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NORFOLK, Va. - NSU (2-1) plays its final non-conference game of the season this Saturday when it visits unbeaten Division I Football Bowl Subdivision foe Ohio University (3-0). Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Peden Stadium in Athens, Ohio.

This marks the Spartans' fifth game in the last six years against an FBS team.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
NSU dropped its first game of the season last Saturday in heart-breaking fashion as visiting Howard blocked an extra point try in overtime to upset the Spartans, 37-36. NSU rallied from deficits of 23-0 and 30-7 in the second half to force overtime on a 38-yard Everett Goldberg field goal with five seconds left in regulation. But after Howard scored first in the overtime and kicked the PAT, the Spartans were unable to tie things up and force another extra session.

The loss overshadowed a strong second half of play for NSU, led by quarterback Nico Flores. The junior signal-caller passed for career highs of 387 yards and four touchdowns to help NSU rally. Xavier Boyce had seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, while Derrick Demps caught five passes for 123 yards and a score. Joseph Hawkins and Brendon Riddick also had TD receptions, while Riddick ran for a touchdown in overtime.

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Ohio improved to 3-0 on the season for the second year in a row with a 27-24 win at Marshall last Saturday. Matt Weller kicked a 38-yard field goal with 1:37 left in the game, and the Bobcats' defense held on down the stretch. Tyler Tettleton passed for 200 yards and three touchdowns to lead Ohio. Tettleton has thrown at least two touchdown passes in every game this season. He has seven scoring passes and no interceptions through the first three games, which also includes wins over Penn State (24-14) and New Mexico State (51-24). Tailback Beau Blankenship is averaging 126.3 yards per game and has rushed for two scores on the year.

Ohio welcomes back 49 letterwinners and 16 starters from last year's 10-4 team that won the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

MEDIA COVERAGE
• Radio: NSU Sports Network, WXTG 102.1 FM The Game (Play-by-Play: Ross Gordon;
Color: Maguell Davis; Pre-Game: Gordon, Davis and Matt Michalec)
• TV: Live on ESPN3 (Play-by-Play: Keith Morehouse; Color: Jerod Cherry)
• Live Stats: Click here
• Audio Stream: www.nsuspartans.com (click “Live Audio” link under Inside Athletics tab)
• Twitter Updates: @NSUSpartans

THE SERIES
• This will be the first meeting all-time between NSU and Ohio.
• This is the Spartans' fifth game all-time at a D-I FBS school, with prior losses to Rutgers (2007 and '10), Kentucky ('08) and West Virginia ('11).
• NSU has been outscored 183-15 in its four previous games against FBS opposition.

QUICK HITS FROM HOWARD
• NSU dropped to 3-5 all-time in overtime games.
• NSU had three more kicks blocked by Howard: one punt, one extra point and one field goal.
• Nico Flores notched career highs in passing yards (387), total offense (423) and TD passes (four).
Flores had not thrown a TD pass before last Saturday.
• Five different Spartans had at least five catches, led by Xavier Boyce's seven.
• Derrick Demps had a career-high 123 receiving yards.
• Brendon Riddick notched career highs in receptions (six) and yards receiving (56).
• LB Terrence Pugh (11), LB Eric Hitch (eight), LB Mike Privott (seven), DB Darrin Marrow (seven) and DL George Riddick (seven) all had career highs in tackles.
• Lynden Trail had another sack, giving him one in every game this season (3.0 total).
• NSU scored on its final six possessions of the game, recording five TDs and one field goal.

FLORES GETS THE NOD AT QB
After competing with junior college transfer Jake Basmagian during preseason camp, redshirt junior Nico Flores was named the starter for the season opener against Virginia State. Flores served as NSU's backup in 2011, playing mostly as NSU's 'wildcat' quarterback behind MEAC Co-Offensive Player of the Year Chris Walley.
Flores has come through with career performances the last two weeks:
• Against Liberty, Flores ran for a career-best 76 yards on 13 carries, part of a running game which totaled 251 rushing yards.
• Flores followed that up with a 387-yard, four-TD passing day in the loss to Howard. He passed for all four TDs and 327 of the yards after halftime.
• Flores' 387-yard effort is the most by a Spartan QB since Dontrell Leonard's 439 at Morgan State on Nov. 22, 2003.
• Flores is the first NSU QB to throw four TD passes in a game since Casey Hansen did it on Sept. 27, 2007 at North Carolina A&T.
• After his 423 yards of total offense against Howard, Flores is now third in the MEAC in passing yards (180.7 ypg) and second in total offense (224.3 ypg).

SPECIAL TEAMS STRUGGLES
Normally a position of strength for NSU, the Spartans' special teams have struggled in the first three games.
• The Spartans have had six kicks blocked this season: three extra points, two field goals and one punt. The Spartans had just four blocked last season (two punts, two field goals).
• NSU had three kicks blocked against Howard, none costlier than the potential tying PAT in overtime.
• NSU has also surrendered a return touchdown in the last two games: a 77-yard punt return TD to Liberty's Kevin Fogg, and a 100-yard kickoff return by Howard's Rodney Tyson.
• The Spartans are yielding 29.3 yards per kickoff return and 16.5 per punt return this season.

ADRIAN BACK NEAR HOME
NSU head coach Pete Adrian will have plenty of family and friends on hand this Saturday as he takes on a team from his home state. Athens is roughly two and a half hours from Adrian's hometown of Brilliant, Ohio. This comes one year after Adrian coached against his alma mater, West Virginia.