MAGNOLIA, Ark. – Mulerider Football looks for a bounce back after having dropped to the defending national champions Harding last weekend on the road. Southern Arkansas is on the road again as they take their furthest travel of the season out to Weatherford, Oklahoma where they are set to face the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs on Saturday at 2:00 PM.
 
Week 9 Matchup
>>> The Muleriders travel to Weatherford, Oklahoma for the first time since falling to the Bulldogs in Head Coach Brad Smiley's inaugural season at Southern Arkansas (2021).
>>> The Blue and Gold continue to build their resume for a shot at the NCAA DII postseason, but the road continues for them through the Sooner State as they seek after their 11th straight victory against Okie Country. 
>>> Southwestern Oklahoma State is after its first triumph since the end of September when they defeated in-state foe Southern Nazarene at home by a final of 24-17. They have dropped four consecutive ballgames since then.
>>> The Muleriders come off their second loss this season after being defeated by the reigning national champions, Harding, while on the road in Searcy, Arkansas.
>>> The series between these two groups has been run by the Muleriders as the victory for the Bulldogs that was mentioned earlier was just the second time out of the 12 meetings that SWOSU claimed victory against the Muleriders. Last time these two met was in Magnolia last year that ended with an SAU victory of 41-10.
 
Last Week | L, 17-49 at #7/8 Harding
>>> The Muleriders were met by what was not necessarily an immoveable force, but was their largest challenge yet as they ventured to Searcy to face the reigning national champions, the Harding Bisons.
>>> Southern Arkansas managed to put together drives all afternoon, but then the Bisons defense began clicking just when the Blue and Gold reached 1st and goal as Harding's defense stumped SAU under the HU ten-yard line three times. The nation's best defense managed to hold a top-25 offense to just 17 points.
>>> While the scoreboard did not show it, the Blue and Gold accounted for 417 yards of offense, which is the most surrendered by the Bisons this season and the most since Central Missouri met the group in Searcy last season for the DII Playoffs (534).
>>> For back-to-back seasons, the Muleriders have been the lone group to rush for 200+ yards against Harding as SAU recorded 264 in last year's Murphy USA Classic and 221 on the Bisons' turf this season.
 
Notables: Southern Arkansas
>>> Southern Arkansas sits at 6-2 going into Southwestern Oklahoma State week for the second season in a row as they look to bounce back once more from a tough loss to one of the nation's best teams.
>>> The Muleriders are in a small group of teams, as the Blue and Gold is able to say they are one of the very few teams to have put pressure on Harding's nation-leading defense with 417 yards offense, primarily coming from the field general, Judd Barton.
>>> The junior accounted for 196 yards through the air and 87 on the ground with a late touchdown pass in the contest to produce the outcome seen on the box score.
>>> While the Muleriders lost the turnover battle for the first time since last year's contest against Harding (10/21/23), Southern Arkansas is still one of the nation's best in turnover margin. SAU is one of three teams tied for ninth in the nation for the category, as the Muleriders have gained 16 turnovers and have only lost six.
>>> SWOSU is a team that does not have the best TO margin, but the group has forced the third most turnovers in the country (21), primarily through the air.
 
Notables: Southwestern Oklahoma State
>>> As mentioned, the Bulldogs are one of NCAA Division II's best at forcing turnovers as SWOSU has managed to re-attain the rock via interceptions with 17 this season.
>>> Southwestern's passing defense has proved to be formidable, but the team's offense has put that defense in a bind as the Bulldogs lead the Great American Conference in turnovers gained and are tied for second-to-last for turnovers lost with 18 (10 Fum. |8 Int.).
>>> SWOSU's passes intercepted currently leads the league at 12 interceptions from their defense. This also ranks the Bulldogs secondary 12th in country for the category. Southern Arkansas is second in the league with ten and ranks 27th in the nation for passes intercepted.
>>> For fumbles recovered, Southwestern is the second-best team in the nation when it comes to being in the right place at the right time as they have obtained nine fumbles this season and of course lead the conference in the statistical category.
 
By The Numbers
727 - the number of days since Southern Arkansas has lost to a group out of Sooner State. The Muleriders have yet to lose to a school from Oklahoma this season, as well as last season. SAU's last loss to a team from the plains continues to be Southern Nazarene on November 5, 2022 during Coach Smiley's first campaign.
474 - the number of yards that quarterback Judd Barton needs to become the leading passer in the Brad Smiley era at Mulerider Football. So far, the Alexandria, Louisiana native have thrown for 1,570 yards as he has completed 129 of his 199 passes for 10 touchdowns and just three interceptions, the fewest by a QB in the GAC that has thrown any.
36.9 - the average points per game produced by the Mulerider offense. Southern Arkansas 36.9 points per game has climbed to second within the league and 11th in the nation, being responsible for 295 points this season and 41 touchdowns. The only team ahead of the Muleriders is the defending national champions.
3.5 - the number of sacks that senior defensive end Dawson Scott needs to become Mulerider Football's single-season sack leader. If the Mexia, Texas native were to break the record, he would be breaking a 34-year old record set by David Sanders in 1990 with 11.0.