MAGNOLIA, Ark. - It may just be the third week of the Division II Football season, but Saturday night in Arkadelphia has the makings of a late season clash. Southern Arkansas (2-0, 2-0 GAC) travels to Clark County to take on Great American Conference preseason favorite #5/9 Ouachita (2-0, 2-0 GAC). Kickoff from inside Cliff Harris Stadium is set for 6 p.m. Live coverage links are available at www.MuleriderAthletics.com. 

LAST WEEK
For three quarters on Thursday night in Ada, things just weren't going Southern Arkansas' way. However, as the scorching kickoff temperature (100+) slowly began to fade, the action on the field heated up tremendously. The Muleriders erased a 17-0 halftime deficit, used two touchdowns in the final seventy-five seconds of regulation which were sandwiched between a recovered onside kick, forced overtime and never flinched en route to a 24-17 win in the extra action. Southern Arkansas' defense allowed just 82 yards of total offense and forced three punts as well as a missed FGA by the Tigers in the second half and overtime period combined. The Muleriders forced a three-and-out with 2:06 remaining in the fourth quarter to give its offense an opportunity it would capitalize on. A 38-yard reception by Kendall Williams brought SAU to within a touchdown of the lead. Andrew Schreiner and the onside kick squad recovered the attempt with just over 60 seconds to play and then OB Jones engineered consecutive scoring drives (end or regulation and opening OT) before the Muleriders turned away ECU on fourth down up seven. The victory gave SAU its seventh 2-0 start in a dozen Great American Conference seasons. The overtime win is the first for Southern Arkansas as a GAC member and its first since a 30-27 homecoming triumph over West Alabama on October 30, 2010. Additionally, the 17-point halftime deficit is the largest such deficit overcome by the Muleriders in the program's NCAA Era with the previous best standing at 15 points in a 29-24 come-from-behind win against West Georgia on Family Day 1999 (Sept. 25).

WEEK 3 MATCHUP
>>> A battle of early-season unbeatens, two of the remaining 48 Division II teams still perfect, convene in Clark Country on Saturday night as Brad Smiley's Muleriders (2-0, 2-0 GAC) and Todd Knight's #5/9 Tigers (2-0, 2-0 GAC) matchup inside Cliff Harris Stadium for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
>>>D2Football.com has the Week 3 matchup as one of the outlet's five games to watch across the Division on Saturday.
>>> It's the first primetime kickoff on the east campus of Arkansas HWY 7 since 2005 when the two sides clashed in a 7:05 p.m. meeting in the Gulf South Conference's Game of the Week on September 22.
>>> For the 83rd time in a series that began in 1912, the two programs square up on the gridiron. 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 every year since the 1959 campaign. Ouachita leads the all-time series 43-37-2 and has come out on top in the previous six matchups with Southern Arkansas last beating the Tigers in 2015 at the Murphy USA Classic in El Dorado. The Muleriders last won in Arkadelphia in 2012 and are 13-26 all-time on the road against the Tigers. SAU is 3-8 against OUA since 2011 with just one matchup in Magnolia during that time. 
>>> The September 16 matchup marks the earliest that the two teams will play each other and only the 14th meeting all-time in the ninth month of the year.
>>> SAU meets a ranked Ouachita squad for the fifth consecutive season and for the fourth time during that span the Tigers are ranked inside the nation's top five. 
>>> Since becoming a charter member of the Great American Conference in 2011, the Muleriders are 8-17 on the road against Natural State foes with two of those eight victories coming in Smiley's first year.
>>> The Muleriders eye a 3-0 start for the first time since 2018 when that year's squad jumped out to a 6-0 mark.
>>> Since 2012, the teams have combined to average 68 ppg with a trio of consecutive matchups from 2015 to 2017 decided on the final possession. Ouachita has won by multiple possessions in the previous four meetings averaging 44.5 ppg.

NOTABLES: SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
>>> The Muleriders are averaging 29.0 ppg, while allowing just 18.0 ppg. 
>>> Senior quarterback OB Jones leads the Muleriders on the ground and through the air as he is responsible for all seven touchdowns this season. 
>>> Junior running back Jariq Scales is averaging a team-best 5.5 yards per carry along with 76.5 yards rushing per game.
>>> Jones and Scales rank second and third in the GAC in rushing ypg.
>>> Junior wide receiver Cole Williams leads with a dozen catches for 119 yards. Six players have recorded at least three catches this season with DJ Wagoner and Kendall Williams accounting for the touchdown grabs.
>>> Redshirt freshman place kicker Hayden Nitz has been perfect on PATs (7-for-7) and is 3-for-4 on FGAs. 
>>> Seven Muleriders have recorded at least a half sack, a dozen have registered at least a half tackle for loss and six have a QBH on their state ledger through two games.
>>> Southern Arkansas' pass defense rates third in the GAC in passing efficiency defense at 101.96 and is allowing fewer than 190 yards through the air.
>>> Johnny Woods leads the GAC in punt return average at 12.67.

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS BY THE NUMBERS
258.5 - The average yards per game allowed by the Mulerider defense through eight quarters and a single overtime drive. The effort ranks second in the Great American Conference behind Week 3 opponent Ouachita and it is currently the 25th-best total defense in the country. Additionally, SAU has done a nice job against the run allowing just 69.0 yards on the ground per game which rates second behind OUA and 22nd in Division II. 
8.5 - Southern Arkansas' tackles for loss per game which ranks second in the GAC and 24th nationally. Within that, the Muleriders are averaging 3.0 sacks per game which ranks third in the conference and is the 21st-best effort in Division II. Junior Dawson Scott leads the GAC in TFL per game with 2.2 which lands the Mexia, Texas native inside the national top 20. Scott (4.5), along with junior Gavin Roe (4.0) are both inside the GAC's top 15 in solo tackles per game.
2 - The national rank of senior quarterback OB Jones' five rushing touchdowns which trails fellow GAC dual threat Gage Porter's six. Jones delivered three on the ground in the season opener and added two more scoring totes in Week 2. His 187 rushing yards ranks inside the top 25 in DII and his 15.0 ppg ranks fourth nationally. Additionally, Jones enters Week 3 averaging 308.5 yards of total offense which ranks third in the GAC and 14th in the country. 

NOTABLES: OUACHITA
>>> The Tigers enter Week 3 having won their previous 14 Great American Conference contests beginning with a Week 11 win over Henderson State in 2021, an unbeaten league season in '22 and a 2-0 start to the '23 season. 
>>> Quarterback Riley Harms leads the country in passing efficiency at 232.5. Harms' seven passing TDs ranks 11th nationally, while his completion percentage (71.8%) ranks ninth in DII and his yards per completion (16.82) ranks 14th. 
>>> Kendel Givens' four rushing touchdowns ranks sixth nationally and along with Chris Henley Jr. the two have combined for 250 yards on the ground.
>>> OUA leads the conference in first downs both offensively (54) and defensively (18).
>>> The Tigers boast the top scoring defense in the league and its scoring offense ranks second in the GAC behind UAM. OUA sits at the top in both total offense (498.5) and total defense (136.0) in the GAC; both marks rank in the top 10 in DII as does the team's rushing defense (42.5 ypg) and third-down rates on both sides of the football: conversion (.577) and conversion defense (.185).
>>> Josiah Johnson and Jax Miller each lead with 6.5 tackles per game. 
>>> Chance Taylor ranks fourth in the GAC in sacks with 1.25.

MOST RECENT MATCHUP
Southern Arkansas cut its deficit to 11 at 42-31 entering the fourth quarter of play after allowing just seven third-quarter points, but #4/3 Ouachita was too much for the Muleriders in the final 15 minutes of action as the Tigers tallied 21 points to claim a 63-31 decision in the 13th playing of the Murphy USA Classic from Memorial Stadium. Ouachita improves to 8-0 on the season, while Southern Arkansas falls to 3-5. OB Jones completed 14 of his 26 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked four times with two resulting in turnovers. He carried 19 times for 86 yards and two scores. Jariq Scales carried eight times for 71 yards. Seven receivers caught passes. Kamden Perry hauled in four for 34 yards. Saul Williams recorded a dozen stops to pace SAU and Jacob Berry added 11. Ouachita tallied 519 yards with TJ Cole rushing for 230 and six touchdowns; three in each half. The Mulerider offense produced 482 yards behind a balanced attack of 243 on the ground and 239 through the air on a collective 75 plays.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS IN THE SERIES
2017 Redshirt junior quarterback Barrett Renner connected 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 4 OT THRILLERS 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 '93 FINAL PLAY MAGIC Down 17-12 with one final play from the OUA 14, Mulerider senior quarterback Cory Scarborough connected with junior Brandon Miller for a 19-17 Southern Arkansas victory 72 CHAMPS Raymond "Rip" Powell's 1972 Muleriders won the AIC title with an 8-2 record which included a 35-14 win over the Tigers on October 28 in Arkadelphia. SSC rallied down 14-7 at the half for its first win on the road at Ouachita since the '64 campaign.