While head coach Bart Tatum isn’t likely to admit it, the Lions biggest game this year is likely to go off with a bang tomorrow as they line up against the No. 7 Pittsburg State Gorillas in the Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center Miners’ Bowl.

“We’re going to play the game,” said Lions’ Head Coach Bart Tatum. “We’re not playing the stadium, we’re not playing the crowd. We’re playing Pitt State University and that’s how we’ll approach it.”

The Gorillas surged up the AFCA rankings Monday after beating previously undefeated No. 8 Chadron State (Neb.) last Saturday on Chadron’s home turf.

The Gorillas are led by quarterback Mark Smith, last week’s MIAA Offensive Player of the Week.

The Lion defense will have to defend both through the air and on the ground if they want to come out on top against the 11-point favorite Gorillas.

“It’s always easier to defend a one-dimensional team,” Tatum said. “They’re not anymore. It used to be and they were still pretty good. But it’s not the case anymore.”

Sophomore cornerback Justin Cowper said defending the against the dual-threat Smith will come down to playing assignment football.

“As long as you’ve got a defense that will sprint to the ball, you’ll be all right,” Cowper said.

While players appear excited for the annual rivalry game, Tatum slightly downplayed the game saying that coaches and players don’t come to Southern to beat Pitt State, they came to build a championship-caliber football team.

“It doesn’t matter what happens Saturday,” he said. “We’ve got eight games left after Saturday.”

The sold-out game will be a showcase for PSU’s new $1.7 million “Jungletron,” which will be the largest Jumbotron in Kansas lighting up at nearly 40 feet wide and 70 feet tall.

Pittsburg Head Coach Chuck Broyles said Monday in his weekly radio show that Southern is “a team that will play extremely hard.”

While admitting the rivalry has been one-sided, Broyles said the Miners’ Bowl is still big for both teams because of the history and its rarity, citing it as one of the few sanctioned bowls in NCAA Division II.

He also said he expects Southern to be ready for his team.

“They would like nothing better than to come down here on Family Day and put one on the Gorillas,” Broyles said. “And we’d like nothing better than to do the same to them.”

Next week, the Lions will face off at home against No. 5 Nebraska-Omaha.

Southern received 11 points in the Sept. 9 AFCA Poaches Poll and are ranked No. 31.