Setting the Scene- SWOSU Football puts their unblemished 3-0 home record on the line again this Saturday when they host Great American Conference rival Southern Nazarene
- The Bulldogs evened their record at 3-3 last weekend with a 38-31 come-from-behind victory over East Central, while the Crimson Storm come to town as the only winless team in the league at 0-6
- Kickoff for the game is at 2:00 pm, making it the first afternoon home game of the season for the Bulldogs
- SWOSU will be looking for their fifth consecutive victory over the Crimson Storm and their second straight win over an in-state opponent
- The Bulldogs went to overtime at Southern Nazarene last season before prevailing by a final score of 27-24
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@SWOSUAthletics The Series- SWOSU and Southern Nazarene have faced four times on the gridiron in a series that dates back to 2003
- The Bulldogs won the first meeting 32-6 and the teams would not meet again until the Crimson Storm joined the Great American Conference for the 2012 season
- SWOSU has defeated SNU twice at ASAP Energy Field, by scores of 19-12 (2012) and 42-14 (2013) and they are also 2-0 against the Storm in Bethany
- Last season's meeting was the closest in series history as the Bulldogs survived for a 27-24 victory against the Storm in overtime
The CoachesSWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 24-46 (Seventh Season)- Has been the head coach at his alma mater since 2009
- Earned his 22nd win as the Bulldogs head man against Arkansas-Monticello (Sept. 12, 2015), moving into seventh on the all-time wins list at SWOSU
- Has a record of 3-0 against East Central
Southern Nazarene: Craig Hubbard, 0-6 (First Season)- Entering his 10th season with the Crimson Storm and named the interim head coach prior to this season
- Previously served as the Defensive Coordinator at SNU and Mid-America Nazarene
The Last Meeting (Nov. 1, 2014)-
Karl Hodge scored on SWOSU's first play of overtime to give the Bulldogs a 27-24 victory over Southern Nazarene
- Hodge carried the Bulldogs, finishing with a career-high 172 yards and three touchdowns on 24 rushes
- SNU tied the game at 21-21 with 1:46 to play in regulation to break the halftime score of 21-14 and force overtime
- The Bulldogs only touchdown not scored by Hodge came on a blocked punt by
Daylan Dial that was recovered in the end zone by
Troy Shoate-
Tanner Thompson and
Tyler George both totaled a team-high 16 tackles, the most tackles in a single game by a Bulldog this season
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Conner Bays and
Devin Benton each had eight tackles, while Benton had 3.0 tackles for loss to set a new SWOSU career record
Last Time Out (Oct. 10, 2015)- SWOSU scored four touchdowns in the second half as they came from 10 points down to defeat East Central 38-31 on Homecoming at ASAP Energy Field
- The Tigers led 20-10 at halftime, but SWOSU scored on four of their six second half drives to earn the comeback victory
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Karltrell Henderson scored the game-tying touchdown with 12:00 to play and
Kwame Tate finished off a four-play drive for the go-ahead touchdown with 8:08 to play in the fourth quarter
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Marc Evans completed 23-of-46 passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns while completing a pass to 10 different receivers in the game
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D.J. Jones had his second 100-yard receiving game of the season, finishing with four receptions for 127 yards and a TD while Henderson and
Derrick Styles also had touchdown catches
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Conner Bays again led the Bulldogs in tackles with 10 while
Ja'Vaughn Mitchell and
Austin Loomis had six apiece
Checking the Standings- With Saturday's victory, the Bulldogs evened their record at 3-3 for the year and moved into a tie for seventh place in the league standings
- SWOSU is one game behind a group of four teams that are currently 4-2 in the standings, including three teams the Bulldogs have already faced
- Arkansas Tech and Henderson State are both ranked in the AFCA Top 25 this week and they currently lead the league with records of 5-1
- This week's opponent, Southern Nazarene is the lone winless team remaining in the conference standings as they enter the week at 0-6
Bulldog Offensive Notes- SWOSU rebounded offensively to score 38 points on Saturday against East Central and improve to 3-0 on their home field this season
- The Bulldogs average 48.7 points and 521.0 yards of total offense per game at home, while being held to just 24 points combined in three road games
- For the year, SWOSU is averaging 28.3 points per game to rank sixth in the league, while their total offense average of 381.8 yards per game is ranked eighth
- SWOSU's offensive line has allowed eight sacks this season, a mark tied for third-best in the conference
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Marc Evans returned to the starting lineup and threw for 369 yards against East Central, the fourth-most single-game yards at SWOSU in the NCAA Division II era
- Evans has thrown three or more touchdowns in four of the first six games and his 13 passing touchdowns is tied for the fifth-most in a single season at SWOSU
- SWOSU's passing offense is ranked sixth in the GAC with an average of 250.3 yards per game through the air
- The Bulldogs have no receivers ranked among the top ten in the league in receptions, but
D.J. Jones is fourth in the league with an average of 71.8 yards per game
- Jones leads the Bulldogs with 23 receptions for 431 yards and five other players have at least 10 receptions:
JR Omigie,
Karltrell Henderson,
Derrick Styles,
Collin Bricker,
Carlos Smith- Henderson is also the Bulldogs leading rusher with 98 carries for 371 yards and five touchdowns
Bulldog Defensive Notes- SWOSU held the highest scoring team in the GAC, East Central, better than 10 points below their average on Saturday
- The Bulldogs are now allowing 26.3 points and 396.3 yards per game, stats that rank sixth and seventh, respectively, among Great American Conference schools
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Dejai Johnson and
Clinton Horn recorded sacks on Saturday, giving the Bulldogs 6.0 for the season, a number still ranked next to last among league schools
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Jake Doyle had two tackles for loss and two quarterback hurries as SWOSU finished with six TFL against the Tigers
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Trevon Hartfield grabbed his first interception of the season against ECU, the sixth by SWOSU this season and the 11th overall takeaway by the Bulldog defense
- Hartfield is ranked second in the league with 12 passes defended, including 11 pass breakups and his one interception
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Conner Bays has led SWOSU in tackles each game this season and with 10 more stops against East Central, he regained the league lead with 68 (11.3/game)
- Bays and
Austin Loomis are tied for the team lead with 4.0 tackles for loss each as the team has totaled 29 tackles for loss on the year
- Six different players have each recorded one interception for the Bulldogs, with all six interceptions coming during their three prior home games
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Tyler George is SWOSU's fourth-leading tackler with 35 stops and he's tied for the conference lead with two fumble recoveries
Bulldog Special Team Notes-
Dalton Jackson connected on a 23-yard field goal to cap the Bulldogs first drive against East Central, making him the third SWOSU kicker to make a field goal this season
- Jackson is also a perfect 5-for-5 on extra point attempts, making the Bulldogs 19-for-21 on point after attempts for the year
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Tyler Peterson continues to kickoff for the Bulldogs and he's averaging 55.0 yards per kick on 32 attempts with nine touchbacks to his credit
- Jackson has taken over punting duties and he's averaging 33.5 yards per punt with a long of 50 and three that have pinned opponents inside their own 20 yard line
- SWOSU leads the GAC in punt return average with an average of 16.7 yards per return on six attempts and they're fourth in kickoff return average, averaging 22.3 yards on 22 returns
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D.J. Jones is SWOSU's top kick and punt returner and his yardage on both has him leading the GAC in All-Purpose yards with 153.2 yards per game
Scouting Southern Nazarene- Unable to find their footing in the Great American Conference, the Crimson Storm have suffered two consecutive winless seasons and they are currently riding a 28-game losing streak
- SNU has been held to 20 points are fewer in each game this season, averaging just 8.5 points per game while opponents have scored an average of 55.3 points against them
- Quarterback James Mauro has completed 45.6% of his passes and thrown for 697 yards and two touchdowns
- Defensive back Isaiah Young and linebacker Larry Butler III both rank among the top ten tacklers in the league with 52 and 42 tackles, respectively
- Linebacker Konner Bent is ranked third in the league with 8.0 tackles for loss, totaling 22 yards
Looking Ahead- SWOSU will play three of their final four games away from home, including a matchup with GAC-newcomer Oklahoma Baptist next Saturday in Shawnee
- The Bulldogs then return home to face Harding on Senior Day before concluding the season on the road at Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma State
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