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(RV) SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MULERIDERS
4-1 (4-1 GAC)
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OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
BISON
2-3 (2-3 GAC)
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Saturday, October 8 | 2 p.m.
Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Memorial Athletics Complex - Shawnee, Okla.
LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO | LIVE AUDIO (SAU Radio Feed)
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GAME NOTES | SAU | OKB | GAC Weekly FB Notebook
Setting the Scene: Beginning of a Tough Road Stretch
For the first time since the preseason of the 2013 season, the Southern Arkansas football team is receiving votes in the American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) Division II Top-25 Poll. In the latest AFCA poll, SAU received a pair of votes and would be the No. 35-ranked team in DII if the poll were extended out.
The receiving of votes comes in response to SAU's 4-1 start to the season in which their only setback was a road defeat at No. 16 Harding back in Week 3. The Muleriders will enter this week looking stay in the conversation of a national ranking as they travel to Shawnee, Okla. to take on Oklahoma Baptist.
The game against the Bison begins the first of three-straight games away from Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field where the Muleriders are 3-0 this season. On the road, SAU is 1-1. Conversely, the Bison are 1-1 at home, but their win was a 19-15 upset over Arkansas Tech, a team who was picked to finish sixth in the GAC Preseason Poll.
About Oklahoma Baptist
SCHEDULE
The Oklahoma Baptist Bison football team enters play this weekend 2-3 overall and 2-3 in Great American Conference play. Over their first five games, the Bison have not had a streak of any kind, trading a win and a loss each week. Their first win of the season was a 19-15 upset over Arkansas Tech at home in week two. Two weeks after, the Bison secured their second win with a 36-34 win in triple overtime at East Central. This will be the Bison's third game at home this year and they are 1-1 at Hurt Field.
THE COACH
The Bison are coached by Chris Jensen, who is in his fourth season at Oklahoma Baptist after being charged with re-booting the football program in 2012. Jensen's first year on the sidelines for the Bison came in 2013. That year, Jensen guided the team to a 4-7 record. The following year, in 2014, Jensen led the Bison to an 8-3 record and a No. 26 ranking in NAIA. Those eight wins for Jensen's Bison in 2014 tied a school record. Last year, Jensen's Bison went 2-9 in their first year as provisional members of the GAC and the NCAA. Overall, Jensen has a 16-22 record as the head Bison.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively, the Bison are averaging 22.2 points per game and 356.6 yards of total offense per game as well. 193.0 of those yards per game is coming through the air while the remaining 163.6 yards are being gained on the ground. In the GAC, the Bison rank 11th in points per game, 10th in passing offense, and 11th in total offense while also ranking sixth in the league in rushing.
Leading the charge for the Bison is junior QB Dezmond Stegall. In the passing game, Stegall has completed 88-of-158 passes for 965 yards and seven touchdowns with five interceptions.
On the ground, the Bison are led by Isaiah Mallory as he has gained 645 yards on 112 carries and has found the endzone six times. His 129.0 rushing yards per game leads the Great American Conference.
The leading pass-catcher in terms of number of receptions is Josh Pettijohn with 23 catches for 342 yards on the year. Additionally, Pettijohn leads the team in receiving touchdowns with three.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Bison are allowing 32.0 points per game and 411.8 yards of total offense per game with 209.8 of those yards coming through the air and 202.0 yards on the ground. Among the GAC rankings, the Bison rank seventh in scoring defense while also ranking sixth in pass defense, ninth in rushing defense and eighth in total defense.
On the year, the Bison have forced nine turnovers with six being fumble recoveries and the other three coming as interceptions. Levi Jennings leads the team in recovered fumbles with two and Charles Taylor has the most INTs with two.
A total of 16 players have registered double-digit tackles on the season with six of those players having totaled 20 or more stops on the year. The leading tackler for the Bison is Levi Jennings as he enters the game with 53 tackles (24 solo, 29 assisted). Levi's tackle total ranks him second in the GAC.
THE SERIES
This will be the second meeting all-time between the Muleriders and Bison as Oklahoma Baptist became a provisional member of the Great American Conference and NCAA prior to the 2015 season. In the first meeting, SAU beat the Bison 38-20 in Magnolia. This will be the first time the two teams will square off in Shawnee.
SAU NEWS AND NOTES
Quick Hits From Last Week
» The game started out slowly for both Southern Arkansas and Southern Nazarene, but a safety at the end of the 1st quarter got the Muleriders going as they eventually defeated the Crimson Storm 38-20
» Redshirt freshman
Stacy Lawrence, who was the reining GAC Defensive Player of the Week made another strong case for it last week as he had two interceptions with the second of those setting up a SAU score that put the game out of reach
» Offensively, the Muleriders went over 500 yards of total offense for the first time this year and ran an incredible 91 plays (the most since the 2015 season finale against Arkansas-Monticello)
Holding Down Hudson
Tanner Hudson has played numerous positions in his time at SAU from quarterback upon his transfer into the program, to rugby punter this past year, and with time spent at the wide receiver and tight end positions along the way. Of all of those positions, however, the versatile Hudson flourished as a pass-catching tight end.
An All-GAC Second-Team selection at the position, Hudson proved to be a match-up nightmare in the passing game as he hauled in 44 passes for a team-best 697 yards. Hudson was also on the receiving end of eight TD passes to lead the Muleriders.
This year, Hudson remains a threat in the passing game as he is second on the team in receptions (21) and yards (263), while also leading the team in receiving touchdowns (4).
Wise to Throw to Weisheit
Junior wide receiver
Jonathan Weisheit has been one of SAU's most consistent and reliable targets in the passing game since his redshirt freshman campaign. In each of his first two full seasons, Weisheit caught 30+ passess and averaged over 10 yards per reception. Last year, Weisheit earned All-GAC honors as he ranked sixth in the league in receptions per game while also ranking seventh in receiving yards per game. All told, Weisheit hauled in 49 passed for 658 yards and three TDs.
Through five games this year, Weisheit has been the top target with a team-best 26 receptions for an average of 5.2 receptions per game ranks in a tie for third in the GAC.
Disruptive Davondrick
Davondrick Lison enjoyed a sensational redshirt freshman campaign last year as one of the Muleriders' starting defensive ends. At that position, Lison wreaked havoc on opposing backfields as he totaled 17.5 tackles for lost yardage to rank second in the GAC. Of those TFLs, 9.0 were QB Sacks, ranking Lison third in the league in that category. Not only was he adept at stopping the offense behind the line of scrimmage, Lison also had a knack for popping the ball loose as he led all of NCAA DII in
Forced Fumbles with seven.
It's a Track Meet Out There
Last year, sophomore wide receiver
Karonce Higgins began to show flashes of what he could become as a wideout at SAU as he caught 22 passes for 499 yards (22.7 ypr) and five scores. Regarded as one of the fastest players in the GAC, Higgins also showed out last year on the track as he finished second in the 200-meter dash at the inaugural GAC Track Championships and later qualified for the NCAA Championships in the event.
This year, Higgins is proving to be a big-play threat once more as he is currently averaging 16.2 yards per reception and against NWOSU, Higgins took a short shovel pass behind the line of scrimmage, caught the edge and sprinted down the sideline for an 87-yard touchdown.
Getting Defensive
Through the first five games of the season, the SAU defense has played exceptionally well and one of the fruits of their improved play has been their ability to force turnovers. Currently, the Mulerider defense has forced 13 turnovers with eight INTs and five fumble recoveries. Their 13 takeaways are tied for third in the GAC.
Methodical Marchers
The Southern Arkansas offense has shown through the first five games of the season that field position, or lack there of, won't stop them from scoring touchdowns.
On the year, SAU has scored 17 touchdowns. Of those TD drives, 10 have covered 70 or more yards. Against Arkansas Tech, all four of their TD drives were at least 75 yards with an average drive length being 75.3 yards. Their longest TD drive to this point was a two-play 91-yard drive that was highlighted by an 87-yard receiving TD by
Karonce Higgins.
Familiar Faces All Around
Familiarity will be a strength of the 2016 Mulerider football team as a total of 41 lettermen and 16 starters are back with eight starters apiece coming on each side of the ball. Highlighted among the starters are All-GAC honorees
Davondrick Lison, Calvin Lyons,
Elgin Moore,
Chris Paul,
Barrett Renner, and Jonathan Weisheit.
Relying on Renner
For the first time since the start of the 2013 season, the Muleriders will have the return services of their starting quarterback from the previous year as
Barrett Renner is back for his sophomore season. Last year, Renner continued a line of highlevel quarterback play at SAU as he set five new school records and was named as the GAC's Freshman of the Year as well as being the league's first-team QB on the all-conference squad.
This season, Renner will be the focal point of the Muleriders' offense once again while also being the man to stop for opposing defenses. Last year, Renner was an all-region selection and he led the league and ranked ninth in NCAA DII in Total Offense with over 3,700 yards gained.
Welcome to the O-Show
Mulerider Football and offensive production/explosion have been synonymous with one another for the past five years since
Landon Keopple became the offensive coordinator. In his first year in 2011, Keopple put together an offense that averaged 26.2 points per game and 376.4 yards of total offense per game. Those
numbers were markedly better than the previous year where SAU averaged 16.3 ppg and 268.4 yards of total offense.
In the four years since his first as OC, Keopple has developed one of the top offenses not only in the GAC, but in all of NCAA DII.
Beginning in the 2012 season, the Muleriders average 36.8 points per game and 477.4 yards of total offense per game. In three of the last four years, SAU has gained over 5,000 yards and in those same years they have scored more than 385 points.
All told under Keopple as the OC, the Muleriders score nearly 35 points per game and average over 450 yards of total offense as well.
Picked 5th in Wide-Open GAC
The Southern Arkansas football team enters the 2016 season picked to finish fifth in the Great American Conference according to the league's head coaches in the annual preseason poll. Last year, the Muleriders were picked to finish sixth, but a 7-4 record tied SAU for fourth with Harding and Ouachita. Ahead of the Muleriders in the 2016 preseason poll are Henderson State, Harding, Ouachita, and Southwestern Oklahoma. SAU went 2-2 against those for team picked higher with wins coming against Ouachita and Southwestern Oklahoma.
