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WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The No. 25 Washington & Jefferson football team hosts No. 24 Thomas More in a Top 25 Presidents' Athletic Conference match-up at Cameron Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m.

The Series: Washington & Jefferson trails Thomas More, 5-4, in the series between the programs with this being the 10th all-time meeting. The Presidents won the first three meetings (2005-07), but the Saints took the next five before a 45-21 W&J victory last year at Cameron Stadium ended the skid.

The Head Coaches: Mike Sirianni (Mount Union, '94) owns a 104-24 (.813) record at W&J in his 12th season as head coach. The five-time PAC Coach of the Year and two-time South Region Coach of the Year (2004, 2012) is fourth among all active NCAA coaches in winning percentage (minimum of 10 years). The Presidents have made 10 postseason appearances under Sirianni. Jim Hilvert (St. Joseph's (Ind.), '93) is in his eighth season at Thomas More. Last week's 49-6 win over Westminster for the Saints was his 62nd career victory, leaving him alone in first place on the TMC wins chart. He has been named PAC Coach of the Year three times.

W&J vs. The PAC: W&J holds a 314-134-10 (.697) winning percentage against current football-playing members of the Presidents' Athletic Conference. Washington & Jefferson has claimed 23 PAC Championships throughout the history of the league. W&J is 56-10 (.848) in conference games since Sirianni took over in 2003.
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 12, 2013, W&J 45, TMC 21): Senior running back Dion Wiegand scored three touchdowns, including a momentum-turning, 92-yard kickoff return during the third quarter, to help Washington & Jefferson defeat 20th-ranked Thomas More 45-21 at Cameron Stadium. The Saints (4-1, 3-1 PAC) had their five-game win streak snapped versus W&J despite outgaining the Presidents by a 415-345 margin. Bliss completed 17-of-26 passes for 176 yards and two scores, while Baroffio caught eight of those passes for 119 yards. W&J did not allow a sack or commit a turnover. Merrill racked up a game-high 14 tackles to lead the defense, while senior defensive end Evan Fuentes notched seven stops (two for a loss). Hayden finished with 268 all-purpose yards, 205 of which came on the ground. Gebhardt passed for 158 yards before leaving with an injury. 

Scouting Thomas More: Since suffering a 35-20 setback at No. 5 Wesley (Del.) to open the season, Thomas More has reeled off three-straight wins by a 160-49 margin. After being held to 92 yards on 24 carries against Wesley (his first game under 100 yards since Sept. 1, 2012), senior RB Domonique Hayden has accumulated 656 yards and 12 touchdowns on 80 carries (8.2 yards per carry). He ranks second in the nation in rushing yards and first in total rushing touchdowns, one ahead of W&J's Ryan Ruffing. Junior WR Goose Cohorn leads TMC with 20 catches for 347 yards and four TDs.  Junior QB Jensen Gebhardt has completed 58.8 percent (67-114) of his pass attempts for 929 yards and an 8:5 TD-to-INT ratio. Sophomore LB Austin Copeland leads with 32 tackles. 6.5 of junior DL Erick Butler's 30 tackles have been for loss, including four sacks (both team highs). Junior DB Kyle Fuller leads with four INTs after three against Hanover in week two.

Bye, Bye, Bye: Under Mike Sirianni, W&J is 9-2 coming off a bye week, having won seven of the last eight and three straight.

Youth Movement: The Presidents showcase just seven seniors on their offensive and defensive depth charts for the season, including only three on offense. Of the 44 players listed on both sides of the ball, 22 are juniors (14 offense), 12 are sophomores (four offense) and three are freshmen (one offense). The 2014 Presidents have just 10 seniors on the roster.

700 Club: The Presidents joined the illustrious  NCAA 700 Win Club the last time out with a 48-30 win over Carnegie Mellon. In this the 123rd season of varsity football, W&J has amassed a .641 winning percentage (700-383-40). Only two other NCAA Division III programs have reached 700 wins (Mount Union and Wittenberg). W&J became just the 25th program in all NCAA divisions to reach 700 all-time wins.

Complete list, updated Sept. 29:
912    Michigan
878    Yale 
878    Notre Dame
877    Texas
870    Nebraska
852    Ohio State
846    Oklahoma
842    Alabama
840    Harvard 
828    Penn 
806    Tennessee
800    Princeton
799    Southern California
770    Georgia
757    LSU
734    Penn State
731    Mount Union
730    Auburn
729    Wittenberg
714    West Virginia
707    Virginia Tech
706    Syracuse
706    Texas A&M
704    Georgia Tech
700    Washington & Jefferson

30 and Counting: W&J boasts 30-consecutive winning seasons as a football program. The Presidents 30 winning seasons rank fourth among all divisions of NCAA football behind Linfield (58), Florida State (37) and Mount Union (35). The last time W&J did not post a winning record was 1983 (3-5-1). That year, the top-grossing movie was Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, the top single was "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, a first-class stamp cost $0.20, and a gallon of regular gas cost $1.24.

Poll Us: W&J is ranked No. 25 in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll and is receiving votes in the D3football.com poll. Thomas More is No. 24 in the AFCA poll and No. 20 in D3football. 

Start Strong: This year is the first since 2009 that the Presidents began the season 3-0. That year, W&J began 7-0 before a week eight loss to Thomas More. In 2010, the Presidents lost to Delaware Valley in week one and from 2011-13, W&J's loss came in week two (once to Delaware Valley and twice to St. John Fisher).

First and Foremost: Sophomore QB Pete Coughlin is completing 73 percent (28-of-38) of his first down passes this season. During second down his completion percentage drops slightly to 69 percent (23-of-33) and down to 58 percent (14-of-24) on third down. He has connected on all three fourth-down attempts.

Five Times: Coughlin tossed five touchdown passes against Carnegie Mellon marking the first time a W&J QB has tossed five scores since Gino Rometo in the ECAC Southwest Bowl against Franklin & Marshall on Nov. 20, 2010. His 333 yards against CMU are the highest single-game yardage total by a passer in the PAC this season.

Run Away: Senior LB Jared Pratt leads W&J with 31 tackles, 27 of which have come on rushing plays, nearly double the second-closest President (Ryan Torrance, 15 rushing tackles).

Targets Acquired: Senior WR Max Creighan has accounted for 22 percent of QB targets this season (24-of-108). He is tied for the team lead with 16 catches with junior WR Daniel Lis who has been targeted 21 times. 11 of Lis' 16 catches have gone for a first down. Junior TE Michael Giampole has been targeted 22 times, catching 11 passes.

Workhorse: Junior RB Ryan Ruffing is averaging 5.8 yards on 53 carries on first down and 4.9 yards on 31 second-down carries. Of his 11 rushing touchdowns, 10 have come on first or second down. On second or third and short he has carried 22 times and picked up the first down on 17 of them.

Burst on the Scene: After an injury forced him into more reps than previously, freshman WR Jesse Zubik had quite a game in his first extended playing time against CMU. He caught 12 passes for 91 yards and his first career touchdown. The 12 catches were two shy of the school record (14, Jordan Roycroft vs Thomas More, 2010) and the most since Alex Baroffio hauled in 13 last season at St. John Fisher. Zubik has caught all 14 passes thrown his way through three games.

So Money: "Money" plays are defined as played resulting in a first down or touchdown and W&J has had plenty. Ruffing leads W&J as 41 of his 98 rushes have been "money" plays (32 first downs, 11 TD). Lis tops the receiving corps with 11 of his 16 catches going for a first down or TD.

Special Player: Freshman DB Jordan Yates has made a name for himself as a rookie on special teams. All 10 of his tackles this season have come on special teams to lead W&J. Eight of those stops have been on kickoff coverage with the other two on the punt team. Junior DB Anthony Tutino and freshman LB Zachary Walker are tied for second with four special teams tackles each.