Setting the Scene- Homecoming on the campus of Southwestern Oklahoma State University is Saturday as the Bulldogs welcome East Central to ASAP Energy Field
- SWOSU has faced East Central more times than any other opponent, but the Tigers have won the last two meetings, including on Homecoming 2013
- ECU is the hottest team in the GAC, having won four straight games since a season-opening defeat against Ouachita Baptist
- The Bulldogs are 2-0 on their home field, winning back-to-back games earlier this year against Arkansas-Monticello and Ouachita Baptist
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@SWOSUAthletics The Series- SWOSU has faced East Central more times than any other opponent with 92 meetings on the gridiron in a series that dates back to 1915
- East Central leads the all-time series with 49 wins, while SWOSU has defeated the Tigers 41 times and the teams have tied twice
- SWOSU has defeated East Central four times in the past nine seasons, but ECU holds a 12-6 edge in games during the NCAA Division II era (since 1997)
- The Bulldogs hosted East Central for three consecutive seasons from 2011-13, going 1-2 against the Tigers, including a 24-21 defeat on Homecoming in 2013
- East Central has won the past two meetings in the series and four of the last five contests dating back to 2010
The CoachesSWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 23-46 (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 2-4 against East Central
East Central: Tim McCarty, 43-47 (Ninth Season)- In the seventh season of his second stint as the East Central head coach, with three seasons as an assistant coach at Kansas State in between
- Led the Tigers to their first postseason trip since 1993 in 2014 as they met Texas A&M-Commerce in the Heart of Texas Bowl
The Last Meeting (Oct. 25, 2014)- East Central took advantage of five Bulldog turnovers to defeat SWOSU 36-13 in their first trip to Ada since 2010
- ECU scored the first 24 points of the game, converting two Bulldog miscues into 14 of their points
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Austin Loomis led the defense with 12 tackles while
Conner Bays added 10 and
Tanner Thompson recorded eight tackles and an interception
Last Time Out (Oct. 6, 2015)- SWOSU was held to 177 yards of total offense and shut out for the second straight game, falling 8-0 at Southeastern Oklahoma State last Saturday
- The game is the lowest scoring game in GAC history and the Bulldogs have now been shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since 2005
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Conner Bays led the SWOSU defense with 12 tackles as the Bulldogs surrendered 337 yards (217 passing, 120 rushing) on 74 plays
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Michael Adefolarin had a career-high 11 stops while
Gentry Rogers and
Tyler George each had nine and
Trevon Hartfield set a new NCAA era school record with five pass breakups
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Brooks Robertson, making his first career start, was 11-for-22 passing for 60 yards and one interception while also leading the Bulldogs with 67 rush yards on 12 attempts
Checking the Standings- SWOSU's current two-game slide has the Bulldogs alone in eighth place in the Great American Conference standings with a 2-3 record
- Five teams, including East Central, are tied atop the standings with a one-loss record of 4-1
- Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southern Arkansas are both one game ahead of SWOSU at 3-2 overall in the standings
- Northwestern Oklahoma State and Oklahoma Baptist are one game back of the Bulldogs at 1-4 while Arkansas-Monticello and Southern Nazarene remain winless at 0-5
Bulldog Offensive Notes- After being shut out in consecutive games for the first time since 2005, SWOSU has had their scoring average drop to 26.4 points per game, the seventh-best mark in the league
- First-time starting quarterback
Brooks Robertson was limited to 80 yards through the air on 14-of-30 passing, the fewest passing yards by the Bulldogs since last November (64, at Southern Nazarene)
- Robertson was also the Bulldogs top rusher, gaining 67 yards on 12 attempts for a 5.6 yards per carry average
- SWOSU is averaging 5.1 yards per play for the year, but their total offense average of 352.8 yards per game ranks ninth in the Great American Conference
- The Bulldogs rushing offense has dipped to 126.2 yards per game as they average 3.8 yards per carry on 166 attempts this season
- Through the air, SWOSU is averaging 226.6 yards per game and they've had 10 touchdown passes, the fifth-best total in the conference
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Marc Evans ranks sixth in the league in passing average with 263.2 yards per game and he is fifth in passing efficiency
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D.J. Jones is ranked ninth in the league with 60.8 receiving yards per game and he's averaging 16.0 yards per reception for the year
- Jones also continues to lead the league in All-Purpose yards with totals of 304 receiving yards, 313 kick return yards, 84 punt return yards and 52 rush yards, a total of 150.6 all-purpose yards per game
- Nine different receivers have caught five or more passes for the Bulldogs this year while five different players have caught a touchdown pass
- Jones and
Derrick Styles lead the Bulldogs with three touchdown passes while
JR Omigie has 18 receptions for 165 yards and two touchdowns
- SWOSU's starting line of
Garrett Luke (LT),
Nathan Butler (LG),
Zach Britton (C),
Kevin Blessing (RG) and
Kaleb Prough (RT) has remained intact through five games this season
Bulldog Defensive Notes- SWOSU's defense surrendered just eight points to Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, the fewest points allowed to an opponent during Head Coach
Dan Cocannouer's tenure
- The last time the Bulldogs held an opponent to fewer than 10 points was on November 1, 2008 (def. Panhandle State, 42-7)
- The Bulldogs are allowing averages of 25.4 points and 395.6 yards per game, marks that both rank sixth among GAC squads
- With a fumble recovery at Southeastern, the Bulldogs now have 10 takeaways for the year and they're turnover margin of +2 is sixth in the league
- SWOSU safety
Conner Bays added 12 tackles to his season total on Saturday and he is currently ranked second in the league with 58 stops (11.6/game) this season
- Bays has made at least eight stops in each game this season and he's had 11 or more in four of the Bulldogs five games
- Bays and
Austin Loomis are tied for the team lead with 4.0 tackles for loss each as the team has totaled 23 tackles for loss on the year
- SWOSU has struggled putting pressure on the quarterback and the Bulldogs are tied for 11th in the league with four sacks on the year, led by
Collier Ward with two
- Senior cornerback
Trevon Hartfield set a new single-game school record for the NCAA era at SWOSU with five pass breakups against Southeastern
- Hartfield now ranks second in the GAC in passes defended with nine pass breakups for the year and he ranks fourth in the league with two forced fumbles
- Five different players have each recorded one interception for the Bulldogs, with all five interceptions coming during their two prior home games
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Tyler George is SWOSU's fourth-leading tackler with 31 stops and he's tied for the conference lead with two fumble recoveries
Bulldog Special Team Notes-
Tyler Peterson and
Michael Perez are a combined 2-for-4 on field goal attempts and 14-for-16 on extra points attempts this season
- Perez served as SWOSU's punter for the first four games but was replaced by
Dalton Jackson, who averaged 38.8 yards on five punts at Southeastern
- Peterson is the Bulldogs kickoff specialist, averaging 55.3 yards per kick on 25 attempts this season with six touchbacks
- SWOSU leads the GAC in punt return average with an average of 16.7 yards on six attempts and they're fourth in kickoff return average, averaging 22.4 yards on 20 returns
- D.J Jones is the Bulldogs leader in both categories with averages of 16.8 yards per punt and 28.5 yards per kickoff return
Scouting East Central- The hottest team in the Great American Conference, riding a four-game winning streak after falling to Ouachita Baptist 31-24 in their season opener
- Have one both of their road games this season, winning at Henderson State 35-28 and at Oklahoma Baptist 41-20
- Highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 42.2 points per game while holding opponents to an average of 21.8 points per contest
- Field the third-best pass offense in the league with 312.8 yards per game through the air, while their total offense of 486.8 yards per game is second among GAC teams
- Quarterback Rocky Moore ranks second in the GAC in both passing yards per game (306.8) and pass efficiency (62.3% completion rate)
- Wide Receiver David Moore has scored a league-leading nine receiving touchdowns while his teammate Juwan Dotson is second with six
- Linebacker Jameel Whitney is ECU's leading tackler with 51 stops (10.2/game) on the year
Looking Ahead- SWOSU's home stand continues next Saturday with a matchup against Southern Nazarene at 2:00 pm from ASAP Energy Field
- The Bulldogs conclude the season with three of their final four games away from home, beginning October 24 at Oklahoma Baptist
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