---

SWOSU (2-6, 2-6 GAC) at Southern Nazarene (0-8, 0-8 GAC) Saturday, November 1, 4:00 pm Bethany, Okla. (SNU Football Stadium) Live Stats  |  Watch Live ($)  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Football will be searching for their first road win of the season this Saturday when they visit Southern Nazarene for a 4:00 pm kickoff in Bethany
- The Bulldogs are 3-0 all-time against the Crimson Storm, including a 32-6 victory in their only previous trip to Bethany (2003)
- They will be facing a SNU club that has not won a game in the past two seasons, entering the game on a 19-game losing streak
- SWOSU is in a slump of their own with five consecutive defeats, their longest such skid since 2012, which was snapped with a 19-12 victory against Southern Nazarene
 
The Series
- SWOSU and Southern Nazarene have faced off just three times in a series dating back to 2003
- The Bulldogs have won all three of the previous meetings, including victories in Weatherford each of the past two seasons
- The meeting on October 18, 2013 is the only previous game between the teams played in Bethany, with SWOSU victorious 32-6 in that game
- SNU is in their second year of full membership in the Great American Conference, making them a yearly opponent of the Bulldogs going forward
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 20-42 (Sixth Season)
- Returned home to lead his alma mater in 2009 following a long, successful high school coaching career
- Led SWOSU to their first winning season since 2007 with a 6-5 record last season
- Earned his 20th win as the Bulldogs head man against Southern Arkansas (Sept. 20), ranking him 8th in all-time wins at SWOSU
- Has a record of 2-3 against East Central
 
Southern Nazarene: Mike Cochran, 40-55 (Ninth Season)
- Ninth-year head coach of the Crimson Storm who led SNU to five winning seasons as an NAIA member, including a playoff appearance in 2011
- Previously served as the head coach at Mid-America Nazarene for five seasons, where he reached the playoffs three times
- Led SNU to two conference championships and was twice named CSFL Coach of the Year
 
The Last Meeting (Nov. 2, 2013)
- SWOSU defeated Southern Nazarene 42-14 on Senior Day 2013
- The Bulldog offense rolled up 609 yards of total offense, including 336 passing yards and four touchdowns from quarterback Dustin Stenta
- All-American TE Ryan Corbin caught seven passes for 88 yards and two touchdowns while Hunter Dinkines hauled in a 78-yard touchdown, the longest passing play of the season
- Karl Hodge rushed for 100 yards on 10 carries, the third-highest yards per rush average at SWOSU in a game since joining NCAA Division II
- Ryan Feller led the SWOSU defense with nine tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss and one sack while Jim O'Brien, Tyler George and Tanner Thompson each had seven tackles apiece
 
Last Time Out (Oct. 25, 2014)
- East Central took advantage of five Bulldog turnovers to defeat SWOSU 36-13 in their first trip to Ada since 2010, handing the Dawgs their fifth consecutive defeat
- ECU scored the first 24 points of the game, converting two Bulldog miscues into 14 of their points
- SWOSU got on the board right before halftime with a one-yard touchdown run by Karl Hodge following a muffed punt by the Tigers
- Tim Morovick relieved starting QB Klark Ashmore and scored his first touchdown in a Bulldog uniform on a nine-yard scramble late in the third quarter
- Austin Loomis led the defense with 12 tackles while Conner Bays added 10 and Tanner Thompson recorded eight tackles and an interception
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU drops down to ninth place in the Great American Conference standings this week on the heels of their current five-game slide
- The Bulldogs are one game ahead of Northwestern Oklahoma State and two ahead of Southern Nazarene, their final two opponents this season
- Arkansas-Monticello is one-half game ahead of the Bulldogs while Arkansas Tech is also just one game ahead of SWOSU in the win column
- Ouachita Baptist now leads the conference as the only remaining unbeated after defeating Arkansas Tech last week
- Harding upset No. 14 Henderson State last Saturday, pulling into a tie with the Reddies at 6-1
 
Bulldog Offensive Notes
- Tim Morovick returned to action against East Central, his first appearance since being injured during his only start of the season, at Arkansas-Monticello on September 27
- Morovick finished 14-for-25 for 154 yards and two interceptions against ECU in relief of starting QB Klark Ashmore
- Karl Hodge has rushed for 628 yards this season, an average of 78.5 yards per game which ranks fifth in the GAC. He needs 46 yards to surpass his rushing yardage total from last season, which is the fifth-most in a season at SWOSU in the NCAA Division II era
- The Bulldog offense was limited to 54 rush yards against ECU, their second-lowest rushing total of the year, and they were held to 269 yards, their third consecutive game with less than 300 yards of offense
- The Bulldogs have committed 29 turnovers this season, tying them with Paine (Ga.) for the second-most in all of NCAA Division II. SWOSU's turnover margin of -12 trails only this week's opponent, Southern Nazarene (-19), among GAC teams
- Brad Smithey continues to inch closer to fourth place in career receptions at SWOSU, needing two more to overtake Chase Pratt (137, 2001-05)
 
Bulldog Defensive Notes
- SWOSU surrendered 429 yards of total offense to East Central last Saturday, their most yards allowed this season since giving up 486 yards to Harding in the season opener
- One week after limiting a top rushing team in Southeastern Oklahoma State to just 96 yards, the Bulldogs were gashed by ECU for 237 yards and two touchdowns on the ground
- Tanner Thompson continues to lead the team in tackles with 66 (32 solo, 34 assist) while also ranking fifth with 4.5 tackles for loss. Thompson was also credited with his second takeaway of the season on Saturday with his first interception of the season
- Devin Benton continues to lead the Great American Conference in tackles for loss with 17.5, but he has fallen to fourth in NCAA Division II in the category
- Earlier this season, Benton became the NCAA Division II leader in sacks at SWOSU and his record currently stands at 17.0. With 1.5 TFL against ECU, Benton now has 44.5 career tackles for loss which moves him into a tie with Ruzell McCoy (44.5, 2005-08) for second place in that list. Benton needs 1.0 more TFL to pass Russell Radford (45, 1997-00) and move atop that list also
- Austin Loomis (12) and Conner Bays (10) both set new career highs in tackles against ECU. Loomis now ranks third on the team with 56 stops while Bays had 24 to go along with two interceptions and two passes defended
- The Bulldogs have played without two of their top five tacklers: LB Kale Sawatzky & FS Kapena Olsen, the past two weeks
- Sawatzky has missed the first game of his SWOSU career after appearing in the previous 36, making 26 starts at linebacker for the Dawgs. He has 222 career tackles, needing four more to move past Charles Thomas (225, 2003-04) for fifth place in the NCAA Division II era at SWOSU
- Kevin Joseph leads the GAC in passes defended with 13, including a team-best four interceptions
- Steven Townsley ranks second on the team with 57 tackles and three interceptions
 
Bulldog Special Team Notes
- True freshmen Dalton Jackson and Justin Tharp continue to split kicking duties for the Bulldogs
- Jackson booted a career-long 60-yard punt against Southeastern and he is now averaging 35.4 yards per punt on 44 attempts this season
- Tharp has assumed the kickoff role of late, averaging 57.6 yards on 16 attempts with two touchbacks
 
 Scouting Southern Nazarene
- Winless on the year at 0-8 but enter the game following a close call, a 44-37 defeat against Arkansas-Monticello
- Ranked 11th in the GAC in scoring offense (12.2 points per game) and total offense (232.6 yards per game) while allowing opponents to score 46.8 points per game
- Have committed 28 turnovers (12 fumbles, 16 interceptions) this season, the second-most in the GAC
- Defense has forced just nine takeaways, also ranking last in that category among GAC teams
- The only team in the GAC that has not converted a field goal (0-for-1) this season
- Have used multiple different quarterbacks this season, with James Mauro averaging 133.5 yards per game after seeing action in six contests
- Senior linebacker Matthew Gregg leads the team and ranks third in the conference with 75 tackles (46 solo, 29 assist)
 
Looking Ahead
- Next week will mark week ten on the schedule, which is the bye week for SWOSU football this season
- The Bulldogs return to action on November 15 with Senior Day at Fast Lane Field against Northwestern Oklahoma State in a game that will kick off at 2:00 pm