MAGNOLIA, Ark. - First-year Southern Arkansas head coach Brad Smiley and his Muleriders head east into El Dorado for the eighth consecutive season and 11th time overall as the program's biggest task this season awaits in Union County. #4/3 Ouachita and Southern Arkansas collide in Memorial Stadium for the fourth time since 2015 in the 13th playing of the Murphy USA Classic. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.

WEEK 8 MATCHUP
>>> Southern Arkansas is set for action in the Murphy USA Classic for the 11th time overall with Saturday's appearance marking the eighth consecutive year that the Muleriders have made the familiar 38-mile jaunt east across county lines. The Muleriders played in the inaugural game in 2009 when it was simply known as the Boomtown Classic and previously made appearances in 2010 and 2012 before playing in the classic in each of the last seven years that it has been contested.
>>>It will be the fourth matchup against Ouachita in El Dorado and the Tigers will be the highest ranked team to compete in the MUSAC.
>>>Ouachita enters in the driver's seat in the GAC; two games up on a trio of teams that sit at 5-2 coming into Week 8 play.
>>>The Muleriders are in a four-way tie for sixth place with Arkansas Tech (W, 49-33), Southwestern Oklahoma (L, 20-24) and Arkansas-Monticello (Nov. 12 at UAM).
>>>Fans will be treated to two of the top rushing offenses in the country as Ouachita ranks 2nd and the Muleriders rate 10th.
>>>Since 2012, the teams have combined to average 63 ppg with a trio of consecutive matchups from 2015 to 2017 decided on the final possession. Ouachita has won handily in the previous three meetings.

OF NOTE: SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
>>>Offensively, the Muleriders are averaging 32.7 ppg and the unit's 459.7 yards per game ranks 14th nationally and second in the GAC.
>>>That yards per game output is highlighted by a rushing attack that produces nearly 240 yards per game on the ground. Five players have recorded over 145 yards rushing.
>>>Offensive successes have been possible through the Muleriders' efforts to stay on the yard on third down. SAU's 49.5% conversion rate on third down ranks second in the GAC and 12th nationally. The team's 166 first downs rank 13th in DII.
>>>Redshirt sophomore Jariq Scales' 89.4 ypg on the ground, nine rushing touch-downs and 22 receptions all lead the team, while his 215 receiving yards ranks third.
>>>Junior quarterback OB Jones follows with 67.5 rushing yards per game and his efficiency rating of 149.2 is the second-best among GAC QBs and ranks 25th in DII. He has completed 95 of his 148 passes for 1,186 yards and 11 touchdowns.
>>>Junior Dekendrick Bender has recorded 20 grabs for a team-high 312 yards. He is 294 yards away from 1,000 receiving for his career. Redshirt junior Kamden Perry has recorded 16 catches for 234 yards. >>>SAU owns a scoring defense of 31.1 ppg and a total defense of 449.3.
>>>Junior Jacob Berry leads the SAU defense with 60 total tackles (25S, 35A) and redshirt junior Del Kristoffer Wade follows with 41 (23S, 18A). Seven other Muleriders have registered at least 21 stops.
>>>Grad Prince Udenze paces the front seven with 5.5 tackles for loss and redshirt freshman Hunter Hewitt, sophomore D'Verryon Foster and redshirt sophomore Tre'Von Letts all follow with three. SAU has recorded 33 TFL this season. Hewitt and sophomore Damon LeGrande each have recorded 2.0 sacks.
>>> The Muleriders rank 3rd nationally in punt return defense at -0.17 yards per return. Opponents have mustered just a single return yard in just six return opportunities.

OF NOTE: OUACHITA
>>>Ouachita enters Week 8 holding the highest national ranking in the history of its program as the Tigers are nestled in the top 5 in all three major polls with a No. 4 ranking in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) DII Top 25.
>>>The Tigers have won 38 of their past 40 Great American Conference games and enter on an eight-game winning streak. OUA is one of 13 unbeaten teams in DII.
>>>Ouachita carries a well-rounded attack in all three phases of the game to El Dorado. OUA has topped the 40-point mark in six of its seven games this season and has allowed no more than two scores in five of those contests.
>>>The Tigers' scoring offense of 46.1 ppg ranks second in DII. Its scoring defense of 13.9 ppg rates 13th nationally.
>>>Ouachita churns out over 520 yards per game which stands as the second-best offense in the country, while its defense allows 335.7 yards per game.
>>>The Tigers' offensive numbers are highlighted by a rushing attack that ranks second in DII at 349.4 ypg. Despite only throwing to the tune of 170.9 ypg, OUA is efficient in the passing game leading the country in team passing efficiency at 217.4, ranking 3rd in DII in completion percentage (70.8%) and 4th in passing yards per completion (17.59).
>>>Ouachita contends with two of the top running backs in the country in TJ Cole and Kendel Givens. Cole ranks second nationally in yards per carry (9.1) and Givens is fourth (8.3). Both players have scored a dozen times on the ground and the duo has combined for nearly 1,800 yards rushing this fall. They rank in national top 10 together in three statistical categories and in the top two in two more.
>>>Jax Miller leads the team in tackles with 54, Josiah Johnson follows with 44 and Terrell Gibson adds 34. Johnson and Anthony Freeman each have two sacks and Freeman leads the team in TFL with 4.5.
>>>The Tigers' net punting of 41.33 leads the GAC and is fourth in DII

MEMORABLE MOMENTS
>>>>>> The Tigers and the Muleriders have met every season since 2000 and with the exception of a three-year stint from 1997-1999, the two longtime Arkansas foes have combated on the gridiron every year since the 1959 campaign. Since that 2000 meeting ended the three-year hiatus, the series sits at 11-10 in favor of Ouachita who has won the last five and six of the past seven. SAU is looking for its first win over the Tigers since a 32-28 win in El Dorado in 2015.
>>>The 2017 matchup, the second between the two teams in El Dorado, went down to the wire. Redshirt junior quarterback Barrett Renner connect-ed with seven different receivers en route to tossing for a program-record 533 yards and five touchdowns, but the Tigers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 33 seconds to play in the ninth-playing of the Murphy USA Classic. Renner's 37 completions are a program record.
>>> Two of the longest games in SAU's program history have been played against the Tigers and both have come since 2002. The Muleriders knocked off Ouachita 50-47 in four overtimes in the 2002 meeting in Arkadelphia, while the Tigers topped SAU 40-37 in four overtimes in the series' 2016 matchup in Arkadelphia.
>>>Three historic teams are celebrating championship anniversaries this season, but only one matched up with the Tigers. Raymond "Rip" Powell's 1972 Muleriders won the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference title with
an 8-2 record which included a 35-14 win over the Tigers on October 28 in Arkadelphia. It was the first SSC win on the road at Ouachita since the 1964 campaign. All-purpose yardage savant Cornell Williams and SAU
Sports Hall of Famer Cleo House each scored twice and Roy McLemore put the finishing touches on the 28-point second half effort as the Muleriders rallied from a 14-7 deficit at the half.

SAU BY THE NUMBERS
5- The number of top 15 national rankings held by the Mulerider offense entering Week 8. Southern Arkansas' 459.7 yards per game ranks 14th nationally and second in the GAC behind only its Week 8 opponent. Highlighting that output is a rushing attack that rates 10th in DII at 239.4 yards per game. The protection has been solid as well as the offensive line ranks 15th in sacks allowed. SAU has accumulated 166 first downs, the third most in the GAC and 13th most in the country, while its third down conversion of nearly 50% ranks 12th nationally.
11- The number of appearances, including Saturday's matchup with Ouachita, by the Muleriders in the Murphy USA Classic. SAU is 4-6 overall in the neutral site affair and most recently recorded a 17-point win over Arkansas Tech in the 2021 game. In its previous ten appearances, the Muleriders are averaging 30.3 points per game. Every Arkansas school in the GAC has appeared at least once in the MUSAC. On only two occasions has the game been played without Mulerider representation: the 2011 matchup that saw Ouachita beat Arkansas-Monticello 38-20 and the 2013 game that resulted in a 45-14 Henderson State win over Arkansas Tech; the largest margin of victory in the classic's history.
36- The number of total touchdowns combined by three of the top running backs in the country. Ouachita's Kendel Givens leads the GAC in total touchdowns with 13, teammate TJ Cole follows with 12 and SAU's Jariq Scales has added 11. All three totals rank in the top 10 in the country, while all players' total points scored are inside the top 11 in Division II. All three scoring averages are within the top 13 marks nationally. The trio, along with SAU QB OB Jones, has combined for 2,878 yards rushing.
50- The number of rushing yards needed by redshirt sophomore running back Jariq Scales to move into the program's top 10 all-time. Scales topped the 2K rushing mark in Week 7 and became the first back to reach the career mark since Michael Nunnery in 2017. Scales' journey to 2K includes ten games of 100 or more rushing yards with two games north of the 200 mark, including 245, the second-most in a single game in program history, in last year's win over Arkansas Tech at the Murphy USA Classic. The Osceola native has rushed for at least 50 yards in 15 of his 18 career games.

SCHEDULE QUICK HITS
WEEK 1 >>> SAU opened a new era under Smiley by setting a single-game program record for points scored in a season opener. The Muleriders improved to 8-3 in season openers as a GAC member, has won four straight season openers and is unbeaten in its last ten home openers...WEEK 2 >>> The Muleriders slipped up on the road in Weatherford. Winds gusting upwards to 35 mph and drizzling rain made it a difficult night in the southwest corner of the Sooner State in what was the first road test of the season...WEEK 3 >>> SAU went toe-to-toe with the nationally-ranked Bisons for a half. Harding used a ten-play, 75-yard scoring drive on its first possession of the third quarter and the lead would expand from there. Grad placekicker Austin Wilkerson's 36-yard field goal on SAU's final offensive drive of the first half tied him for the most
FGs in program history with 40...WEEK 4 >>> SAU tossed for 308 yards and three touchdowns, had two more drives end with interceptions inside the ten and connected with ten different receivers as redshirt sophomore Jariq Scales led with career-highs in receptions (7) and receiving yards (84). The Muleriders won on third down converting eight of its 13 opportunities, while holding the #24-ranked Reddies to just 3-for-10 on third downs. A muffed punt that extended the go-ahead drive for SAU and a stiff defen-sive stand on an HSU fourth down late served as the difference...WEEK 5 >>> Scales totaled 195 all-purpose yards on 26 touches, junior linebacker Jacob Berry recorded 15 total tackles and grad placekicker Austin Wilkerson became the program's all-time leader in field goals made, but East Central utilized several big plays and took advantage of a handful of Mulerider turnovers to earn its first win in Magnolia since 1996...WEEK 6 >>> SAU trailed by just a touchdown at the half, but fell behind 28-7 entering the fourth quarter of play in Durant. All but out, the Muleriders engineered a late rally that included three scoring drives under the final three minutes of play, but came up just short to the Savage Storm...WEEK 7>>> Wilkerson became the program's all-time leading scorer with his seventh extra point of the afternoon, Scales became just the 11th Mulerider to record 2,000 career rushing yards and SAU rushed past Arkansas Tech and several patches of unruly weather to top the Wonder Boys 49-33 in the 85th meeting between the two programs...