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SWOSU (2-2, 2-2 GAC) at Southeastern (2-2, 2-2 GAC) Saturday, October 3, 2:00 pm Durant, Okla. (Paul Laird Field) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live Game Notes: SWOSU  |  Southeastern

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Football begins a four-game stretch against in-state foes this Saturday with a trip to Durant to face Southeastern Oklahoma State
- The game is the second straight road game for the Bulldogs, who are 0-2 away from home this season and 2-0 in front of the home crowd at ASAP Energy Field
- The Savage Storm also enter the game 2-2 with victories over Oklahoma Baptist and Southern Nazarene the past two weeks after opening the season with defeats against Henderson State and Ouachita Baptist
- This will be SWOSU's fifth trip to Durant in the past six seasons and the Dawgs went 2-2 in a four-year stretch of playing at Southeastern from 2010-13
- SWOSU won their last game at Southeastern by a score of 37-27 in 2013
 
How To Follow
- Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/se/football/
- Watch Live: http://gosoutheastern.com/sports/2015/8/31/GEN_0831155904.aspx?&tab=3
- Live Audio: http://streamdb2web.securenetsystems.net/v5/KWEY
- Twitter Updates: @SWOSUAthletics
Tweet #TheSWOSUWay
 
The Series
- SWOSU and Southeastern have faced off 83 times in a series that dates back to 1923, making it the third-most played rivalry in SWOSU Football history behind East Central (92 meetings) and Central Oklahoma (88)
- The Bulldogs have played the Savage Storm in every season since the end of World War II in 1946 (no games played from 1942-45)
- The last time that SWOSU and Southeastern did not meet during a season when games were played was 1933
- Southeastern leads the all-time series 45-35-3, including a 13-5 edge since the teams transitioned to NCAA Division II in 1997 and they've won 11 of the last 13 meetings between the programs
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 23-45 (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 1-3 against Henderson State
 
Southeastern Oklahoma State: Bo Atterberry, 9-7 (2nd season)
- Led the Savage Storm to a 7-5 record and their first bowl game since the mid-1990's last season when they earned a berth in the Live United Texarkana Bowl
- Was named the Head Coach at Southeastern after one season as the defensive coordinator
- Previously coached Texas A&M-Kingsville for six seasons, compiling a 41-28 record
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 18, 2014)
- Southeastern Oklahoma State scored 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points to stun SWOSU 28-24 last Saturday at Fast Lane Field
- SWOSU's defense intercepted four passes and set up 17 points, including a 34-yard pick six by Conner Bays that put the Dawgs up 24-7 with 1:09 to play in the third quarter
- Bays had two interceptions in the game while Austin Loomis and Steven Townsley also picked off Southeastern Oklahoma State passes
- Cameron Nix carried the ball 11 times for 50 yards, including touchdown runs of 14 and 7 yards - the first two rushing TDs of his SWOSU career
- SWOSU offense was limited to 234 total yards and picked up just two first downs in the fourth quarter
- Tanner Thompson led the defense with 12 stops while Tyler Follis had a career-best nine tackles
 
Last Time Out (Sept. 26, 2015)
- After committing just one turnover in the first three games of the season, SWOSU was done in by their five turnovers in a 33-0 defeat at Henderson State
- SWOSU's best chance for points was on their opening drive, which ended on an interception deep in HSU territory
- The Bulldogs were held to a season-low 220 yards of offense and they were shut out for the first time in five years
- Evans finished 23-for-43 for 178 yards, but he was held without a touchdown pass for the first time this season and set a new school record with five interceptions thrown
- Karltrell Henderson had 80 yards on three receptions and 33 yards rushing on 14 carries
- Conner Bays led the Bulldog defense with 11 tackles and one tackle for loss while Austin Loomis had nine tackles, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss
 
Checking the Standings
- At 2-2, SWOSU drops into a three-way tie for sixth in the league standings with Southeastern Oklahoma State and Southern Arkansas
- The Bulldogs are now two games behind the league leaders, Arkansas Tech and Harding, who are both 4-0, and one game back of a trio of teams at 3-1
 
Bulldog Offensive Notes
- SWOSU turned the ball over five times on Saturday after committing just one turnover in the prior three games. The Bulldogs still rank fifth in the GAC with a turnover margin of +3
- The Bulldogs scoring offense dropped to 33.0 points per game, a mark that still ranks seventh in the league
- SWOSU's total offense average of 396.8 yards per game is the seventh-best mark in the league
- The Bulldogs were stopped on fourth-down for the first time all season at Henderson State, but they still lead the GAC in fourth-down conversion percentage with success on 8-of-9 (88.9%) attempts
- Marc Evans set a new single-game record at SWOSU for the NCAA era by throwing five interceptions against HSU
- Evans, the GAC Offensive Player of the Week last week, still averages 263.2 yards per game and he's completed 91-of-125 (59.9%) passes for 1,053 yards and 10 touchdowns
- Karltrell Henderson is the eighth-leading rusher in the league with an average of 80.0 yards per game and four rushing touchdowns
- SWOSU's balanced offense has seen seven different receivers catch at least six passes in the opening four games, led by JR Omigie with 16 receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns
- D.J Jones is the Bulldogs leader in receptions yards with 268 yards and three touchdown receptions on 15 catches, good for an average of 17.9 yards per catch
- Jones also continues to lead the Great American Conference in all-purpose yards with an average of 174.2 yards per game
- Five different receivers have found the end zone for SWOSU with Jones and Derrick Styles tied for the team lead with three TD receptions
- 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 four games this season
 
Bulldog Defensive Notes
- With 11 tackles on Saturday, SWOSU junior safety Conner Bays now leads the Great American Conference with 46 tackles (23 solo, 23 assist) on the year. Bays is averaging 11.5 stops per game
- The Bulldogs have allowed 119 points this season for an average of 29.8 points per game, a mark that ranks sixth in the league
- Opponents are averaging 193.2 yards per game on the ground and 217.0 yards per game through the air against the Bulldogs
- SWOSU has forced nine turnovers this year with four fumble recoveries and five interceptions, ranking them fifth in the GAC in takeaways
- With two sacks, Collier Ward is tied for fifth in the league in sacks and the Bulldogs are tied for ninth in the GAC with four sacks as a team
- Bays also leads SWOSU with four tackles for loss, a number that has him tied for tenth in the conference in TFL
- Five different players have recorded an interception for the Bulldogs: Bays, Kapena Olsen, Gentry Rogers, Dominic Blue and Cameron Nix
- Olsen is tied with Austin Loomis for second on the team with 28 tackles and he's tied with Bays for second on the team with three passes defended
- Trevon Hartfield has broken up four passes to lead the team and he's forced a league-leading two fumbles
- Tyler George has recovered a team-best two fumbles and he ranks fourth on the team with 22 tackles
- Making his first career start, Michael Adefolarin had five tackles and 1.5 TFL for the Bulldogs at Henderson State
 
Bulldog Special Team Notes
- Michael Perez has taken over placekicking duties for the Bulldogs and he's 8-for-9 on extra point attempts and 1-for-2 on field goal attempts after missing a 23-yarder right before halftime at HSU
- Perez is also the Bulldogs punter and he's averaging 32.9 yards per punt on 22 attempts with a long kick of 51 yards
- Tyler Peterson remains the Bulldogs kickoff specialist, where he is averaging 55.3 yards per kick on 23 attempts with five 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 18 returns
- D.J Jones is the Bulldogs leader in both categories with averages of 16.8 yards per punt and 29.3 yards per kickoff return
 
Scouting Southeastern Oklahoma State
- Riding a two-game winning streak after defeating Oklahoma Baptist 40-27 and Southern Nazarene 41-7 over the past two weeks
- Scoring an average of 34.2 points per game while giving up 24.8 points per game to opponents
- Ranked fourth in the league in total offense with an average of 484.8 yards per game, including 198.0 yards per game on the ground
- Pass defense leads the GAC as the Storm gives up just 143.2 yards per game through the air and they lead the league with an average of 15.2 first downs allowed per game
- Top receiving threats are Kaymon Farmer, who leads the GAC with 6.8 receptions per game and Franky Okafor, ranked second in the league with 80.2 yards receiving per game
- Cornerback Raheem Wilson is tied for the league lead with four interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown
- Former Bulldog Brad Smithey is the Savage Storm's wide receivers coach. Smithey played at SWOSU from 2011-14 and ranks fourth in career receptions (140) and eighth in receptions yards (1,135) for the NCAA era
 
Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs return to home turf for their next two games, including Homecoming next Saturday against East Central at 7:00 pm
- SWOSU then hosts Southern Nazarene on October 17 with a 2:00 pm kickoff from ASAP Energy Field