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SWOSU (4-4, 4-4 GAC) at #5/10 Harding (8-0, 8-0 GAC) Saturday, Oct. 29, 2:00 pm Searcy, Ark. (First Security Stadium) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- The two hottest teams in the Great American Conference will meet this Saturday in Searcy, Arkansas with the Bulldogs of SWOSU traveling to meet No. 5/10-ranked Harding
- The Bulldogs have won four consecutive games to even their record at 4-4 for the year while the Bisons have been rolling all season and enter the contest unbeaten at 8-0
- SWOSU has reeled off four straight wins to open up the month of October and extend their winning streak in October to eight games, dating back to last season
- Both SWOSU and Harding will have extra rest and preparation after last playing on Thursday, October 20th, when the Bisons defeated East Central 35-7 and SWOSU beat Oklahoma Baptist 37-35 on a Hail Mary touchdown as time expired
 
The Series
- SWOSU and Harding have faced off 11 times on the gridiron in a series dating back to the 1994 season
- The Bulldogs faced the Bisons in six straight seasons from 1994-99, with each team winning three meetings during that span
- Harding has won three of five contests between the teams in the Great American Conference era, but SWOSU won the last meeting 21-13 last season in Weatherford
- In three GAC meetings against the Bisons in Searcy, SWOSU has been outscored by a combined total of 150-41 and they've been held to seven points or less in the last two trips
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 33-51 (Eighth Season)
- Has been the head coach at his alma mater since 2009, leading the Bulldogs to two winning seasons in the past three years
- Earned four Coach of the Year Awards following the 2015 season, including: Great American Conference, AFCA Region 4, HERO Sports Region 3 and OklahomaSports.Net Small College
- After the victory over Oklahoma Baptist on October 20, Cocannouer is now alone in sole possession of fourth place on SWOSU's all-time win list with 33 victories
- Has a record of 2-3 against Harding as the Bulldogs head coach, including an 0-3 mark against the Bisons in Searcy
 
Harding: Ronnie Huckeba, 64-39 (10th Season)
- Huckeba is the 12th head football coach in Harding history and the fifth since Harding restarted the football program in 1959
- Prior to becoming the head coach, Huckeba worked as an assistant coach for 21 seasons, including 13 seasons as the Bisons defensive coordinator
- Three of his last four teams have reached the postseason, with playoff berths in 2012 & 2014
- Huckeba has announced that he will retire following the 2016 season
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 31, 2015)
The Bulldogs picked up their fourth straight victory on Saturday, defeating Harding 21-13 on Senior Day to finish unblemished on their home field in 2015
- Trailing 10-0 late in the first half, SWOSU's Marc Evans found Derrick Styles for a three-yard touchdown on the final play of the first half, giving the Bulldogs plenty of momentum heading into halftime
- Harding upped their lead to 13-7 midway through the third quarter, but the Bulldogs scored the final 14 points to earn the victory
- Kenneth Martey had 106 yards rushing on 25 carries, leading the SWOSU rushing attack as the Dawgs became the first team since 2011 to outrush the Bisons
- SWOSU's defense held Harding to 186 yards on 44 attempts, better than 200 yards below their season average
 
Last Time Out (Oct. 20, 2016)
- Marc Evans heaved a Hail Mary pass to the end zone and Collin Bricker hauled in the 41-yard touchdown on the final play for SWOSU to defeat Oklahoma Baptist 37-35
- The touchdown came after Oklahoma Baptist had taken a 35-31 lead with a seven-yard touchdown pass with just 15 seconds remaining on the clock
- The teams went back-and-forth all night, with neither team ever leading by more than seven points in the game
- Evans finished 27-of-46 passing for 362 yards and three touchdowns along with one interception while helping the Dawgs to 510 yards of total offense
- Karltrell Henderson rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns on 20 attempts, one of four different SWOSU ball carriers with more than 20 yards rushing
- Deric Robertson and Conner Bays led the Bulldogs defense with 12 tackles apiece and Robertson added his third interception of the year
 
Checking the Standings
- On the strength of four straight victories, the Bulldogs have pulled into a tie for fifth place in the GAC standings at 4-4
- Two of SWOSU's remaining opponents - Arkansas Tech & Northwestern Oklahoma State - are among the teams currently tied with the Bulldogs
- Harding is 8-0 and alone atop the standings by two games over Henderson State and Southern Arkansas while Southeastern Oklahoma State is 5-3 and sitting fourth in the GAC
- One game behind the four-way tie for fourth place is Arkansas-Monticello at 3-5, Oklahoma Baptist in 10th at 2-6 and East Central and Southern Nazarene tied for 11th at 1-7
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
- Marc Evans earned GAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time in his career with 362 passing yards and three touchdowns against Oklahoma Baptist
- Evans has now thrown for 4,749 yards and 39 touchdowns as a Bulldog, both marks that rank third-best at SWOSU in the NCAA Division II era
- Karltrell Henderson rushed for 63 yards and two touchdowns against OBU, setting a new single-season record for rushing touchdowns in the NCAA era with 14
- Henderson is the fourth-leading rusher in the GAC, averaging 96.5 yards per game with 772 yards for the year
- D.J. Jones is ranked second in the GAC with 44 receptions for 591 yards and five touchdowns this season, averaging 73.9 receiving yards per game
- SWOSU's offensive line has only allowed three sacks this season, tying them with Harding for the fewest sacks allowed in the conference
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
- Deric Robertson tallied a career-high 12 tackles (nine solo, three assist) and one interception against OBU and was rewarded by being named the GAC Defensive Player of the Week
- Robertson is now tied with Kevin Joseph for the team lead with three interceptions and tied with Michael Adefolarin for second on the team with 40 tackles
- Adefolarin added three tackles for loss and one forced fumble in the game and he is now SWOSU's team leader with 6.0 tackles for loss for the year
- Conner Bays matched Robertson with 12 tackles against OBU, moving past Greg Franklin (249, 2005-08) and into fourth place on SWOSU's NCAA era tackles list with 258
- Bays now has 91 tackles (57 solo, 34 assist) this season, which leads the GAC and puts him tied for eighth in NCAA Division II
- The Bulldogs had eight tackles for loss against Oklahoma Baptist, giving SWOSU 53.0 TFL for the year and extending their streak to four games with seven or more TFL
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
- Dalton Jackson punted just once against Oklahoma Baptist for 45 yards, upping his season average to 37.0 yards which ranks 10th in the GAC
- Tyler Peterson was 4-for-4 on extra point attempts and 1-for-2 on field goals against Oklahoma Baptist, improving to 30-for-32 on extra points and 4-for-6 on field goal attempts this season
- SWOSU is ranked fourth in the league in kickoff returns (22.1 yards per return) and 10th in punt return average (4.0 yards per return) this season
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU returns home to play the final two games of the 2016 regular season, beginning next Saturday (Nov. 5) against Arkansas Tech at 2:00 pm
- The Bulldogs conclude the season on November 12th for Homecoming against the rival Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State at 5:30 pm