HOW TO WATCH: The South Atlantic Conference has partnered with FloSports to bring all the SAC digital content to you. As a change from year's past, this is a subscription-based production which means you will need to first sign up for FloSports here. You can download the app once you signup and use your login credentials to get started. Once you are logged in, click the red Flosports logo in the top left hand corner of the app and choose football. From there, you can click schedule and scroll down to the Lenoir-Rhyne game. You can also download the app on your smart TVs and enjoy the live stream on the big screen. To view on a laptop, you can go to flofootball.com and (once logged in) you can click on schedule and navigate to the Lenoir-Rhyne contest. A direct link to the game can be found above.Â
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Longtime rivals Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate will meet for the 38th time Between the Bricks on Saturday afternoon. Both need a win to keep their SAC and NCAA Playoff hopes alive after both had slip-ups in conference play. After last week's loss to Newberry, the Bears need to beat the Bulldogs, and then have Wingate beat Newberry next week to qualify for the inaugural SAC Championship game on Nov. 12. LR would also need a win against Catawba next week to qualify. Wingate's conference loss came to Emory & Henry back in September.Â
Both teams were listed in the NCAA's initial release of teams under consideration for the 2022 Playoffs. Rankings were not given, the teams under consideration were just listed alphabetically. The first numerical NCAA Regional Rankings will be released this upcoming Monday.Â
The two teams have played every season since 1986. Lenoir-Rhyne leads the all-time series 24-13 and has beaten Wingate five straight times. Mike Jacobs is 2-0 against the Bulldogs as the head coach of Lenoir-Rhyne, with both wins coming at Wingate. This is Jacobs' first home game against the Bulldogs, and Wingate's first trip to Hickory since 2019, in a game where both teams were in the Top-25. Over 10,000 people attended that game at Moretz Stadium.Â
Wingate's last win in the series came in 2017 in Hickory. Overall, Lenoir-Rhyne is 12-6 at home against the Bulldogs, and 12-7 on the road.Â
Lenoir-Rhyne annihilated Wingate 31-6 last year, which springboarded the Bears into the NCAA Playoffs. LR ran for 234 yards and threw for 211, and also added a defensive score by Jon Ross Maye. In LR's two wins over Wingate in the Mike Jacobs era, the Bulldogs have combined to rush for 71 yards in the two games. LR held Wingate to -43 yards rushing in the spring 2021 game.
The series between Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate has been full of runs by both teams. Before Lenoir-Rhyne's current five-game winning streak, Wingate had won three straight years. The Bears won the first 11 meetings between the teams from 1986 to 1996, and Wingate's longest winning streak in the series was six games from 2005 to 2010.Â
Since 2010, Lenoir-Rhyne holds a 9-3 record against the Bulldogs, including the only playoff win in the history of the series in 2018 in the famous "Miracle at Moretz" game.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Moretz Stadium on Saturday.Â
