Erie, Pa - After a short trip away from home, Mercyhurst Football returns to Saxon Stadium for a week five matchup with Edinboro for their homecoming game. The Lakers look to stay above .500 as they search for their first home win of 2022 and a fourth straight win over the Fighting Scots.

The Lakers have been the better of the two teams between them and Edinboro in recent history with a three-game winning streak heading into Saturday's game. In those trio of victories, Mercyhurst has outscored the Fighting Scots 95-49, their most recent being a 27-20 overtime thriller at Edinboro on October 16th, 2021. Overall, the Lakers hold a 9-4 record against Edinboro with the majority of their success coming on the road as they hold a 6-1 record when away from home.

2. Interceptions Galore

Mercyhurst ended up picking off two of IUP's passes last weekend to help them continue a trend of being ball hawks. Coach Riemedio's team has accrued 19 interceptions in the past eight games with at least one turnover through the air in seven of those contests and multiple picks in five. The Lakers have 10 interceptions so far through four games in 2022, putting them first in the PSAC and tied for first in NCAA D II. 

3. No Mistakes

The Lakers have proven to be one of the more disciplined teams this year with them having only 16 penalties on the year for a total of 153 yards. The number of penalties Mercyhurst has had called against them is the fewest in the PSAC while their total yardage (153) is second to only Kutztown's 137. Compared to the rest of the country, The Lakers sit with the 11th fewest penalties with their four penalties per game being the ninth lowest.

4. Getting In Close

A large part of football is being able to get it done in close to the goal line and Mercyhurst has been great at that as they hold one of the highest red zone efficiencies heading into week five. So far this season, Coach Riemedio's crew is 16-17 in red zone opportunities for a success rate of 94.1% which is the highest in the conference and tied for 11th in the NCAA. The team's 16 scores in the red zone come in tied for fifth in the nation and tied for second in the conference. 

5. Scouting Edinboro

The Fighting Scots come into the week five matchup 2-2 after dropping their previous game with California (Pa.). Edinboro has found it tough sledding on the road so far in 2022, going 1-2 while being outscored 97-24 with losses to Cal (Pa.) and Shepherd. The Fighting Scots' air attack has been very solid for them with their quarterback Isaac Bernard throwing for the fourth most yards in the PSAC (959) for 239.8 yards per game. The Lakers will look to slow down his favorite target, Thaddeus Standfield, who comes into the new week sixth in the conference in both receptions (23) and receiving yards (316).