By: Jacob Pumphrey
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#17/18 SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MULERIDERS
5-0 (5-0 GAC) |
SOUTHERN NAZARENE
CRIMSON STORM
1-4 (1-4 GAC) |
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GAME NOTES | SAU (PDF) | SNU | GAC Weekly FB Notebook (PDF)
KICKING OFF
#17 Southern Arkansas enters Week 6 of the 2018 season at 5-0 for the first time ever under tenthyear head coach
Bill Keopple, who last weekend took the sidelines for the 100th time as head coach of the SAU Football program. The Muleriders, who are at the halfway point of the program's 101st season,
welcome in Southern Nazarene to Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field for a Great American Conference matchup and the seventh meeting all-time between the two programs which will also serve as the university's Family Day. Highlighting the unbeaten start for Southern Arkansas is the GAC's second-best scoring offense (36.8 ppg), the league's fourth-best scoring defense (18.8 ppg) and Division II's fourth-best turnover margin (1.80). Redshirt senior quarterback
Barrett Renner holds Top-15 marks nationally in passing yards (1,455), passing yards per game (291.0) and passing touchdowns (13) and ranks ninth in the country in completion percentage (66.9%), while one of his favorite targets in redshirt senior wide receiver
Karonce Higgins ranks sixth nationally in receiving yards (596) and eleventh in DII in receptions per game (7.2). Southern Nazarene brings the nation's fourth-best passing defense to Magnolia as the Crimson Storm are allowing only 123.2 yards through the air per game through the first five weeks of the season. Southern Arkansas counters with a tough defense as well as the Muleriders own the GAC's second-best rushing defense (120.4 ypg) and the fifth-best total defense (340.4). True freshman
Brock Floyd ranks eighth in the country in interceptions per game (0.8), senior
Anthony Washington is 13th in Division II in tackles for loss per game (2.0) and redshirt junior
Malik Preston leads the country in forced fumbles per game (0.8).
SCHEDULE
The Southern Nazarene football team enters play with a 1-4 overall record and a 1-4 mark in the GAC. The lone win so far for the Crimson Storm in 2018 came in Week 2 when SNU topped East Central n Bethany, 45-20: the program's largest margin of victory in its young Division II Era. Southern Nazarene has been shutout twice this season: a 35-0 loss at Southeastern Oklahoma in the season opener and a 42-0 defeat to Harding at home. Additionally, the Crimson Storm have lost three straight games, including back-to-back 24-10 decisions entering Week 6.
THE COACH
The Crimson Storm are coached by Andy Lambert, who is in his third season as head coach of Southern Nazarene. In his first season, Lambert guided the Crimson Storm to a 2-9 record. Last season, the Crimson Storm won four games, including a pair of signature road wins at Harding and at Henderson State. Prior to coming to Bethany, Lambert had won over 100 games across a 19-year coaching career that saw stops at his alma mater, Trinity International, and more-recently a 12-year stint at Sterling College in Sterling, Kans. At Trinity, Lambert was 30-45 and at Sterling, he went 72-51. Overall, Lambert's 20-year coaching record stands at 107-107.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively, the Crimson Storm are averaging league-lows in points per game (13.0) and total offense per game (188.4) with 128.4 of those yards coming on the ground and just 60.0 yards coming through the air. The Crimson Storm rank seventh in rushing offense and 11th in passing offense. Commanding the offense for the Crimson Storm is senior quarterback Jacob Spady. In five games this season, Spady has completed 21-of-61 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Spady is also the team's leading rusher with 271 yards on 64 carries and one touchdown. Gage Porter has scored a team-leading two rushing touchdowns this season. The leading pass catcher for the Crimson Storm in terms of receptions, yards and touchdowns is Reid Roelofs as he has 144 yards receiving and a touchdown.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Crimson Storm are allowing 29.0 points per game and 347.2 yards of total offense per game with 224.0 of those yards coming on the ground and just 123.2 yards coming through the air. The Crimson Storm's scoring defense ranks 6th in the GAC and their total defense also ranks 6th. Their passing defense leads the league, while their rushing defense ranks 11th in the league. On the year, SNU has forced eight turnovers with five being interceptions and the remaining three being fumble recoveries. A total of 15 players have registered double-digit tackles on the season with Myles Roll leading the way with 42 tackles. Six other players have recorded at least 20 stops this season. Roll has also recorded 3.0 tackles for loss, including one sack.
THE SERIES
This will be the seventh meeting all-time between the Muleriders and Crimson Storm in a series that began in 2012 when Southern Nazarene began its transition to the NCAA and became members of the Great American Conference. In the six previous meetings, SAU has come out on top in lopsided decisions as the average margin of victory for the Muleriders in the those games is 33.5 points. This will also be the fourth meeting between the two in Magnolia as SAU took the first three meetings, 47-14 in 2012, 62-7 in 2014 and 37-20 in 2016: an average margin of victory of 35 points.
