Setting the Scene
SWOSU Football opens up their third year of play in the Great American Conference the same way they finished their second season, against Harding. This time, however, the Bulldogs get to host the Bisons, an NCAA Division II Playoff qualifier last season.
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The Series
Prior to joining forces in the Great American Conference in 2011, SWOSU and Harding had not met in football since the 1999 season. In eight previous meetings, Harding holds a 5-3 edge and they've won the last two meetings. The Bisons will be making their third trip overall to Weatherford, and first since 1998. The two teams have split two prior meetings at Fast Lane Field with SWOSU winning 18-0 in 1995 and Harding taking the last meeting 20-9 in 1998.
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 12-31 overall at SWOSU and 0-2 against Harding.
Ronnie Huckeba is entering his seventh season as head coach of the Harding Bison football team in 2013. He was named Harding's fifth head football coach in the modern era in October of 2007 after serving 21 seasons as a Harding assistant coach. In 2012, Huckeba led the Bisons to a 9-2 record, a No. 19 national ranking, and the team's first berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs. He has a career record of 31-31 at Harding and he is 2-0 in meetings with SWOSU.
The Last Meeting
SWOSU and Harding met in the final week of the 2012 regular season with the Bisons claiming a 38-7 victory, ending SWOSU's regular season with a 3-8 (2-6 GAC) record. Harding's unconventional triple-option offensive attack continued to roll up impressive numbers. The Bison had 358 yards on the ground and had three players rush for over 40 yards in the game. Harding threw only nine passes for a total of 68 yards. SWOSU got on the board in the second quarter when
Dustin Stenta hit
Teverick Boyd for a 17-yard touchdown.
Back-to-Back's
By meeting Harding in the final game of the 2012 season and the 2013 opener, this will mark the fifth time in school history that SWOSU has faced the same team in consecutive games and the first since the 1946-47 seasons. The previous occurences:
- vs. Eastern New Mexico: 1946, W 47-12; 1947, W 33-0
- vs. Oklahoma Baptist: 1922, W 51-0; 1923, L 0-14
- vs. TCU: 1911, L 0-24, L 0-25
- vs. Central State (now UCO): 1906, L 0-12; 1907, L 0-6
Preseason All-American
Prior to his senior season, SWOSU tight end
Ryan Corbin has been chosen as a second team Preseason All-American by the Beyond Sports Network. Corbin was named to the All-Great American Conference First Team in 2012 after finishing the year as SWOSU's leading receiver. Corbin caught 47 passes for 400 yards and one touchdown in 2012 and was named a third team All-Super Region Three selection by The Don Hansen Football Committee. He was one of nine players from the Great American Conference to earn Preseason All-America honors.
Picked Seventh
The Southwestern Oklahoma State University football team is picked in the same spot in the Great American Conference standings – seventh place – that they finished last season. Henderson State is the unanimous choice to defend their crown as the GAC champions. followed by Southern Arkansas and Harding.
Ouachita Baptist, East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State hold down spots 4-6, directly ahead of the Bulldogs, who came in seventh with 47 total points. Arkansas Tech and Arkansas-Monticello are in spots eight and nine while conference newcomers Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene round out the now eleven-team poll.
Record Setting QB
Dustin Stenta is entering his fourth year as the Bulldogs starter under center. Stenta has started 29 games at QB for SWOSU, including each game of the past two years, and he is on the verge of breaking nearly every career passing record at the school.
Stenta has completed 605-of-1,113 passes as a Bulldog for 6,513 yards and 37 touchdowns. His yardage and touchdown numbers both rank second in SWOSU Football history, trailing his quarterback coach
Steve Day in both categories. Day passed for 7,482 yards and 46 TDs from 2005-09.
Benton's Back
After being named the Great American Conference Freshman of the Year in 2011,
Devin Benton put together another strong season as a sophomore last season. Benton made 52 tackles (27 solo, 25 assist) in 2012, including 14 for loss and five sacks, earning first team All-GAC honors for his efforts.
This season, Benton returns along with two other starters on the Bulldogs defensive line. Senior
Jim O'Brien and sophomore
Jacolby Robinson have again earned starting spots along the line, along with senior
Stanley Kulu, who was injured in the season opener and missed all of last season.
Bison on Staff
One member of the SWOSU coaching staff, linebackers coach
Austin Smithey, will be on the opposite side of the Harding-SWOSU matchup this season. Smithey played at Harding from 2008-12, starting his career as a linebacker before finishing up as an offensive lineman for the Bison. Last season, he was named an honorable mention All-American by the Don Hansen Football Committee to go along with second team All-Super Region III and first team All-Great American honors.
Season Openers
SWOSU will be opening up the 2013 football season at home for the first time since 2010, the inaugural game played on the new AstroTurf at Fast Lane Field. That game, a 27-7 loss against Emporia State, marked the seventh time since joining NCAA Division II that SWOSU opened the football season on their home turf.
The Bulldogs are 9-7 in season openers since 1997, the first year in Division II, and 6-10 in home openers during that same span. SWOSU is 4-3 when starting the season on their home field and 5-4 when opening up on the road.
Top Tacklers in the Middle
The SWOSU defense returns eight of their top 10 tacklers from a year ago, including two of the top three. Both of those players,
Ryan Feller and
Kale Sawatzky, will be starting at linebacker for the Bulldogs on Thursday night. Feller made 86 stops last season, leading the team, while Sawatzky ranked third with 71 tackles. Feller and Sawatzky combined to for 19-of-20 starts at linebacker last season, with
Tyler George picking up the other one. George, now a sophomore, made 36 tackles in relief action last season, ranking eighth on the team.
Scouting Harding
Harding is the first team outside of the national rankings in the preseason AFCA Top 25 and picked to finish third in the GAC this year according to the coaches preseason poll. After hosting SWOSU each of the last two seasons, and handed the Bulldogs a pair of lopsided defeats, the Bisons will be making their first trip to Weatherford since 1998.
The Bisons lost 13 starters off of last year's team and they return just one starter, linebacker Erik Ragsdale, on defense. Harding's run-heavy offense is welcomes back two running backs, Romo Westbrook and D'Nico Jackson-Best, who ran for more than 500 yards last season. In addition, a third back - Ahmad Scott - rushed for 283 yards and five touchdowns in 2012.
Slated to start at quarterback for the Bisons is junior Keenan Kellett, who played in 10 games as the backup QB last season. Kellett attempted just 21 passes, but ran the ball 48 times for 230 yards and one touchdown.
A SWOSU Win Would..
- Be there first over Harding since November 13, 1999
- Snap a two-game losing streak to the Bisons
- Give SWOSU three wins in their previous four games, dating back to last season
- Improve the Bulldogs record to 62-108 as a member of NCAA Division II
- Move SWOSU to 6-11 all-time in Great American Conference contests
A SWOSU Loss Would..
- Extend the losing streak against Harding to three games
- Be their fourth season-opening loss in five seasons under coach Cocannouer
- Give Harding a 6-3 all-time series advantage over the Bulldogs
- Snap a two-game home winning streak
- Drop SWOSU to 61-109 as a member of NCAA Division II
Looking Ahead
The Bulldogs make their first road appearance on the 2013 season next Saturday, September 14, at Arkansas Tech. That game will kickoff at 6 pm.
