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ABOUT SOUTHWESTERN OKLAHOMASCHEDULESouthwestern Oklahoma enters play this evening with a 1-1 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the Great American Conference. This will be SWOSU's second home game of the season and their third against an opponent from the state of Arkansas.
THE COACHSWOSU's Dan Cocannouer is in his 6th season at Southwestern Oklahoma and enters this evening's game with a 19-37 record at SWOSU. His career record is identical to his SWOSU record.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSEThrough the first two weeks of the season, the Southwestern Oklahoma offense is averaging 301.5 yards of total offense per game. In terms of passing, the Bulldogs are averaging 221.5 yards per game through the air and have tossed just two touchdowns compared to throwing five interceptions. Ryley Claborn has been the Bulldogs' starting QB the first two games and the sophomore has accounted for all of SWOSU's passing statistics.Â
On the ground, the SWOSU rushing attack is averaging just 80 yards per game and just 2.1 yards per carry. Shouldering most of the workload so far has been Karl Hodge. Hodge, a senior from Dallas, has carried the ball 38 times for 179 net yards and has found the endzone twice.Â
In terms of receiving, the Bulldogs are currently being paced by senior wideout Brad Smithey. On the year, Smithey has caught 11 passes for a team-best 111 yards. While Smithey leads the team in catches and receiving yards, he does not have a touchdown yet this season. Teverick Boyd and Carlos Smith are tied with the team lead in that category as each has one touchdown grab each.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSEDefensivey, the Bulldogs are allowing 410.0 yards of total offense with 221.0 of those yards coming on the ground. Last week, the Bulldogs made a vast improvement in their rush defense as they held Arkansas Tech to 117 yards on 32 carries after surrendering 325 yards rushing on 62 carries to the triple-option offense of Harding in the season-opener.Â
Helping those rush defense numbers go down has been senior defensive lineman Devin Benton. Last week, Benton played his way to GAC Defensive Player of the Week honors after he had 5.0 tackles for lost yardage in SWOSU's win over Arkansas Tech. His 5.0 tackles for lost yardage tied for the second-most TFL in a game in the GAC. On the year, Benton is the Bulldogs' leading tackler with 18 tackles (9 assisted, 9 solo). 7.0 of those have come for lost yardage as well.Â
On the year, SWOSU has forced four turnovers with three of those coming as interceptions. Kevin Joseph leads the team and is tied for first in the GAC in interceptions with two.
THE SERIESThis will be just the fourth meeting all-time between Great American conference members, Southern Arkansas and Southwestern Oklahoma. The series started in the inagural year of the GAC back in 2011. That inital meeting was played in Weatherford and it was Souther Arkansas that came away as the winners, defeating Southwestern Oklahoma 31-22. The next two games would be played in Magnolia and were decided by a total of four points. SAU came away the victor in both of those closely-contested games, giving them a 3-0 advantage in the series.
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ABOUT SOUTHERN ARKANSASNot Dwelling on the PastThe Southern Arkansas football team is coming off of a tough 40-47 loss on the road to East Central. In that game, SAU jumped out to a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter and would go on to possess the ball for 40 minutes, but East Central, behind an outstanding individual performance by senior QB Spencer Bond, rallied from the deficit and eventually came away with the win.Â
The loss made the Muleriders 1-1 overall on the season and 1-1 in Great American Conference play. Despite the loss, the Muleriders had plenty of positives to hang their hats on, including tremendous play out of senior linebacker A.J. Steele as he had 12 tackles (10 solo), forced a fumble and picked off a pass.Â
Even so, SAU has put all of last week (good and bad) behind them and are focused on winning a pivotal game against Southwestern Oklahoma, to keep their GAC championship dreams alive
Taking the Bite from the BulldogsIn 2011, both Southern Arkansas and Southwestern Oklahoma joined the Great American Conference and in doing so, a brand new series between the two schools has emerged. So far through the first three games of the series, SAU has won all three games, but that's not say that the games haven't been close. In fact, the last two meetings have been decided by a combined four points and the series as a whole has been decided by just 13 points.
Pound the GroundThrough the first two games this season, it is evident that the Muleriders' offense will focus on running the ball. In those two games, SAU has rushed the ball 109 times for 518 yards (4.8 ypr). In their last game alone, SAU took to the ground 56 times.Â
The added emphasis on the rush has seen four players log over 80 rushing yards already this season. Leading the way in that category is senior running back
Deandre Jenkins. SAU's starting back, Jenkins has run for 228 yards and is second in the GAC in rushing yards/game at 114.0. Behind Jenkins is running backs
Dwight Smith and
Deion Williams. The two have combined for 186 yards rushing.Â
Adding to the running game when needed is QB
Si Blackshire. Currently, Blackshire leads the team in rushing TDs with three. He has also totaled 95 yards in two games for an average of 47.5 yards per game.
Si's Our GuyMuleriders' starting quarterback,
Si Blackshire, has been a catalyst for the SAU early on this year as he has accounted for 577 yards of total offense. A dual-threat QB, Blackshire currently ranks 32nd in all of DII in total offense and has produced eight touchdowns (five passing, three rushing).
Wise to Throw to WeisheitAfter not catching a pass in week one, redshirt freshmanÂ
Jonathan Weisheit hauled in seven passes for 63 yards against East Central in week two. Weisheit, a native of Frisco, Texas, has been the Muleriders' punt returner this year as well, but may find his niche as a go-to slot receiver when SAU goes to the uptempo spread offense.
Steele CurtainSouthern Arkansas senior linebacker A.J. Steele has rejoined the program after a two-year hiatus following an all-conference campaign in 2011. So far this year, Steele has been a key contributor to the SAU defense as he leads the team in tackles with 20 (14 solo, 6 assisted). Additionally, Steele has 2.0 tackles for lost yardage, 1.0 sacks, one interception, and one forced fumble.
Houston...We Have JohnsonSenior wide receiver and University of Houston transfer Aaron Johnson has made an immediate impact on the Muleriders football team this year as he leads the team in receptions (9), receiving yards (188) and touchdowns caught (3). His 94 receiving yards per game ranks fourth in the GAC and his three TD grabs also rank him fourth in the GAC.
One-Man Special Teams ShowSo far this season, SAU football special teams has been a one-man show as senior
Dylan Nowak has handled all of the kicking duties and has been the team's primary punter. Through two weeks of the season, Nowak is 1-for-1 in field goals, has kicked off all 12 times and has punted all but one of SAU's punts. Last year, Nowak was only the Muleriders' punter.
Becoming Road Warriors
In their last 11 road games, dating back to 2012, SAU has come away with a win seven times. Five of those road wins came in 2012 when SAU went a perfect 5-0 on the road. This week's game will be SAU's second consecutive game away from home as they travel to Weatherford, Okla. to take on Southwestern Oklahoma.
Muleriders Picked 5th in GAC
The Southern Arkansas football team is coming off of consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2002 and 2003 after posting an 8-3 record in 2013 and a 6-4 mark in 2014. Despite that recent run of success, the Muleriders were picked by the head football coaches of the Great American Conference to finish 5th in the league by year's end. Last year, the Muleriders entered the season with high expectations as they were tabbed to finish second in the GAC before ultimatelty finishing the season in a tie for fourth-place.
