MAGNOLIA, Ark. - Southern Arkansas Football travels into Oklahoma for the final time in 2022 as a Week 9 matchup with Oklahoma Baptist awaits in Shawnee on Saturday, October 29. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. The Muleriders are faced with an opportunity to finish above .500 and it starts in the Sooner State as SAU battles the Bison for the seventh time all-time. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

WEEK 9 MATCHUP
>>> The final weekend in October pits a pair of teams hoping to begin the final fourth of the schedule on a high note. Southern Arkansas, which is still positioned to finish above .500, meets Oklahoma Baptist which is looking for its first home win of the season and its first victory since Week 3 against Northwestern Oklahoma State.
>>> In the six previous meetings, the winning team has scored north of 38 points five times and in the previous three matchups the outcome has been decided by ten points or less. 
>>> SAU carries the league's second-best offense in total yards across state lines for the Muleriders' third matchup in Shawnee all-time. Oklahoma Baptist's defense has allowed the second-most rushing yards to opponents this season at just under 260 ypg. 
>>> The Muleriders rate 11th nationally in first downs  with 191 total at just under 24 per game which is the per game average allowed by the Bison defensive effort. 
>>> OBU's passing offense (237.3 ypg) ranks fifth in the GAC, while the unit's 310 attempts through the air are the most in the GAC this season. 
>>> The Muleriders enter Week 9 with the second-highest opponent completion percentage in the GAC at 69.4%.

OF NOTE: SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
>>> The Mulerider offense ranks 13th nationally at 462.5 yards per game which is sparked by a rushing attack that rates 10th in DII at 239.9 yards per game on the ground. SAU is 600 rushing yards from moving into the program's single season top 10.
>>> SAU's aforementioned efforts in producing first downs is made possible by the nation's 13th-highest success rate on third down (.482).
>>> Redshirt sophomore Jariq Scales is 303 rushing yards from becoming the second back in program history to post two 1,000-yard rushing campaigns.
>>> Junior quarterback OB Jones is in the midst of one of the more impressive dual-threat offensive seasons in program history. Jones has done his part in SAU's rushing attack as his 84 carries have resulted in 559 yards and four touchdowns. Through the air, the southpaw has completed 109 passes for 1,385 yards and 13 touchdowns for a QBR of 148.41.
>>> A dozen players have hauled in a pass this season. Junior Dekendrick Bender and sophomore Cole Williams' 23 catches each lead the team, while Bender's 337 yards and three touchdowns are the team-lead. Redshirt junior Kamden Perry matches Bender in TD catches.
>>> Seven Muleriders have recorded 30 or more tackles led by junior linebacker Jacob Berry's 71.0. Grad defender Prince Udenze leads with 6.5 TFL, while redshirt freshman Hunter Hewitt and sophomore Damon LeGrande each have recorded 2.0 sacks as part of SAU's 10.0 as a unit. The SAU defense has logged 35.0 TFL for 144 yards.
>>> Grad placekicker Austin Wilkerson has connected on six of seven FGA and made 31 of his 33 XPA. Redshirt sophomore punter Andrew Schreiner is averaging 35 yards per punt.

OF NOTE: OKLAHOMA BAPTIST
>>> The Bison average 22.6 ppg and are allowing 38.9 ppg.
>>> OBU's offense churns out over 336 yards per game with the passing attack leading the way. The Bison are the lone team in the GAC without 1,000 yards on the ground (99.5 ypg).
>>> Dayton Wolfe has completed 59.8% of his passes this fall behind the fourth-most attempts in the league at 229. 
>>> Due to the high volume of attempts, the talented Keilahn Harris has benefited as he ranks third in the GAC in receiving yards per game at 103.3 behind a league-leading 7.5 receptions per game which ranks seventh in the country. His 60 catches are the most in the GAC.
>>> Harris also averages 21.9 yards per kick returns and his 22 returns are the most in the conference. 
>>> Harris' high usage places him atop the GAC in all-purpose yards (1,373) and all-purpose average (171.6) which ranks fourth in DII.
>>> Elijah Tomlin leads the team in tackles (63) and tackles per game (7.9). Chase Whitebear is one of five GAC players with three INTs.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS
>>> For the first time in six meetings, Oklahoma Baptist got the better of the Muleriders. Southern Arkansas led 24-21 at halftime of the 2021 meeting and carried a 34-24 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Bison scored 20 of the game's final 26 points as an interception and a turnover on downs thwarted the Muleriders on their final two drives of the afternoon.
>>> 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 career long 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.

SAU BY THE NUMBERS
6 - The Division II rank among career active leaders (CAL) of redshirt sophomore running back Jariq Scales' career 114.3 rushing yards per game. The total is 13th across all three NCAA divisions. He also ranks 6th in Division II among CAL in all purpose plays per game at 20.68 which ranks 20th across the NCAA. His 129.47 all purpose yards per game ranks  ninth in DII among CAL and 27th across the NCAA.
15 - The national rank of junior quarterback OB Jones' yards per rush of 6.65. It ranks sixth in the GAC and is third among GAC quarterbacks. Jones also owns a completion percentage that ranks inside the Top 30 nationally at 29th with a success rate of 62.6%. If he finishes above 60% passing for the season, Jones becomes the fourth Mulerider quarterback in the NCAA Era to complete at least 60% of his passes in a single season. 
29 - Junior linebacker Jacob Berry leads the team in tackles with 71.0 which is tied for the GAC lead with Southern Nazarene's Elijah Calhoun. Berry could become the first Mulerider with 100 tackles in a season since all-region linebacker Keenan Washington's 120.0 in 2004. The first-year Mulerider has recorded three games with ten-plus tackles this season as has registered four or more solo tackles in five games.
47 - If Southern Arkansas can win out, the Muleriders would finish at 6-5 marking the 47th season since 1946 (post WWII) that an SAU squad finished .500 or better. It would be the eighth season of at least six GAC wins in the Muleriders' 11 playing seasons in the conference. 
191 - The number of first downs racked up by the Muleriders this season. It is the third most in the GAC and 11th highest total in the country. Southern Arkansas has recorded 98 first downs on the ground, 72 have come through the air and 21 were acquired via penalty. The success has been a byproduct of SAU's ability to convert third downs. The Muleriders rank 13th nationally in third down conversion percentage at 48.2 which is the fourth-highest rate in the GAC.
328 - The number of rushing yards needed by redshirt sophomore running back Jariq Scales to reach 2,500 for his career which would make him just the sixth back in program history to accomplish the feat. The Osceola native is currently tenth on the all-time list with 2,172 career rushing yards. If Scales was to record his 11th career game with 100+ rushing yards on Saturday, he would slide into seventh on the career rushing list.

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 defensive 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...WEEK 8>>> SAU pulled to within 11 points of the Ouachita lead entering the fourth quarter of play, but the Tigers, led by TJ Cole, finished strong with three touchdowns from the back in the final 15 minutes to win handily in El Dorado...