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LA GRANDE, Ore. -- The No. 22 Eastern Oregon University football team squares off in a Top 25 clash with No. 3 Carroll in a battle for the top of the conference Saturday. The weekly notes are now available.

* Game 8: No. 3 Carroll College (6-1, 5-1 Frontier) at No. 22 Eastern Oregon (5-2, 5-1 Frontier)
* When: Saturday, Oct. 22, 1 p.m.
* Where: Community Stadium, La Grande, Ore.
* Forecast: Partly Cloudy, Low 60's and 20 percent chance of precipitation.
* Live Stats: EOUSports.com      
* Live Video: EOUSports.com      
* Live Radio: KCMB 104.7 FM
* Series: Carroll holds a 14-8 all-time advantage over Eastern.

GAME TIME
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Community Stadium with a live video stream on EOUSports.com. A live radio broadcast will also be available on KCMB 104.7 FM in La Grande and Baker City.

THE SERIES
* Carroll has won 14 of the 21 all-time meetings with the Mountaineers.
* The Mountaineers and Carroll first met in 1952.
* Eastern Oregon's stunning 41-33 win in Helena ended a Carroll 44-game conference win streak, a 12-year drought against the Saints, and a 13-year drought in Helena.
* Carroll had the NAIA's longest win streak coming into the game at 15 wins.
* The Saints had a 31-game conference win streak at home dating back to 2004.
* The last time the teams met in La Grande, EOU was No. 21 and Carroll was No. 3. This year Eastern is No. 22 and Carroll is No. 3.
* The Saints won last year's meeting in La Grande, 49-12.
* Three of the past five meetings between the teams have featured Top 25 teams. In 2009, it was No. 2 Carroll 48, No. 22 Eastern 43, and No. 2 Carroll 37, No. 19 EOU 17.
* The Saints are 12-1 against EOU since 2000 and 5-0 at Community Stadium. EOU last defeated the Saints in La Grande in 1999, 28-21.

QUICK HITS
* EOU is looking for its sixth win in a season for only the 10th time in 82 years, but second in the past three seasons.
* The Mountaineers began the 2009 season 5-2 overall and 5-1 in Frontier Conference play, before winning its eighth game and losing its ninth.
* Eastern Oregon is fifth in the NAIA in first downs per game (23.4) and fourth in the nation in third down conversions (46.5 percent)
* Kevin Sampson is third in the NAIA total rushing and rushing yards per game and Carroll's Chance Demarais is first.
* Chris Ware is eighth in NAIA history in career total offensive yards. He is 13th in NAIA history in career passing yards.
* The Mountaineers are one conference win away from being .500 all-time in the Frontier.

A NEW FRONTIER
After Carroll College has won the past 11 Frontier Conference titles, Eastern Oregon is poised to challenge the Saints in 2011. EOU sits atop the conference standings with a head-to-head advantage over Carroll. The Mountaineers currently own the first tiebreaker over Carroll due to Eastern's win in Helena over the Saints. Both teams are 5-1 just past the halfway point of conference play. It's safe to say, this weekend's Carroll and Eastern Oregon game is the biggest meeting all-time between the schools.

AS BIG AS IT GETS ... AT LEAST FOR NOW
While Eastern has never played in a postseason game in the school's 82-year program history, Saturday's game maybe as close as postseason feel has ever been in La Grande. A Mountaineer victory would mean a two-game head-to-head advantage over the powerhouse Saints. It would give EOU a two-game cushion over Carroll, despite only looking like a one-game lead in the conference standings. To put it simply, if Eastern won Saturday it would only have to win two of its final three games to be Frontier Conference champion.

HOW DOES THE TIEBREAKER WORK?
With both teams having a 5-1 record in conference play, Carroll and Eastern Oregon may have to use the conference tiebreaker rule, if EOU and Carroll each finish with the same amount of conference losses at the end of the season. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head competition, which Eastern can claim if it were to win Saturday. The second tiebreaker is fewest defensive points allowed in conference play. The Saints at the moment have a decisive advantage over EOU in that category.

FRONTIER FOES
Carroll College and Eastern Oregon University have become the class of the Frontier Conference. The two programs meet as the top two teams in the conference for the third time out of the past four meetings. The lone time out of those four meetings they were not the top two teams in the conference standings, they were the only two teams ranked in the national poll. The Saints have won the conference title 11 straight seasons, while Eastern has began the past two seasons picked second in the coaches' preseason poll.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START
Before this year's win, the Mountaineers led Carroll at least once in the first quarter in each of the past four meetings, but lost them all. In this year's victory, EOU never had a lead in the opening quarter. This season EOU has been outscored 134-112 in the first half, but outscored opponents, 127-94, in the second half. Eastern is 2-2 this season when trailing at halftime and 7-12 under. EOU is 1-2 this year when trailing after the third quarter and 5-14 under Camp. Eastern 14-3 when leading after three quarters under Camp.

NOT A BAD START
EOU has started two seasons, 4-0, including the school's best start in 1980, when Eastern won the first six games of the season. Eastern has won four straight games during a season six times since beginning football in 1929. The Mountaineers have posted three straight wins only 17 times in 82 years. The Mountaineers started the season 3-0 for only the fourth time in the program's 82-year history. Eastern has the opportunity to win its sixth game of the season after only eight games this Saturday.

SEATTLE'S BEST
Eastern runningback, Kevin Sampson, is in the top 15 in several statistical categories. He is third in the NAIA in rushing yards per game (111.9), and fourth in total rushing (783). Sampson is fifth in all-purpose yards (1,084). He is seventh in the nation in all-purpose yards per game (154.9). He is 11th in total scoring (60) and total scoring from touchdowns (60). The senior is 13th in scoring per game (8.6). The Seattle, Wash. native is 132 rushing yards away from breaking Tim Sicocan's 11-year Eastern Oregon school career record.

COMPUTER LOVE
The Mountaineers are getting some respect from a non-human ranking system this season. Eastern Oregon is currently No. 17 in the Massey Ratings system. EOU has spent much of the season at No. 2 in the poll, but got as high as the No. 1 spot after beating Carroll on the road. The Frontier Conference was previously listed as the toughest conference by the ratings in the NAIA. Carroll is No. 3 in the poll.

GONE CAMPING
Eastern has found winning territory under its head coach Tim Camp. The Mountaineers won their 20th Frontier Conference game under Camp this season. Only Don Turner from 1978 to 1981 reached 20 overall wins faster than Camp in Eastern's coaching history. With the exception of Carroll, EOU has a winning record against every conference opponent under Camp. Eastern is 4-7 against Top 25 teams under Camp. Eastern's lone victory over a Top 10 team in seven tries under Camp was at CC.

I REMEMBER THIS
It was only two years ago when the Mountaineers began the season 5-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play. EOU was ranked No. 19 entering its eighth game and beat Montana Western, 40-30, at Homecoming in La Grande. At 6-2 and 6-1, Eastern climbed to No. 18. The Mountaineers were shocked at home by Montana Tech. It was one of only two losses in Community Stadium for EOU that season. Eastern ended its season 1-2 after starting 6-2. The Mountaineers ended the 2009 season ranked No. 22. EOU is currently No. 22.