Ada, Okla. - Week 8 of the 2019 NCAA Division II Football season is underway and the schedule sends (RV) Southern Arkansas back to the Sooner State for the final time in 2019 as a Great American Conference tilt with East Central awaits on Saturday with a 3 p.m. kickoff from Norris Field at Koi Ishto Stadium in Ada. The Muleriders (6-1, 6-1 GAC) and the Tigers (1-6, 1-6 GAC) tangle for the 21^st time in a series that began back in 1953 with SAU winning 25-13 in Magnolia. Southern Arkansas holds a 13-7 lead in the series and has won four-straight games and six of eight games since 2011; when both programs became charter members of the Great American Conference. Both Tiger wins since that time came in Ada: a 49-6 ECU win in 2011 in the first game between the two teams since 1998 and a 47-40 victory over SAU in 2014. Overall in games played in Ada, the Muleriders hold a slim 5-4 edge in the series.
 
Southern Arkansas enters having won four straight games and the 6-1 start to the season matches that of last year's historical campaign that saw the Muleriders start 8-1. East Central owns a 1-6 record, but three of those losses have been one-possession defeats. Saturday's affair will be Chickasaw Appreciation Day on campus.
 
Overall, it will be the 24^th time a Bill Keopple-led Mulerider team will compete in Oklahoma. Southern Arkansas is currently 16-7 on the road against opponents from the Sooner State.
 
The Muleriders are currently tied for second in the Great American Conference with Harding and Henderson State who are also 6-1. The trio trails Natural State foe Ouachita who sits atop the standings unbeaten at 8-0.
 
With his 63^rd win last weekend, head coach Bill Keopple is currently tied with legendary head coach Auburn Smith for most wins in program history. A win on Saturday puts him at the top by himself.
 
MULERIDER OFFENSE
The Muleriders, through seven games in 2019, are averaging 32.9 points per game; the second-best scoring mark in the GAC. In all six wins this season, the Muleriders have reached the 30-point mark and they have eclipsed the 40-point mark in their last three games. The offense's 411.9 yards per game ranks third and is tallied behind the league's fourth-best rushing offense at 216.1 yards per game; the 25th-best rushing offense in Division II. Through the air, the Muleriders are passing for 195.7 yards per game.
 
Nationally, Southern Arkansas has been highly efficient in the redzone this season as they have converted 26 of their 27 red zone chances. The only time they haven't converted was late in the win over Southeastern Oklahoma when they took a knee. Up front, the Mulerider offensive line has allowed just .57 sacks per game; the 6th-best mark in the country.
 
Individually, redshirt freshman Kor'Davion Washington continues his climb up the league's rushing charts and currently ranks third in rushing yards per game at 89.1; the 37th-highest total in Division II this season. His 6.47 yards per carry is currently the 20th-highest per carry average in the country.
 
Washington ranks sixth in the league in all-purpose yards per game at 102.3, while senior SirCharles Perkins ranks seventh in the GAC in all-purpose yards averaging 94.3 per game.
 
Junior quarterback Hayden Mallory's 181.3 passing yards per game ranks fifth in the GAC, while his 169.4 pass efficiency rating ranks second. In his last three games, Mallory has had more touchdowns (9) than incompletions and enters the weekend as the reigning GAC Offensive Player of the Week.
 
The top target through seven weeks for the Mulerider passing attack has been redshirt senior Jared Lancaster who has caught 18 passes for 336 yards and five touchdowns. Fifteen players have caught a pass for the Muleriders this fall.
 
Additional scoring for Southern Arkansas has come from the leg of sophomore place kicker Austin Wilkerson. He leads the conference with 8.0 points per game via kick, which is the third-most of any player.
 
MULERIDER DEFENSE
Defensively, Mulerider opponents are averaging 17.3 points per game which gives SAU the fourth-best scoring defense in the league and over a +15 scoring margin. In terms of total defense, Southern Arkansas ranks second in the GAC at 280.4 yards per game which stands due to a rushing (117.1 | 2nd) and passing (163.3 | 5th) defense that both rank in the top five in the GAC.
 
The Mulerider pass defense ranks 24th in the country in yards allowed through the air per game. Additionally, SAU has allowed the second-fewest opponent first downs in the league at 15.7 per game.
 
Individually, nine players have recorded twenty or more tackles with five players having at least 30 stops this season. Redshirt junior Antonio Washington leads the team with 35 total tackles, redshirt senior Stacy Lawrence follows with 34 and sophomore Brock Floyd has recorded 33 as has redshirt senior Malik Preston. Washington is second in the Great American Conference in tackles for loss with 9 totaling 38 yards. He has also recorded three sacks, three pass breakups and seven quarterback hurries.
 
Seven players have picked off eight passes for SAU this season led by senior Lorenzo Watkins' two. Junior La'Vonte White returned his 37 yards. White and Watkins lead the team in passes defended with four.
 
EAST CENTRAL
 
Running back Ontario Douglas ranks in the top five in NCAA Division II in rushing touchdowns (2nd), total touchdowns (3rd), scoring (4th) and total points (4th). Douglas is also in the top 20 nationally in rushing yards (8th), rushing yards per game (9th), and all-purpose yards (18th).
 
JuWan Walker has blocked two kicks on the season.
 
The Tigers are ranked in the top 20 nationally in blocked punts (3rd), completion percentage (19th) and 4th down-conversion percentage (19th).