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Setting the Scene
- Fresh off a 48-37 victory over East Central, the SWOSU Football team heads to Durant this weekend for a meeting with the unbeaten Savage Storm of Southeastern Oklahoma State
- SWOSU improved to 2-3 with their win over ECU, snapping a three-game losing streak that followed a season-opening victory at Arkansas-Monticello
- Southeastern Oklahoma State is 5-0 after defeating Northwestern Oklahoma State last weekend and the Savage Storm entered the AFCA Top 25 poll at No. 23 this week
- SWOSU defeated Southeastern 37-33 last season in Weatherford and they are now searching for their first win in Durant since a 37-27 victory in 2013
- The Bulldogs are 1-1 on the road this season while Southeastern is 2-0 on their home field, Paul Laird Field
- SWOSU has won 10 consecutive games against Oklahoma schools in the Great American Conference, dating back to their last trip to Durant which ended in an 8-0 defeat on October 3, 2015
 
The Series
- Southeastern Oklahoma State is SWOSU's third most-played rival all time, with 85 previous meetings between the teams in a series SE leads 46-36-3
- The series between the Bulldogs and the Savage Storm dates back to 1923 and the teams have met 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 holds a 14-6 edge in the series since the teams transitioned to NCAA Division II in 1997 and they've won 12 of the last 15 meetings between the programs
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Dan Cocannouer, 36-56 (9th Season)
- Has been the head coach at his alma mater since 2009, leading the Bulldogs to two winning seasons in the past four 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 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 3-5 against Southeastern Oklahoma State as the Bulldogs head coach, including a mark of 2-3 against the Savage Storm in Durant
 
Southeastern Okla.: Bo Atterberry, 25-14 (4th Season)
- Has led the Savage Storm to three consecutive winning seasons, including seven wins in 2014 and 2016
- Led Southeastern to their first bowl game since the mid-1990's with a berth in the 2014 Live United Texarkana Bowl
- Previously coached at Texas A&M-Kingsville for six seasons, compiling a 41-28 record
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 1, 2016)
- SWOSU outscored Southeastern Oklahoma State 14-3 in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning touchdown with just 20 seconds remaining, to defeat the Savage Storm 37-33
- Southeastern took a 10-point lead at 30-20 early in the third quarter, but SWOSU rallied to tie the game with 9:26 to play
- On their final drive, Southeastern got into the red zone but the Bulldogs held them to a field goal and SWOSU went on a 14-play, 75-yard drive to win the game on a nine-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Martey
- Marc Evans threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns while Karltrell Henderson carried the ball for 116 yards and a score
- Conner Bays led the defense with 12 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble
 
Last Time Out (Sept 30, 2017)
- Bulldog Football erupted for 34 second-half points, overcoming an early 10-point deficit to defeat East Central 48-37 on Parents Day at ASAP Energy Field
- ECU scored the first 10 points of the game before Jared Rayburn got SWOSU on the board with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown
- SWOSU trailed 17-14 at halftime and 30-27 at the end of three quarters despite touchdowns from Cedric Cooper and Jordan Jackson in the third
- The Bulldogs outscored ECU 21-7 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory with scoring plays from Rayburn, Cooper and Jackson
- Casey Freeman set a new career-high with 314 passing yards and three touchdowns while spreading the ball to nine difference receivers
- Austin Loomis led the way for the SWOSU defense with eight tackles and two tackles for loss while Jaylen Ellis had six tackles in his first collegiate start
 
Checking the Standings
- Southeastern Oklahoma State sits atop the Great American Conference standings this week at 5-0 following Arkansas Tech's first setback of the season
- At 4-1, ATU drops into a tie for second place with Ouachita, the team that handed the Wonder Boys their first defeat
- Southern Arkansas and Southern Nazarene are both over .500 at 3-2 and tied for fourth place in the standings
- SWOSU sits tied with fourth other teams (Arkansas-Monticello, Harding, Henderson State, Northwestern Oklahoma State) in sixth place at 2-3
- East Central is alone in 11th at 1-4 while Oklahoma Baptist is still searching for their first conference win this season
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
- With a season-best scoring output of 48 points against East Central, SWOSU improved their scoring average for the season to 21.2 points per game
- The Bulldogs total offense for the season is now 375.2 yards per game with 134.2 yards on the ground and 241.0 yards per game through the air
- After throwing for a career-best 314 yards against ECU, sophomore quarterback Casey Freeman now ranks third in the GAC with 212.2 passing yards per game with six touchdown passes
- Karltrell Henderson is now just two yards shy of reaching the 2,000-yard plateau for his career and 36 yards away from passing Jimmy Jenkins (2000-04) for SWOSU's career rushing lead in the NCAA Division II era
- Jared Rayburn is up to fifth in the GAC with 23 receptions (5.2 per game) and a team-best 230 receiving yards
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
- Austin Loomis led the Bulldogs with eight tackles against East Central, giving him 34 stops (21 solo, 13 assist) for the year
- Loomis has also moved into SWOSU's Top 10 list for career tackles in the NCAA era with 222, which has him sitting eighth on the list and needing four tackles this week to pass Charles Thomas (225, 2003-04) for the seventh spot
- Antoine Albert maintains his team lead in tackles by one this week with 35 total stops on the year and he's the Bulldogs team leader with five passes defended
- Loomis, Braden Sweet and Dominic Blue each had two tackles for loss on Saturday and Blue now leads the Dawgs with 4.0 tackles for loss for the season
- The Bulldogs are ranked fifth in the GAC with six interceptions this season and they've generated 12 total turnovers – the third-most among league teams
- SWOSU's total defense of 381.2 yards allowed per game ranks sixth in the conference, highlighted by a rushing defense that ranks fourth by giving up 171.6 yards per game
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
- Jared Rayburn set a new school record for the longest kickoff return in school history with a 99-yard touchdown return against East Central
- Rayburn's return touchdown was the first by a Bulldog since teammate Sheldon Wilson returned one 96 yards for a score last season against Ouachita
- Trent Dennis continued his perfect kicking season and he's now 13-for-13 on extra point attempts and 1-for-1 on field goals
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU Football returns to ASAP Energy Field for their lone home game in October next Saturday (Oct. 14) against Arkansas Tech
- The Bulldogs then close out the month with road trips to Harding (Oct. 21) and Oklahoma Baptist (Oct. 28) before Homecoming against Southern Nazarene during the first weekend in November