MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Week 9 of the NCAA Division II college football season rolls in while the calendar is soon set to move on from the month of October. Southern Arkansas looks to add another win to the ledger before welcoming in the month of November and first-year head coach Mike McCarty's squad will have that chance on Saturday afternoon as Oklahoma Baptist comes to town for a 2 p.m. kickoff from Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

>>> Three games remain on the regular season slate for Southern Arkansas and two of those will be contested at home inside Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field. The Muleriders have enjoyed quite the success at home inside Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field.

>>> Since 2012, Southern Arkansas owns a 34-6 record at home, including four unbeaten seasons and what once was the nation's longest home winning streak that stretched to 17 games from October 10, 2015 to September 15, 2019. Additionally, the Muleriders are 24-1 against Oklahoma schools in their last 25 meetings at home.

>>> Southern Arkansas enters Week 9 of the season with an offense that is scoring over 26 points per game and averaging just over 376 total yards. Defensively, SAU is allowing just under 35 points per game, has forced 13 turnovers and leads the league, while ranking 34th nationally, in sacks per game at 2.75.

>>> The Mulerider front seven will have an opportunity to get after the quarterback on Saturday as Oklahoma Baptist comes to Magnolia with the country's 19th-best passing offense which averages 297.8 yards through the air per game. The unit's 212 first downs rank third and its 52.2% third down rate ranks ninth in Division II. The Bison average nearly 37 ppg which ranks 22nd in Division II which is also where the unit ranks in total offense at 443.5 yards per game.

>>> On the defensive side of the football for OBU, the Bison allow 390.2 yards per contest and over 31 ppg. The rushing defense surrenders over 145 yards per game, while opponents are managing over 240 yards through the air.

>>> Senior quarterback Hayden Mallory ranks in the top half of the GAC in every major passing category. His 16 passing touchdowns and over 1,830 passing yards both land in the top 40 nationally.

>>> Redshirt freshman running back Jariq Scales' 974 yards rushing ranks 6th in DII second in the GAC. His 121.8 yards per game also ranks second and is the 9th-highest average in the country. Scales also owns a top-15 mark in yards per carry at 6.54.

>>> Redshirt junior Micah Small has hauled in 43 passes for 712 yards and eight touchdowns and is averaging 89.0 receiving yards per game. He ranks in the top 25 in DII in receiving touchdowns, receiving yards, and receiving yards per game. Fifteen different players have caught a pass this fall with a third of those finding the endzone.

>>> Junior placekicker Austin Wilkerson has connected on 90.9% of his field goal attempts this season missing one in 11 tries. He is 19-for-21 on extra-point attempts and is leads the team lead in scoring with 49 points.

>>> Junior safety Brock Floyd is the lone Muleriders with 60+ tackles so far this season. His 63 stops are highlighted by a team-best 38 solo tackles. Floyd, along with freshman Rayvon Ingram each have two interceptions, while the unit has eight total. Ingram follows with 55 stops.

>>> As a team, SAU has recorded 22 sacks totaling 133 yards. Eight different players have gotten to the quarterback with freshman David Walker (5.0) and senior Demoni Boyd (4.5) leading the charge.

SAU BY THE NUMBERS
358 - The total number of points scored in the short series history between SAU and OBU. An average of 71.6 points have been scored per game with the Muleriders averaging 46.2 ppg in the first five meetings.
288 - The number of receiving yards needed by redshirt junior wide receiver Micah Small to become just the third different player to record a 1,000-yard receiving campaign. He is two TD catches away from becoming only the third Mulerider with double digit receiving TDs in a single season.
126 - The number of rushing yards needed by redshirt freshman running back Jariq Scales to become only the seventh player in program history to eclipse the 1,100-rushing yard mark in a single season and the first to do it since Michael Nunnery totaled 1,110 yards in 2016.
14 - The jersey number of redshirt junior place kicker Austin Wilkerson who for his career is 33-of-43 in field goals and 102-of-106 in extra-point attempts. His 33 career FGs rank second all-time in program history and his 102 XPs are currently third; four back of second. He is seven FGs back of tying the all-time career mark.

MEMORABLE MATCHUPS
>>> It marks the sixth meeting all-time between the Muleriders and Bison. SAU is 5-0 against Oklahoma Baptist, but none of the first three meetings were near as close and memorable as the most recent two. In the 2019 matchup, Southern Arkansas traveled 56 yards in a mere 28 seconds to set the stage for a career-long attempt from sophomore place kicker Austin Wilkerson who rewarded the Mulerider faithful by sneaking in a 48-yard field goal attempt into a slight south wind as time expired to give the Muleriders a thrilling 30-28 victory over the Bison. The win pushed SAU's Division II-best home winning streak to 17 games and it was also the 200th win all time inside Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field.
>>> In the 2018 game, dubbed the "Shootout in Shawnee," Southern Arkansas outlasted Oklahoma Baptist 55-45 in a game that saw a combined 1,165 yards of total offense and two different Muleriders find the endzone three times.