playoff game.
  • Washburn is 575-599-44 (.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 Yager Stadium for their home opener on Sept. 7 when they will face Missouri Southern at 6 p.m.