MAGNOLIA, Ark. - The final road swing of the regular season is underway for (RV) Southern Arkansas as Week 10 sends second-year head coach Brad Smiley's Muleriders to Alva, Oklahoma for a matchup with Northwestern Oklahoma State. SAU heads out of state hunting an eighth win and is looking for its fifth-straight victory against the Rangers. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

LAST WEEK
Junior defensive back Melvin Smith Jr. matched the NCAA record with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter, fellow backend defender redshirt sophomore Zay Woods picked off a pair of passes and the Muleriders rode a first-half shutout and 304 return yards to a 31-point league victory over Southwestern Oklahoma. Smith picked off a Dexter Brown pass along the southeast side of the endzone and zipped down the opposing sideline with just under three minutes remaining before the final quarter of action to give SAU a 24-3 lead. That was one of three explosive interception returns for SAU in the win as Woods intercepted two other SWOSU passers to set a program record for interception return yards in a single game with 124. Woods picked off a Bulldog pass in the endzone after immense pressure from rush end Dawson Scott and returned it 72 yards just past the midway point of the second quarter. His second interception came with just under 11 minutes remaining and was returned 52 yards into the SAU redzone to set up an OB Jones-to-Cole Williams 13-yard touchdown pass on the very next play which pushed the Mulerider lead to three possessions. With the success had by the Mulerider secondary, the front seven was just as busy. Sophomore Brenton Hamilton enjoyed a career day as he finished with four tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry to highlight a dominant effort in the defensive trench. SAU totaled 10.0 tackles for loss, including five sacks. Taurean Crawford registered a quarterback hurry, forced a fumble and recorded a sack. Scott picked up a sack to run his season total to a team-leading six. Sophomore Carter Renfro and freshman Jaylon Hall-Wright recovered the fumbles, while three linebackers Trevon Stacker, Gavin Roe and Jacob Berry all recorded five stops. Hosea Singleton led SAU in tackles for the second week in a row as he delivered seven. In all, SAU defended eight passes in addition to four hurries and held its fifth opponent this season to under 300 yards of total offense.

WHO'S GONNA RIDE
>>> Southern Arkansas makes its longest trip of the season as Week 10 sends the Muleriders into the Sooner State one final time in 2023. 
>>> A win over NWOSU would give SAU the program's 19th season with at least eight victories and its first since a 8-4 campaign in 2019. 
>>> SAU carries a 22-10 record in the state of Oklahoma in its 11 seasons of GAC play and is 3-2 under second-year head coach Brad Smiley. Overall, the Muleriders own a record of 41-21-3 in the Sooner State dating back to its first trip matchup in Oklahoma in 1946. 
>>> The Muleriders and the Rangers meet for the 13th time with SAU holding a 10-2 advantage in the series. NWOSU is one of just current Oklahoma GAC foes that was on the Muleriders' schedule during their 1997 championship season. 
>>> SAU has won four straight against the Rangers averaging just over 40 points per game in each win. NWOSU's last win against the Muleriders came in Alva with the Rangers knocking off SAU 38-16 in 2017. Prior to that defeat, the Muleriders had won five straight against Northwestern Oklahoma.
>>> It will be the first November meeting between the two programs with the previous late meeting coming on October 18, 1997 in Magnolia. The latest the two teams played in Alva before Saturday was October 12, 2019.
>>> The trek to Alva is SAU's longest every other season. In comparison, it's only 258 more miles for the Muleriders to make trips to and from the other five Arkansas schools than to make a trip to and from Alva. 

NOTABLES: (RV) SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
>>> The Muleriders will carry a potent, chain-moving offense highlighted by one of the nation's top ground games and a top 30 scoring offense nationally to Alva.
>>> SAU is averaging 35.3 points per game and owns a +11 scoring margin.
>>> Southern Arkansas' total offense per game of 450.6 yards ranks second in the GAC and 14th in Division II.
>>> Senior quarterback OB Jones is 154 yards away from becoming the first quarterback to hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark, while junior running back Jariq Scales is 254 rushing yards from making him and Jones the only 1,000-yard rushing duo in the program's NCAA Era. 
>>> Juniors Matthew Whitten (19 for 289, 3 TDs) and Cole Williams (27 for 246, 1 TD) are the top pass catchers, while Jakarion Lockett matches Whitten in catches with 19. 
>>> Senior linebacker Jacob Berry leads the team with 51.0 total tackles, while three other Mulerider defenders follow with 40.0 or more. 
>>> SAU has recorded 60.0 tackles for loss this season totaling 271 yards behind the efforts of a dozen Muleriders with the leader being junior Dawson Scott's 9.5 and sophomore Hunter Hewitt's 7.5. Scott leads with 6.0 sacks and five QBH.
>>> Junior defensive back Melvin Smith Jr. ranks eighth nationally in passes defended per game at 1.8. That mark leads the GAC. 
>>> Andrew Schreiner is averaging just under 40 yards per punt with four punts of 50+ this season and eight downed inside the 20. 
>>> In his first season of action, Hayden Nitz has made 6-of-9 field goals and is 3-of-4 from 40+. 

SAU BY THE NUMBERS
272.8- SAU's average rushing yards per game entering Week 10 which ranks fifth nationally and is the third-best in the GAC. The average is currently the best ground game attack by the Muleriders since the 2005 season when that year's team averaged 296.4 yards rushing over 11 games. The Muleriders have totaled 2,457 yards rushing along with 1,598 yards passing. Only one team in the program's NCAA Era has ever rushed for 2,500 and thrown for 2,000 in a single season: Brad Smiley's 2022 Muleriders.
5- The number of players in program history that have scored 14 or more touchdowns in a single season. Senior quarterback OB Jones has accounted for 14 touchdowns on the ground this fall and is just three non-passing touchdowns back of tying All-American Don Hawkins' single-season touchdowns record of 17 set in 1977. Jones is currently second on the single-season rushing touchdowns list behind Hawkins. His 28 career rushing touchdowns are currently third all-time. 
2- The number of 100 yard returns in program history. Junior defensive back Melvin Smith Jr. matched the NCAA record in Week 9 as he went the length of the field for an interception return touchdown late in the third quarter. It was the longest such return by a Mulerider defender and marked just the second 100-yard touchdown return in program history. On October 18, 2003 against #13 Delta State, future All-American Jordan Babineaux returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to match the NCAA and GSC records and then added a 96-yard kickoff return touchdown to tie the GSC and NCAA DII record for kickoff return TDs in a single game.

NOTABLES: NORTHWESTERN OKLAHOMA
>>> The Rangers head into Week 10 averaging 9.0 points per game, while allowing opponents to score at an average of 47.2 ppg.
>>> NWOSU is averaging 225.7 yards per game behind 129.3 yards through the air and 96.3 yards on the ground. 
>>> Two quarterbacks have attempted 80+ passes for the Rangers this season. Caleb Deal is 55-for-111 for 409 yards with two touchdowns and nine interceptions. Ethan Everson is 48-for-84 for 448 yards and two touchdowns with three interceptions.
>>> Travis Romar and Torrence Stevens each have a pair of TD catches and have combined for 64 receptions for 637 yards with each having hauled in a catch of 75+ yards this season.
>>> Jashaun Foster is the top ground gainer for NWOSU with 74 carries for 313 yards and two touchdowns. 
>>> The Rangers' offensive line ranks third in the GAC in sacks allowed at just 1.33 per game which ranks 35th nationally.
>>> Three Rangers defenders have recorded 50 or more tackles this season. Antoine Martin leads with 59.0 stops with Carvelle Jamison (53.0) and Braden Waters (52.0) following. 
>>> Chima Ozz leads with 6.0 TFL and Martin's two sacks are a team-best. Ozz has forced a team-high two fumbles and Martin leads with three recoveries. 
>>> Isaiah Kellum is responsible for one of the three interceptions forced by the Rangers this season and he leads with six pass breakups. 
>>> NWOSU has punted 59 times this season and made two of its five FGA. 

MOST RECENT MATCHUP (9-1-22)
Behind 600+ yards of total offense, Southern Arkansas bucked Northwestern Oklahoma State 62-31 in Brad Smiley's Mulerider head coaching debut which saw kickoff pushed back 45 minutes due to lightning in the area. The Muleriders' (1-0, 1-0 GAC) scoring output is a single-game program record for points scored in a season opener and it marked the most points in any game since November 15, 2014 when SAU beat Arkansas-Monticello 66-42 in the regular season finale. SAU won its tenth straight home opener and earned its sixth straight season-opening win over an Oklahoma school. Junior quarterback OB Jones finished 10-of-16 for 216 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed seven times for 86 yards as four players finished with at least 70 yards on the ground. Scales totaled 89 yards rushing with two scores on 14 carries. Lewis and Roach both finished with 70+ rushing yards. Williams caught a team-high four passes for 49 yards and a score. Small's 96 yards came on three catches with two touchdowns. Bender snagged a pair of passes and four other Muleriders got in on the pass-catching act. Seven of SAU's nine scoring drives took less than 2:40 and five found six in under two minutes. The SAU defense forced six punts, three three-and-outs, and a pair of turnover on downs, while holding the Rangers to a 4-for-13 success rate on third down.

SERIES' MEMORABLE MOMENTS
SOMETHING TO SMILE ABOUT The Muleriders treated first-year head coach Brad Smiley to a program record for points scored in a season opener with 62 KEOPPLE MATCHES RIP Southern Arkansas used 335 ground yards on 63 rushes and held the football for over 46 minutes en route to a 40-7 win over NWOSU in Alva during Week 6 of the 2019 season. The victory tied then-head coach Bill Keopple with Rip Powell for most wins in school history with 62 NATIONALLY-RANKED MULERIDERS REMAIN UNBEATEN True freshman Brock Floyd picked off a Ranger pass late in the fourth quarter, while senior Lorenzo Alexander rushed for a forty-yard touchdown on ensuing play as SAU closed the door on a NWOSU comeback attempt to improve to 4-0 behind a 27-14 Great American Conference victory SIX FOR SI Senior quarterback Si Blackshire set a new SAU Football single-game record for touchdowns thrown in a game as he tossed six in SAU's 62-21 blowout win over NWOSU JOHNSON MAKES HISTORY Senior running back Mark Johnson rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns to become the program's new scoring and touchdown leader BIG BREAK BEFORE THE HOMECOMING HALFTIME In the final seventy seconds of the first half in Southern Arkansas' 20-14 homecoming win over the Rangers in 1997, the Muleriders scored on the ground with 1:09 remaining to break a 7-7 tie, before capitalizing on a Ranger turnover on the ensuing possession by adding six points through the air to take a 20-7 lead and the momentum into the halftime break of an eventual 20-14 win.