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Paul Sharp Cup SWOSU (0-2, 0-2 GAC) at Ouachita (1-1, 1-1 GAC) Saturday, September 17, 7:00 pm Arkadelphia, Ark. (Cliff Harris Stadium) Live Stats  |  Watch Live  |  Listen Live SWOSU Game Notes (pdf)

Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Football heads to Arkansas on Saturday to face Ouachita at 7:00 pm from Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia
- Saturday's matchup will mark the fourth time the winner between SWOSU and Ouachita has received the Paul Sharp Cup, with the Bulldogs currently laying claim to the trophy
- Both teams enter the week following a defeat, with SWOSU sitting at 0-2 after losses to Southern Arkansas and Arkansas-Monticello, while Ouachita had their record evened at 1-1 with a 45-38 loss at Southeastern Oklahoma State
- SWOSU owns just one victory against Ouachita in GAC play, that coming last season, and the Bulldogs have never defeated the Tigers in Arkadelphia (0-5)
 
The Series
- SWOSU and Ouachita have met 12 times on the gridiron in a series that dates back to the 1988 season
- Last season, the Bulldogs defeated Ouachita 58-38 for their first win over the Tigers since the formation of the Great American Conference
- SWOSU is 0-5 all-time against the Tigers in Arkadelphia, including a 54-21 setback in their visit to Cliff Harris Stadium two years ago
- The five meetings as GAC schools have been decided by an average of 20 points, with the closest meeting between the teams a 48-38 Ouachita victory in 2011
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 29-49 (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
- Ranked 7th in career wins at SWOSU with 29, needing one more to move into a share of sixth place on the list with Jake Spann (30, 1939-48)
- Has a record of 3-2 against Arkansas-Monticello, but the Bulldogs are searching for their first win against the Boll Weevils in Monticello
 
Ouachita: Todd Knight, 86-87 (17th Season)
- Longest tenured college football coach in the state Arkansas, Knight is now in his 17th season as the head coach at Ouachita
- Has led the Tigers to two Great American Conference Championships (2011, 2014) and one NCAA Division II playoff appearance (2014)
- Two-time GAC Coach of the Year (2011, 2014) and also named the AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year in 2014
 
The Last Meeting (Sept. 19, 2015)
- For the second straight game, SWOSU scored better than 50 points as the Bulldogs knocked off No. 9 Ouachita Baptist 58-38 last Saturday at ASAP Energy Field
- The victory was the first by the Bulldogs over Ouachita since the inception of the Great American Conference and it snapped a 12-game regular season winning streak by the Tigers
- Marc Evans directed the efficient SWOSU offense as they rolled up 549 yards of total offense, including 31-of-46 passing for 365 yards and four touchdowns by Evans
- Karltrell Henderson carried the ball 22 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns while also scoring on a 38-yard screen pass in the second quarter
- Conner Bays led the SWOSU defense with a career-high 14 tackles (seven solo, seven assist) while Trevon Hartfield added nine stops, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble
- Kapena Olsen and Gentry Rogers both picked off passes with OBU in the red zone while Tyler George and Jake Doyle both recovered fumbles in the game
 
Last Time Out (Sept. 10, 2016)
- Two separate lightning delays and a late start due to the weather contributed to SWOSU's 35-28 setback at Arkansas-Monticello last Saturday
- SWOSU led the game 14-6 when the game was halted in the second quarter due to lightning, but UAM scored twice quickly once play resumed to make it 21-14 at halftime
- Karltrell Henderson had two rushing touchdowns in the second half - three for the game - but an errant snap caused Marc Evans to fall on the ball for a safety and put UAM up 35-28 late
- Henderson finished with a career-high 170 rushing yards and three touchdowns while carrying the ball just 15 times
- Conner Bays had a career-high 18 tackles, the most by a Bulldog since his position coach, Jonathan Darby, had 18 against Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2010
 
Paul Sharp Cup
- The series between SWOSU and Ouachita Baptist took on the name of the 'Paul Sharp Cup' in 2013 in remembrance of the former SWOSU Head Coach and Ouachita Baptist alum
- Sharp is the Bulldogs' all-time winningest coach with 92 victories from 1986-2004, including the 1996 NAIA National Championship
- Sharp received a Bachelor of Science degree from Ouachita Baptist University in 1975 and a
Master of Science in education in 1977
- Ouachita Baptist is 2-1 in the Paul Sharp Cup series with victories in 2013 and 2014, but the Cup has called Weatherford home the last year after the Bulldogs 58-38 victory last season
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
- Through two weeks, the Bulldogs rank eighth in the GAC in total offense (376.5 yards per game) and ninth in scoring offense (22.5 points per game)
- SWOSU is averaging 5.2 yards per carry on the ground, ranking fifth in the conference with an average of 183.0 rushing yards per contest
- Karltrell Henderson is the second-leading rusher in the GAC, averaging 125.0 yards per game with three touchdowns to his credit this season
- Henderson surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for his career on Saturday, with 1,079 yards to his credit currently, and his 14 rushing TDs is the 3rd-most at SWOSU in the NCAA era
- After completing 56.1% of his attempts last season, SWOSU's Marc Evans has been under 50% on completions in each of the first two games this season
- Evans is ranked seventh in the GAC for passing, completing 33-of-74 passes for 387 yards (193.5 ypg) with two touchdown passes and four interceptions
- Nine different receivers have caught a pass for the Bulldogs, let by D.J. Jones with 10 receptions for 169 yards and one touchdown
- Hunter Dinkines, who caught his first touchdown of the season at UAM, and Derrick Styles are both second on the team with six receptions
- SWOSU has started the same five offensive linemen in each of the first two games
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
- Conner Bays took over as the leading tackler in the Great American Conference and he ranks in the top ten nationally after a career-high 18 tackles (11 solo, 7 assist) at UAM
- Bays now has 27 tackles (13.5 per game) on the year and he enters Saturday's game needing six tackles to reach 200 for his career
- Kevin Joseph recorded his third interception of the season on Saturday at UAM and he is the only player in the GAC with more than one interception this year
- Through two games, the Bulldogs defense is ranked fourth in the GAC in total defense (337.0 yards per game) and seventh in scoring defense (28.0 points per game)
- SWOSU leads the Great American Conference with five interceptions and they are tied for the league lead with seven turnovers gained through the first two weeks
- Austin Loomis and Michael Adefolarin are tied for second on the team with 19 tackles, a mark that ranks the duo in a tie for fifth in the GAC
- Four different players (Navajo Smith, TJ Harris, Dejai Johnson, George Woods) have combined to help the Dawgs record four sacks this season
- Navajo Smith had a career-high seven tackles (three solo, four assist) with one sack and 1.5 tackles for loss against UAM
- Dustin Johnson has entered the starting lineup at defensive end for his junior season and he's currently ranked fifth on the team with 10 tackles (five solo, five assist)
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
- SWOSU has been ineffective on punt returns, averaging just 1.0 yard on three returns and the Dawgs are seventh in the conference in kickoff returns with 19.1 yards per return
- Tyler Peterson is 1-for-1 on field goal attempts and 6-for-6 on extra points while averaging 56.1 yards on 10 kickoffs
- Dalton Jackson has averaged 28.4 yards per on seven punts, with a long of 51 yards and one that was downed inside the 20 yard line
 
Looking Ahead
- The Bulldogs return home next Saturday to host Henderson State, the reigning GAC Champions and preseason favorite to again claim the conference crown
- The following weekend, SWOSU is again at home to face Southeastern before back-to-back road trips to East Central and Southern Nazarene