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SWOSU (2-2, 2-2 GAC) at Ouachita Baptist (3-0, 3-0 GAC) Paul Sharp Cup Saturday, October 4, 1:00 pm Arkadelphia, Ark. (Cliff Harris Stadium) SWOSU Game Notes Live Stats  |  Listen Live

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU will look to earn their first road win of the season on Saturday as they make their final trip to Arkansas this year to face Ouachita Baptist
- The Bulldogs record is now evened at 2-2 following a 33-14 setback at Arkansas-Monticello while Ouachita Baptist improved to 3-0 with a 35-29 victory over Southeastern last Saturday
- Saturday's game will mark the second year of the rivalry game between SWOSU and OBU being known as the Paul Sharp Cup in honor of the Bulldogs former head coach and OBU alum
- The loss to UAM dropped SWOSU to 2-9 in conference road games played in Arkansas since the formation of the Great American Conference in 2011
- SWOSU is just 7-22 in road games under the direction of Dan Cocannouer, including a 0-1 record in games played at Ouachita Baptist
 
Paul Sharp Cup
- Ouachita Baptist earned the inaugural victory in the Paul Sharp Cup series 31-14
- Sharp is the Bulldogs' all-time winningest coach with 92 victories from 1986-2004, including 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 in 1977
- The SWOSU Football locker room was dedicated in Sharp's honor last season and now dons the name of the "Paul Sharp Locker Room"
 
The Series
- SWOSU and Ouachita Baptist have faced off 10 times in a series dating back to 1988
- OBU holds the series edge 7-3, with one of their defeats a forfeit from the 1990 season
- The Bulldogs are 3-3 against Ouachita Baptist at home, but 0-4 all-time in Arkadelphia
- Ouachita Baptist has won all three meetings between the teams as members of the Great American Conference, including a 33-12 win in Arkadelphia in 2012
- OBU is the only GAC school that SWOSU has not defeated since the conference's beginning
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 20-38 (Sixth Season)
- Returned home to lead his alma mater in 2009 following a long, successful HS coaching career
- Led SWOSU to their first winning season since 2007 with a 6-5 record last season
- Became the eighth coach in SWOSU history to reach the 20-win plateau with last weekend's victory over Southern Arkansas
- With his next victory, will tie Joe Milam (1926-31) for seventh on the all-time wins list at SWOSU with 21
- Ouachita Baptist is the only GAC school he has not defeated, entering Saturday's game 0-3 against the Tigers
 
Ouachita Baptist: Todd Knight, 70-82 (16th Season)
- Longest standing college head football coach in Arkansas, now in his 16th season with the Tigers
- Inaugural GAC Coach of the Year after leading the Tigers to the 2011 conference championship, OBU's first conference crown in over 20 years
- Has led OBU to a winning record in six consecutive seasons, including a 7-3 mark last season
- Has a record of 3-1 against SWOSU, with wins in the last three seasons
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 5, 2013)
- Ouachita Baptist defeated SWOSU 31-14 to claim the inaugural Paul Sharp Cup
- SWOSU's Jim O'Brien intercepted OBU's Benson Jordan on the opening possession and returned it 29 yards for the only touchdown of his Bulldog career
- Dustin Stenta was held to 6-of-23 passing for 39 yards, his lowest passing output as the Bulldogs starting quarterback
- Other scoring for SWOSU came on a 15-yard touchdown reception by Stephen Castiglione in the third quarter
- Steven Townsley led the Bulldogs defense with a career-high 16 tackles (6 solo, 10 assist)
 
Last Time Out (Sept. 27, 2014)
- SWOSU's two-game winning streak was halted by Arkansas-Monticello by a score of 33-14
- Four quarterbacks saw time under center for the Bulldogs, with Tim Morovick making the first start of his SWOSU career
- True freshman Klark Ashmore had his redshirt lifted for the second half and he finished 4-for-16 for 33 yards and two interceptions
- Karl Hodge rushed for 99 yards and scored a touchdown on the Bulldogs opening drive of the game
- Miscues, including five turnovers and six penalties, hampered the Bulldogs throughout the game
- Matt Farris scored his second rushing touchdown of the season while Cameron Nix rushed for a career-high 77 yards from the quarterback position
- Tanner Thompson made a team-best eight tackles (five solo, three assist) while Austin Loomis and Kapena Olsen added seven apiece
- Devin Benton and Collier Ward each recorded 2.0 sacks while Benton also blocked one extra point
- UAM outgained SWOSU's offense by just 22 yards (347-to-325), but the Bulldogs were held to less than 100 yards passing for the first time since last season against Ouachita Baptist
 
Checking the Standings
- SWOSU's defeat at Arkansas-Monticello evened their conference record at 2-2, leaving them tied with East Central and Southern Arkansas for fifth in the standings
- Harding, Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist are all atop the standings at 3-0 in GAC play
- At 2-1, Arkansas Tech sits just ahead of the Bulldogs in fourth
- Three teams are tied at 1-3 while Southern Nazarene remains the only team without a conference victory
 
Bulldog Offensive Notes
- SWOSU rushed for 230 yards on 49 carries against Arkansas-Monticello, matching their rushing output from the first three games of the season combined
- Karl Hodge led the way with 99 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries. Hodge ranks fourth in the GAC in rushing with an average of 88.2 yards per game
- Cameron Nix had his best rushing performance as a Bulldog against UAM, carrying the ball nine times for 77 yards. He ranks second on the team with 101 yards rushing, but his average of 7.2 yards per carry is the best on the team
- Farris ranks third on the team in rushing with 67 yards and 2 TDs on 31 carries
- SWOSU's four quarterbacks combined to complete 7-of-25 passes for 95 yards against UAM, being held below 100 yards passing for the first time since last season against Ouachita Baptist
- Tim Morovick made his first start as a Bulldog, completing 2-of-6 passes for 55 yards before leaving the game due to injury
- The SWOSU offense has converted on 5-of-18 (27.8%) fourth-down attempts this season, leading NCAA Division II in fourth-down attempts
- Leading receiver Brad Smithey was held to one reception against UAM, his lowest total of the past two years. Smithey has now caught a pass in 13 consecutive games played and 28 of 30 career games played at SWOSU
- X'zavious Harrison caught a 47-yard deep pass from Morovick on the opening drive against UAM, matching Collin Bricker for the longest reception of the year by a Bulldog
- Smithey took sole possession of fifth place on the career receptions list against Southern Arkansas and he has 122 to his credit, needing 16 to overtake Chase Pratt (137, 2001-05) for fourth place
 
Bulldog Defensive Notes
- After recording 2.0 sacks against UAM, Devin Benton continues to lead NCAA Division II with 10.0 tackles for loss through three games. His 5.0 TFL against Arkansas Tech is the third-most in a game this season by a Division II player
- Benton now has 15.0 career sacks and 39.0 career tackles for loss, ranking third and fourth, respectively in SWOSU's all-time NCAA Division II lists. He needs three more sacks to overtake Terry Joiner (17, 2004-05) and three more TFL to overtake Emmons Johnson (41, 1997-01) on those respective lists
- SWOSU has five players who have recorded more than 10 tackles in a game during their career: Benton, Tyler George, Kale Sawatzky, Tanner Thompson, Steven Townsley
- With five tackles on Saturday, Sawatzky now has 212 for his career, ranking him 42nd in NCAA Division II among active players. He is also on the verge of moving into the top five in tackles at SWOSU during the Division II era, needing 14 to move past Charles Thomas (225, 2003-04) for fifth place
- Thompson leads SWOSU with 36 tackles (9.0/game), ranking sixth in the GAC while Sawatzky (33) and Townsley (32) also rank in the top ten in the conference
- The Bulldogs rank second in the GAC with 11 sacks on the year, led by 3.0 for Collier Ward and 2.5 for Benton. Ward ranks fourth and Benton fifth in the GAC in that category
- Kevin Joseph is tied for the conference lead with seven passes defended and he ranks seventh in interceptions with two
 
Bulldog Special Team Notes
- True freshmen Dalton Jackson and Justin Tharp have begun splitting kicking duties after Tharp made his debut on Saturday at UAM
- Tharp handled kickoff duties twice, averaging 55.5 yards per attempt while Jackson had one kickoff that went 54 yards
- Jackson remains the Bulldogs punter, averaging 35.6 yards on 17 attempts, with a career-best 56 yarder against Southern Arkansas
- SWOSU has only attempted one field goal this season, a 29-yarder by Jackson against SAU that missed its mark
- Teverick Boyd ranks third in the GAC with an average of 22.0 yards per kickoff return
 
Scouting Ouachita Baptist
- Undefeated in the month of September following wins over Southern Nazarene, East Central and Southeastern Oklahoma State
- Needed a touchdown with 11 seconds remaining to knock off Southeastern last weekend in Durant
- Holding opponents to 379.7 yards and 18.7 points per game, both marks that rank in the top five of the conference
- RB Steven Kehner is the GAC's leading rusher, averaging 130.3 yards per game along with seven touchdowns
- QB Kiehl Frazier, a transfer from Auburn, has thrown for 676 yards and five touchdowns through three games
- Defense is led by LB Mike Williamson, who has 23 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss to his credit
 
Quick Notes
- Former Bulldog OL Kane Bryen (2009-12) is the running backs coach at Ouachita Baptist
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU hosts Henderson State next Saturday for Homecoming at Fast Lane Field
- The Reddies are the two-time defending GAC Champions and are currently ranked in the top ten in both national polls