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SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MULERIDERS
2-2 (2-2 GAC)
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OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
BISON
0-4 (0-4 GAC)
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GAME NOTES | SAU | OKB | GAC Weekly FB Notebook
SETTING THE SCENE - Looking For Bounce-Back at Home
A slow offensive start last week contributed to the Southern Arkansas football team losing on the road to Northwestern Oklahoma, 38-16. The loss dropped the Muleriders to .500 on the season as they will enter play this weekend 2-2 overall
and in the Great American Conference.
Despite the tough road loss, the outlook for the Muleriders to bounce back this week against Oklahoma Baptist are high as SAU returns home to Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field. Already this year, the Muleriders are 2-0 at home with convincing
wins over Harding and Southwestern Oklahoma.
In this match-up, the Muleriders will be looking to get their offense on track as the Bison rank in the bottom two in both Scoring Defense and Total Defense. Each of the last three seasons, SAU led the GAC in Total Offense averaging over 450
yards per game. The Muleriders also averaged at least 35.0 points per game over that stretch.
Coming into this weekend, however, the Muleriders rank eighth in the GAC in Total Offense (363.8 ypg) and seventh in Scoring Offense (27.5 ppg)
About Oklahoma Baptist
SCHEDULE
The Oklahoma Baptist Bison football team enters play this weekend 0-4 overall and 0-4 in Great American Conference play. The Bison will be playing in their third road game of the season after previously traveling to Durant, Okla. to take on Southeastern Oklahoma and to Russellville to take on Arkansas Tech.
THE COACH
The Bison are coached by Chris Jensen, who is in his fifth 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. In his first two seasons leading the Bison as provisional members of the GAC and NCAA Jensen's Bison are 4-18. Overall, Jensen has a 16-32 record as the head Bison.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively, the Bison are averaging 21.5 points per game and 412.2 yards of Total Offense per game as well. 251.0 of those yards per game is coming through the air while the remaining 161.2 yards are being gained on the ground. In the GAC, the Bison rank fourth in Passing Offense, sixth in Total Offense, ninth in the league in Rushing and 10th in Points per Game,
The Bison have featured a pair of quarterbacks in senior Dezmond Stegall and redshirt freshman Preston Haire. Both QBs have played in all four games and each have virtually split the Bison's pass attempts. Stegall has attempted the most passes (73), but Haire has been more productive completing 43-of-69 passes. Haire also leads the team in passing yards (586), TDs (3), but also has the most interceptions (4).
On the ground, the Bison are led by returning All-GAC First-Team running back Isaiah Mallory as he has gained 380 yards on 68 carries and has found the endzone four times. His 95.0 rushing yards per game leads the Great American Conference.
The leading pass-catcher in terms of number of receptions is Stephan Turner with 15 catches for 143 yards on the year. Alex Lewis leads the team in receiving yards with 240. The five passing touchdowns for the Bison have been caught by five different receivers.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Bison are allowing 44.8 Points per Game and 464.8 yards of Total Offense per game with 242.2 of those yards coming through the air and 222.5 yards on the ground. Among the GAC rankings, the Bison rank 10th in Pass Defense, 11th in Rushing Defense and Total Defense, while also ranking 12th in Scoring Defense.
On the year, the Bison have forced three turnovers with two being interceptions and the other a fumble recovery. Anthony Figueroa and Landon Rowlett have the two interceptions while Daniel Moniz has come away with the lone fumble recovery.
A total of 12 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 Joshua Redmond as he enters the game with 31 tackles (14 solo, 17 assisted).
THE SERIES
This will be the third 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. Last year, the series saw its first action in Shawnee and SAU came away with a resounding 52-7 win.
Record Watch
Records Within Reach - Career (Individual)
» Pass Attempts - (Record: 1,166 - Tyler Sykora, 2009-13)
Current:
Barrett Renner (990 | -176)
» Pass Completitions - (Record: 658 - Tyler Sykora, 2009-13)
Current:
Barrett Renner (630 | -28)
» Passing Yards - (Record: 9,010 - Tyler Sykora, 2009-13)
Current:
Barrett Renner (7,743 | -1,267)
» Passing TDs - (Record: 82 - Tyler Sykora, 2009-13)
Current: Barret Renner (72 | -10)
» Reception Yards - (Record: 2,852 - Nik Lewis, 2000-03)
Current:
Jonathan Weisheit (1,774 | -1,078)
Current:
Tanner Hudson (1,747 | -1,105)
» Receptions - (Record: 162 - Nik Lewis, 2000-03)
Current:
Jonathan Weisheit (158 | -4)
Current:
Tanner Hudson (121 | -41)
» TD Receptions - (Record: 36 - Nik Lewis, 2000-03)
Current:
Tanner Hudson (23 | -13)
» Total Offense - (Record: 8,847 - Tyler Sykora, 2009-13)
Current:
Barrett Renner (8,292 | -555)
» TDs Responsible For - (Record: 83 - Tyler Sykora, 2009-13)
Current:
Barrett Renner (74 | -9)
» All-Purpose Yards - (Record: 4,184, Mark Johnson, 2008-13)
Current:
Jonathan Weisheit (2,741 | 1,443)
» Total Points Scored - (Record: 264 - Mark Johnson, 2008-13)
Current:
Bradford Grems (210 | -54)
» Punt Return Yards - (Record: 629 - Nik Lewis, 2000-03)
Current:
Jonathan Weisheit (528 | -101)
