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HOMECOMING Northwestern Okla. (4-6, 4-6 GAC) at SWOSU (4-6, 4-6 GAC) Saturday, Nov. 12, 5:30 pm Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Live Audio SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- Homecoming at Southwestern Oklahoma State University will be this Saturday, culminating with a rivalry game between the Bulldogs and the Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State
- Both teams enter the game following a pair of setbacks and the teams have matching records of 4-6 heading into the season finale
- SWOSU is looking to snap a two-game slide and even their record at home to 3-3 after they went unbeaten at ASAP Energy Field last season
- The Bulldogs are 5-1 against Northwestern Oklahoma State since joining NCAA Division II, but the Rangers won the last meeting between the teams in Weatherford, a 28-6 victory in the final game of the 2014 season
- The winner of Saturday's game will finish in seventh place in the GAC standings
 
The Series
- The longtime rivalry between SWOSU and Northwestern Oklahoma State dates back to 1907, making it the Bulldogs oldest rivalry among GAC foes
- The teams have faced off 83 times on the gridiron, with SWOSU holding an advantage of 51-28-4 in the all-time series
- SWOSU has won 10 of the last 12 meetings against Northwestern Oklahoma State, dating back to 1992 and they have a 5-1 advantage during the NCAA Division II era
- Since Northwestern joined the GAC in 2013, SWOSU holds a series edge of 2-1, but the Rangers victory came in the 2014 season finale in Weatherford
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 33-53 (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 3-1 against Northwestern Oklahoma State as the Bulldogs head coach, including an 0-1 mark against the Rangers in Weatherford
 
Northwestern Oklahoma State: Matt Walter, 7-14 (2nd Season)
- In his second season as the head coach and offensive coordinator at Northwestern Oklahoma State, his alma mater
- Standout athlete at NWOSU in the late 1990's and early 2000's, where he was a member of the 1999 NAIA National Championship team and an honorable mention All-American in 2000
- Previously served as the offensive coordinator at Emporia State for six seasons, helping the Hornets turn around their program and reach the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2013
 
The Last Meeting (Nov. 14, 2015)
- Big plays helped the SWOSU Football team build a 21-3 halftime advantage, but the Bulldogs still had to hold off the rival Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State for a 31-17 victory in the regular season finale
- Kenneth Martey and Karltrell Henderson each broke off long touchdown runs and finished with over 100 yards rushing as SWOSU controlled the ground game with 299 rushing yards
- Trevon Hartfield finished with a career-high 14 tackles, including 13 solo stops as the Rangers passing attack continually tried to test the Bulldogs star cornerback
- The Bulldogs defense was swarming and finished with seven sacks, better than a quarter of their total number of sacks for the season
- SWOSU finished the regular season with a six-game winning streak and their best single-season record since they transitioned to NCAA Division II in 1997
 
Last Time Out (Nov. 5, 2016)
- Two SWOSU turnovers in the fourth quarter were turned into 10 points for Arkansas Tech and the Wonder Boys held off the Dawgs for a 24-20 victory on Saturday at ASAP Energy Field
- SWOSU took a 20-14 lead on a one-yard touchdown plunge from Karltrell Henderson in the third quarter, but Tyler Peterson's extra point was blocked to keep it a six-point game
- Arkansas Tech converted a SWOSU fumble into the go-ahead touchdown with 7:46 to play and added a field goal after an interception to make it 24-20 with 1:13 to play
- The Bulldogs moved into position for another last-second victory and had two chances from the four-yard line with seven seconds to play but threw two incompletions in the final seconds
- Marc Evans completed 25-of-46 passes for 371 yards and two touchdowns with D.J. Jones (139) and JR Omigie (106) each going over 100 yards receiving
- Conner Bays made a team-high 14 stops while Colton Wright 11 and Kevin Joseph and Deric Robertson each added nine tackles
 
Checking the Standings
- Harding clinched the 2016 Great American Conference Championship outright with their victory at Northwestern Oklahoma State last Saturday
- The Bisons are perfect at 10-0, two games ahead of Southern Arkansas and Henderson State at 8-2
- Three teams are tied for fourth place at 6-4, with SWOSU among three teams tied for seventh with a 4-6 league record
- SWOSU and Northwestern are both tied at 4-6, meaning the winner of Saturday's game will finish seventh in the league standings
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
- Mark Evans enters his final collegiate game with 5,455 yards and 43 touchdowns as the Bulldogs quarterback, marks that rank third at SWOSU in the NCAA era
- Evans is three passing touchdowns away from tying Steve Day (46, 2005-09) for third on the career touchdowns list
- SWOSU's running game has been limited to 43 rushing yards in back-to-back games, dropping their season average to 145.0 yards per game
- Karltrell Henderson is the seventh-leading rusher in the GAC with 822 yards (82.2 yards per game) but he's tied for the conference lead with 17 rushing touchdowns this season
- Henderson is fourth in career rushing yards at SWOSU for the NCAA era with 1,651 and he's already set the rushing touchdowns record with 28
- D.J. Jones has caught 110 passes for 1,769 yards and 14 touchdowns as a Bulldog, ranking him fifth in career receiving yards and second in receiving touchdowns at SWOSU
- Jones had his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season and seventh of his career against Arkansas Tech and he is now within 82 yards away from surpassing Ryan Corbin (1,850, 2009-13) for fourth place on the career yardage list
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
- Conner Bays recorded his 15th career game with 10 or more tackles against Arkansas Tech, moving him into a tie for second place on SWOSU's NCAA era tackles list with 283 stops
- Bays leads the GAC and ranks sixth in NCAA Division II with 116 tackles (70 solo, 46 assist) this season and he enters his final collegiate game seven stops away from tying Michael Hart (290, 2002-05) for the most tackles at SWOSU in the NCAA era
- SWOSU's other safety, Deric Robertson, has had at least six tackles in six consecutive games and he's the Bulldogs second-leading tackler with 61 stops (39 solo, 22 assist)
- Michael Adefolarin is the Bulldogs third-leading tackler with 56 stops (33 solo, 23 assist) for the year and he leads SWOSU while ranking second in the GAC with 11.0 tackles for loss
- Colton Wright set a new career-high with 11 tackles against Arkansas Tech, giving him 52 tackles (35 solo, 17 assist) for the year to rank fourth on the team
- SWOSU is ranked sixth in the GAC with 10 interceptions, led by three apiece from Robertson and Kevin Joseph
- The Bulldogs had 9.0 tackles for loss against Arkansas Tech, the sixth consecutive game that SWOSU's defense has recorded at least seven tackles for loss
- Navajo Smith has a team-leading 4.0 sacks while SWOSU has 17 sacks for the year
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
- Tyson McDaniel broke a 72-yard kickoff return against ATU, upping the Bulldogs season average to 21.7 yards per return for the year, which ranks fourth in the GAC
- Dalton Jackson averaged 41.3 yards per punt on three attempts against Arkansas Tech and he's now averaging 37.4 yards per punt on 35 attempts for the year
- Tyler Peterson missed an extra point for the second straight game making him now 35-for-39 on extra points and 4-for-6 on field goal attempts this season