Setting the Scene
- Another long-time in-state rivalry will be renewed on Saturday afternoon as the Bulldog Football team welcomes Southeastern Oklahoma State to ASAP Energy Field
- SWOSU dropped a low-scoring contest at East Central last Saturday, falling to 2-3 on the year while Southeastern defeated Northwestern Oklahoma State at home to improve to 3-2 this season
- The last three meetings in the series have been won by the home team, with SWOSU claiming a 37-33 victory in the last meeting at ASAP Energy Field in 2016
- The Bulldogs had a chance to upset the then No. 23-ranked Savage Storm in Durant last season until Southeastern scored the game-winning touchdown with 25 seconds for the 31-24 victory
- SWOSU will play the 2018 season with a heavy heart as they mourn the loss of Jake Simmons, a freshman member of the Bulldog Football team who passed away on Saturday, September 8th due to injuries sustained in a vehicle accident on August 26th
 
The Series
- Southeastern Oklahoma State is SWOSU's third most-played rival, with 86 all-time meetings between the schools in a series the Savage Storm lead 47-36-3
- The series dates back to the 1923 season 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 15-6 edge in the series since the teams transitioned to NCAA Division II in 1997 and they've won 13 of the last 16 meetings between the programs
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Chet Pobolish, 2-3 (1st Season)
- First-year head coach guiding the Bulldogs into the 2018 season with 17 years of collegiate coaching experience
- He most recently served as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach at Missouri Western during the 2017 season
- Also has experience at the FCS level, having coached at Southeastern Louisiana four seasons following stints at Emporia State and Delta State
- Played at Emporia State, where he was a four-time All-MIAA selection and a three-time team captain for the Hornets
 
Southeastern Oklahoma State: Bo Atterberry, 30-20 (5th Season)
- Has led the Savage Storm to four consecutive winning seasons, including seven wins in three of his first four years at the helm
- 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, where he compiled a 41-28 record in six seasons as the head coach
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 7, 2017)
- SWOSU Football fell to No. 23-ranked Southeastern Oklahoma State 31-24 on Saturday afternoon in Durant despite leading for a majority of the contest
- The Savage Storm scored 24 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead 63-yard touchdown pass with 25 seconds left to play in the game
- The Bulldogs took a 17-7 lead on a 26-yard field goal from Trent Dennis right before halftime and maintained that lead into the fourth quarter
- Southeastern scored the first 17 points of the fourth before SWOSU tied the game on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Casey Freeman to Jordan Jackson with 4:07 to play
- SWOSU failed on a fourth down conversion in the final minute and Southeastern responded on the next play with the game-winning touchdown pass
- Freeman completed 22-of-44 passes for 266 yards and he tossed three touchdown passes for the second straight week
 
Last Time Out (Sept. 29, 2018)
- In a game that featured just one offensive touchdown, the SWOSU Football team suffered their third defeat of the season, falling 18-11 to East Central on Saturday night in Ada
- SWOSU scored first with a 31-yard field goal by Ryan Buchanan in the first quarter, but two other field goal attempts were unsuccessful in the first and left the lead at 3-0
- East Central got on the board with a touchdown early in the second quarter, but missed the extra point and took an 8-3 lead to halftime after sacking Casey Freeman in the end zone for a safety
- SWOSU took momentum in the third quarter with a 92-yard interception return for a touchdown by freshman Jalen Carr
- The response from ECU came on special teams as the Tigers blocked a SWOSU punt and returned it for the go-ahead score late in the third
- The Bulldogs managed just 214 yards of total offense, getting 120 yards through the air as Casey Freeman completed 14-of-29 passing attempts
- Clay Wilkerson, Jonathan Harris and Dejai Johnson led the defense with six tackles apiece while TJ Harris added 3.5 tackles for loss
 
Checking the Standings
- Ouachita and Southern Arkansas remain atop the standings and unbeaten at 5-0 to this point, while Harding sits one game back of the top duo at 4-1
- Southeastern Oklahoma State is the only other GAC team currently over .500 with the Savage Storm entering the weekend at 3-2
- SWOSU is tied with Arkansas Tech, East Central, Henderson State and Oklahoma Baptist at 2-3 while Arkansas-Monticello, Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene are all currently 1-4
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
- SWOSU was held to their lowest total offense output of the season at East Central, totaling 214 yards and being held without an offensive touchdown for the first time this season
- The Bulldogs are now ranked eighth in the GAC in both total offense (375.6 yards per game) and scoring offense (23.0 points per game)
- Casey Freeman is the fourth-leading passer in the conference, averaging 245.0 yards per game for the air to go along with 11 touchdown passes
- Jaden Knowles put together the best game of his young career at ECU, rushing for 85 yards on 18 carries while also catching three passes for 10 yards
- Eight different receivers hauled in a reception against East Central, with Knowles and Zack Hill leading the team with three apiece
- One week after a career game at Henderson State, JR Omigie was held to two receptions for 42 yards, improving his league-leading average to 20.8 yards per reception
- SWOSU converted 4-of-16 third-down conversions against ECU and the Dawgs are currently ranked sixth in the conference with a 36% (27-of-75) conversion rate for the season
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
- SWOSU put together their best defensive performance of the year on Saturday by holding East Central to 181 total yards, with 84 yards coming on the ground and 97 through the air
- Saturday's game marked the first time that SWOSU had held a team to less than 200 yards of total offense since October 17, 2015 (Southern Nazarene, 152)
- Jalen Carr had a breakout game from his cornerback position, recording four tackles and three pass breakups in addition to his 92-yard interception returned for a touchdown
- Carr became the first player since 2015 to record a pick-six and his 92-yard return ties the NCAA era school record for the longest interception return (Greg Franklin, at East Central, 11/4/06)
- Clay Wilkerson tied for team-high honors with six tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss at ECU and he moves into the team lead with 24 tackles (11 solo, 13 assist) for the year
- TJ Harris finished with five stops at ECU, including 3.5 tackles for loss and one-half sack, and he's now ranked third in the GAC with 7.5 TFL for the year
- Derrius Franklin also recorded his first career interception against East Central to go along with two tackles
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
- Special Teams miscues marred the Bulldogs loss to East Central as SWOSU missed two field goals, had a punt blocked for a touchdown and had a kickoff return touchdown called back due to a penalty
- Ryan Buchanan connected on his first field goal of the season at ECU, but he was just 1-for-3 on field goal attempts in the game with one missed and one blocked
- CJ Jennings totaled 99 yards on four kickoff returns, upping his season average to 26.3 yards per on nine returns
- Kane Bowen averaged 37.8 yards per punt on five attempts at East Central
 
Looking Ahead
- SWOSU Football remains for another week as they welcome Harding to ASAP Energy Field next Saturday (Oct. 13) for a 2:00 pm kickoff
- The Bulldogs close out the month of October with a trip to Arkansas Tech (Oct. 20) followed by a home contest against Oklahoma Baptist (Oct. 27)