Setting the Scene
      The SWOSU football team gets to play consecutive home games for the first time in 2013 when they host Ouachita Baptist on Saturday afternoon at Fast Lane Field.
      The Tigers are unblemished at 3-0 following a trio of wins against Southern Nazarene, East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State. OBU had a bye on the opening week of the season then went on the road to defeat SNU 49-24 and ECU 24-17 before defeating SEOSU 45-7 at home last weekend.
      SWOSU won their fourth consecutive game at Fast Lane Field last weekend, improving to 3-1 on the year with a 35-17 defeat of Arkansas-Monticello. SWOSU is now looking to improve to 4-1 for the second time in Head Coach Dan Cocannouer's tenure.
 
Paul Sharp Cup
      Beginning with Saturday's game, the rivalry between SWOSU and Ouachita Baptist will be known as the Paul Sharp Cup in honor of the former SWOSU head coach and OBU alum. Sharp is the Bulldogs' all-time winningest coach after amassing 93 victories in his 19-year tenure at SWOSU from 1986-2004. His teams won three conference championships and the 1996 NAIA National Championship.
      Sharp received a Bachelor of Science degree from Ouachita Baptist University in 1975 and a master of science in education degree from the same university in 1977. He stayed on at the Arkansas school where he was both an offensive line coach and a graduate assistant from 1974-78.
      Prior to Saturday's game, the football team will be dedicating the recently-renovated "Paul Sharp Locker Room" at 12 pm. The public is invited for the short dedication which will be held inside the locker room and feature comments from SWOSU President Randy Beutler, Head Football Coach Dan Cocannouer and Ouachita Baptist Athletic Director David Sharp, Paul's brother.
 
The Series
      The all-time series between SWOSU and Ouachita Baptist dates back to the NAIA days, with the first meeting of the teams in 1988. SWOSU and OBU played four straight years from 1988-91 before restarting the series in 1997.
      Three of the five meetings between the teams as members of NCAA Division II have been played in Weatherford but OBU still holds a 3-2 advantage in those games. Overall, OBU leads the series 6-3 with SWOSU wins in 1997 and 1999. The third SWOSU victory is a forfeit win from the 1990 season.
 
The Coaches
      Dan Cocannouer enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University football team in 2013. He returned home to lead his alma mater in 2009 and helped the team better its won-loss record in each of his first three seasons. After finishing 1-10 in his inaugural season, SWOSU improved to 5-6 in 2011, the first season of the Great American Conference. In 2012, the Bulldogs slipped slightly in the win column, finishing 3-7 (2-6 GAC) with three losses of 10 points or less. Overall, Cocannouer is 15-32 overall at SWOSU and 0-2 against Ouachita Baptist.
      Todd Knight is the longest standing college head football coach in the state of Arkansas, now in his 15th season as the Tigers head coach. Knight has guided the Tiger program through the infant stages of NCAA Division II and he led OBU to their first ever Great American Conference championship in 2011.
 
The Last Meeting
      Southwestern Oklahoma State was unable to put two half's together as No. 11 Ouachita Baptist Tigers cruised to a 33-12 win over the Bulldogs in Arkadelphia.
      Ultimately, a 21-point differential in the second half proved to be the difference on Saturday, as the Bulldogs fall 33-12.
      SWOSU quarterback Dustin Stenta completed 26-of-55 passes for 324 yards and lead SWOSU running game with 31 yards on 8 carries, including a 7-yard touchdown run.
 
Last Time Out
      A career game for Ryan Corbin and an unforgettable evening for Dustin Stenta highlighted the Southwestern Oklahoma State University football team's 35-17 victory over Arkansas-Monticello on Saturday night at Fast Lane Field.
      Corbin caught nine passes for 158 yards while adding two rushing touchdowns for the Bulldogs. His longest reception of the night, a 59-yarder from Stenta early in the fourth quarter, moved Stenta atop the career passing list at SWOSU.
      Stenta finished 20-for-34 for 343 and two touchdowns and added 78 yards rushing. He had two receivers, Corbin and Teverick Boyd, cross the 100-yard plateau receiving after Boyd added four receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown. D.C. Walker carried the ball 18 times for 93 yards while Karl Hodge added 12 carries for 58 yards.
      The SWOSU offense outgained Arkansas-Monticello 587 to 310 with a commanding lead in rushing yards with 244. The Bulldogs defense limited UAM to just 84 yards on the ground and 226 through the air. The active SWOSU defense was led by Ryan Feller who made 13 tackles (two solo, 11 assist) and Cliff Nyagesiba and Steven Townsley who both finished with 10. SWOSU had a season-high seven tackles for loss and got two sacks from Jacolby Robinson and one each from Tyler George and Jake Doyle.
 
Checking the Standings
      SWOSU is currently tied with Southern Arkansas, the only team to defeat the Bulldogs, for third place in the Great American Conference standings. The good news for SWOSU is that the two teams ahead of them in the standings, Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State, are the Bulldogs next two opponents. OBU and HSU are the only unbeaten teams in conference play while SWOSU, SAU, Harding and Arkansas Tech all have just one loss.
 
Broken in Style
      Four games into his senior season, SWOSU quarterback Dustin Stenta can now be referred to as the Bulldogs all-time leader in passing yards and touchdowns. Stenta moved past his quarterback coach Steve Day in both categories on back-to-back possessions Saturday night against Arkansas-Monticello.
      Stenta's 59-yard connection with Ryan Corbin early in the fourth quarter surpassed Day's all-time yardage mark of 7,482 yards while his TD pass to Brian Robinson on the next drive was the 47th of his career, also a new SWOSU record. Stenta currently has current career marks of 7,612 yards and 47 touchdown passes.
      Stenta, who has started 33 consecutive games under center for the Bulldogs, is currently the fourth-ranked passer in the GAC, averaging 274.8 yards per game. He is also the leading rusher among GAC quarterbacks and ranks second in total offense, averaging 336.8 yards per game.
 
Stellar Feller
      Senior linebacker Ryan Feller was instrumental in helping the SWOSU defense limit Arkansas-Monticello to just 84 yards rushing on Saturday. Feller recorded a season-high 13 tackles against the Boll Weevils, the second-most by a player in the Great American Conference this season. He now has 35 stops (11 solo, 24 assist) on the year for an average of 8.8 tackles per game, a number that ranks him third in the GAC. For his career, Feller has made 215 tackles (95 solo, 120 assist) including 12.0 tackles for loss.
 
Hands Off
      Through four games, SWOSU has had consistency at the offensive line position with all five players starting each game. That starting offensive line, which consists of Derrick Shelton, Mack Cannon, Nathan Butler, Landen Carson and Colton Cline, has allowed quarterback Dustin Stenta to be sacked just once in four games. That number is fewest sacks allowed in the Great American Conference to date.
 
Scouting Ouachita Baptist
      After finishing tied for fourth in the GAC with a 6-4 record in 2012, Ouachita Baptist was picked to finish in that same position in 2013. Following a bye to open the season, the Tigers have defeated Southern Nazarene and East Central on the road before downing Southeastern Oklahoma State 45-7 last weekend at home.
      The Tigers are averaging 39.3 points per game through three games behind the conference's second-best rushing offense. OBU averages 237.7 yards per game on the ground, thanks in large part to running back Chris Rycraw, who averages 107.0 yards per game, the number two mark in the GAC.
      On defense, OBU is tied for the conference lead by averaging just 16.0 points per game despite allowing 385.3 yards per game. Defensive lineman Antwoin Patterson, the reigning GAC Defensive Player of the Week, leads the conference with three sacks and he also has 6.5 tackles for loss.
     
A SWOSU Win Would..
      - Improve SWOSU to 4-1 for the second time in the last three seasons
      - Be their 5th consecutive win at Fast Lane Field, dating back to last season
      - Tie Coach Cocannouer for the 10th-most wins in SWOSU Football history (16)
      - Give SWOSU back-to-back victories for the second time this season
      - Be the sixth SWOSU win in their last eight games
      - End the Tigers three-game winning streak
      - Improve the Bulldogs record to 65-109 as a member of NCAA Division II
      - Move SWOSU to 9-12 all-time in Great American Conference contests
 
A SWOSU Loss Would..
      - Drop the Bulldogs to 3-2 on the year
      - Be the third consecutive loss to Ouachita Baptist
      - Make SWOSU 8-13 all-time in Great American Conference contests
      - Drop SWOSU to 64-110 as a member of NCAA Division II
 
Looking Ahead
            A date with the preseason favorite in the Great American Conference and current top-ten team Henderson State awaits SWOSU when the Bulldogs travel to Arkadelphia next Saturday for a 2 pm kickoff.