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Setting the Scene
- Bulldog Football crosses the Arkansas state line for the final time in the 2017 season this Saturday for a trip to Searcy to face Harding
- SWOSU is coming off a 38-21 defeat against Arkansas Tech last Saturday in Weatherford that dropped the Bulldogs to 2-5 on the year
- Harding, meanwhile, is the hottest team in the Great American Conference with four consecutive wins after starting the season 0-3
- SWOSU has not won in Searcy since the formation of the GAC, dropping all four meetings on the road against the Bisons by an average of 31 points per game
- This marks the second straight season that SWOSU has visited First Security Stadium in Searcy, where they were defeated 42-27 by Harding last season
- SWOSU is searching for their second win of the year on Arkansas soil after going 0-6 against GAC foes from The Natural State in 2016
 
The Series
- SWOSU and Harding have met 12 times on the gridiron in a series that dates back to the 1994 season
- The Bulldogs and Bisons met in six consecutive seasons from 1994-99, splitting the series in that span before starting the series back up in 2011 at the formation of the Great American Conference
- Harding leads the all-time series 7-5, including a 4-2 mark against the Bulldogs as members of the GAC
- SWOSU has not defeated Harding in Searcy since 1999 and they are 0-4 in trips to Harding as GAC foes
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 36-58 (9th Season)
- Has announced that he will retire following the 2017, his ninth as the head coach at his alma mater
- 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 fourth in SWOSU Football history for coaching victories with 36, three shy of Bob Mazie (39-37-2; 1978-85) for third place on the list
- Has a record of 2-4 against Harding as the Bulldogs head coach, including a mark of 0-4 against the Bisons in Searcy
 
Harding: Paul Simmons, 4-3 (1st Season)
- Became the 13th head coach in Harding Football history and sixth since the university restarted in football in 1959 after taking over prior to the 2017 season
- Previously spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach at Harding, where he has coached the Bisons in six postseason games – including the 2012, 2014 and 2016 NCAA Division II Playoffs
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 29, 2016)
- SWOSU gave #5/10 Harding one of their toughest tests of the season before the Bisons scored with 2:23 to play and secured a 42-27 victory last Saturday in Searcy
- Harding led 28-13 at the break and scored early in the third quarter to go up 35-13, but the Bulldogs slowed the Bisons the rest of the second half and got within one score late in the game
- The Bisons offense rushed for 506 yards against the Bulldogs while totaling 560 yards of offense, but SWOSU countered with 335 passing yards, the most against Harding this season
- Marc Evans was 20-for-33 passing for 335 yards and two touchdowns, both to D.J. Jones who finished with four receptions for 136 yards
- Dominic Blue led SWOSU with 13 tackles while Deric Robertson added 12
 
Last Time Out (Oct. 14, 2017)
- SWOSU junior running back Karltrell Henderson rushed for a season-best 127 yards and two touchdowns against Arkansas Tech, but it was the Golden Suns leaving ASAP Energy Field with a 38-21 victory on Saturday afternoon
- ATU scored the first 21 points of the game on three rushing touchdowns and the Wonder Boys led 21-6 at halftime
- SWOSU got rushing touchdowns from Henderson and Casey Freeman in the second half but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit
- Henderson became SWOSU's career rushing leader for the NCAA Division II era in the win - passing Jimmy Jenkins for the top spot on the list
- Arkansas Tech outgained SWOSU with 440 yards of total offense compared to 276 for the Dawgs
- Austin Loomis had a team-high eight tackles for SWOSU while Dominic Blue added seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss
 
Checking the Standings
- Southeastern Oklahoma State suffered their first conference defeat last Saturday against Henderson State, but the Savage Storm remain atop the league standings at 6-1
- One game behind Southeastern is a trio of teams at 5-2: Arkansas Tech, Ouachita and Southern Arkansas
- Sharing fifth place in the standings at 4-3 are Arkansas-Monticello, Harding and Henderson State, all of which have won at least two straight games
- Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene dropped under .500 with losses last weekend and they're tied for eighth at 3-4
- SWOSU maintains their spot in 10th place in the GAC standings at 2-5, one game ahead of East Central at 1-6 and two games ahead of winless Oklahoma Baptist in the cellar
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
- Karltrell Henderson rushed for a season-best 127 yards against Arkansas Tech, moving to the top of SWOSU's NCAA era Career Rushing list in the process
- Henderson now has SWOSU's records for Career Rushing Yards (2,137) and Rushing Touchdowns (32) in less than three full seasons with the Bulldogs
- SWOSU currently ranks 10th in the Great American Conference in Scoring Offense (21.6 points per game) and 11th in Total Offense (353.4 yards per game)
- Casey Freeman has completed 54.9% (129-of-235) of his pass attempts for the year and he's ranked third in the league with 212.9 passing yards per game
- SWOSU completed a season-low 13 pass attempts against Arkansas Tech, with Dylan Power and Karltrell Henderson leading the way with three receptions each
- The Bulldogs offensive line has allowed at least one sack in each game this season, totaling a league-leading 22 sacks allowed on the year
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
- An eight-tackle performance against Arkansas Tech has given senior linebacker Austin Loomis 240 career tackles, needing 10 more to move into the Top 5 on SWOSU's Career Tackles list for the NCAA Division II era
- Loomis is the Bulldogs leading tackler and he's ranked eighth in the Great American Conference with 52 stops (31 solo, 21 assist) for the year
- SWOSU had a season-high 9.0 tackles for loss against Arkansas Tech, getting 1.5 each from Dominic Blue, Colten Buie and Gerald White
- The Bulldogs are ranked ninth in the GAC in Scoring Defense (34.0 points per game) and seventh in Total Defense (399.0 yards per game)
- SWOSU is ranked third in the GAC with 14 takeaways for the year – including seven fumbles recovered and seven interceptions
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
- JR Omigie has handled the bulk of kickoff return duty the past two weeks, averaging 17.5 yards per return on Saturday against Arkansas Tech
- SWOSU's kick return of 22.7 yards per return is the second-best mark in the conference but the Dawgs have struggled on punt returns with an average of 1.9 yards per return
- SWOSU is ranked 10th in the conference net punting average of 28.6 yards per punt while the kickoff coverage is 12th in the league with a net of 28.3 yards per kickoff
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU heads to Shawnee, Okla., next Saturday for a meeting with Oklahoma Baptist - the first of three in-state showdowns to conclude the 2017 season
- Homecoming and Senior Day will be Saturday, November 4th when the Bulldogs host Southern Nazarene before closing out the year at Northwestern Oklahoma State on November 11th