Setting the Scene
- SWOSU Football will play their final three games of the 2018 season against in-state rivals, beginning this Saturday as they host Oklahoma Baptist
- This will mark the fourth consecutive season the Bulldogs have played the Bison as Great American Conference foes after OBU restarted their football program prior to joining the league
- The Bulldogs bring the momentum of a 35-14 road win at Arkansas Tech into the game while Oklahoma Baptist is mired in a six-game slide after opening the season 2-0
- SWOSU is 2-1 against OBU over the past three seasons, including a memorable 37-35 victory in 2016 as the Dawgs won the game on a hail mary touchdown pass from Marc Evans to Collin Bricker as time expired
- 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
- SWOSU and Oklahoma Baptist have faced off 23 times on the gridiron in a series that dates back over a century to 1912
- Oklahoma Baptist joined the Great American Conference for the 2015 season and Saturday's game will be the fourth meeting between the teams as GAC foes
- SWOSU won the first two GAC meetings against the Bison before OBU tripped up the Dawgs 28-24 last season in Shawnee
- SWOSU won the first six all-time meetings between the teams, but the Dawgs were winless in their last seven contests against OBU before the Bison suspended their program
 
The Coaches
SWOSU: Chet Pobolish, 3-5 (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
 
Oklahoma Baptist: Chris Jensen, 20-43 (6th Season)
- Hired in 2012 to become the first Oklahoma Baptist football coach since 1940 and he is now in the midst of his fifth season coaching the Bison
- His team doubled their win total from his first season to the second, going 8-3 in 2014 but the Bison are just 8-33 since joining the Great American Conference for the 2015 season
 
The Last Meeting (Oct. 28, 2017)
- Oklahoma Baptist scored a touchdown with 57 seconds remaining to defeat SWOSU 28-24 on Saturday afternoon at Crain Stadium in Shawnee
- OBU Scored the first 14 points of the game, taking a 14-0 lead with 11:35 to play in the second quarter before the Dawgs scored the next 14 to knot the score at 14-14 right before halftime
- SWOSU took their first lead 24-21 with 6:36 remaining on a nine-yard touchdown pass from Casey Freeman to Jared Rayburn on fourth down
- As the Dawgs tried to run out the clock, Freeman was stripped of the ball and OBU recovered, setting up the game-scoring four-yard touchdown run with 57 seconds to play
- Karltrell Henderson rushed for a career-high 180 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries, averaging 6.2 yards per carry
- Gerald White led the Bulldogs defensively with eight tackles (six solo, two assist) while BJ Kellogg, Clay Wilkerson and TJ Harris had seven stops apiece
 
Last Time Out (Oct. 20, 2018)
- SWOSU Football snapped a three-game slide on Saturday with their second road win of the season, a 35-14 victory over Arkansas Tech in Russellville
- The Bulldogs defense pitched a shutout for three quarters and closed out the game with a touchdown as Clay Wilkerson snagged an interception he returned 57 yards for the score with 1:02 to play
- SWOSU's offense took the opening kickoff and quickly got on the scoreboard with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Casey Freeman to Alex Ramirez
- Freeman found JR Omigie for a 72-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter before Jaden Knowles added a one-yard scoring run to make it 21-0 at halftime
- SWOSU held the Wonder Boys to just 64 yards rushing and 334 yards of total offense while adding two takeaways
- Gerald White and Jacob Rodman led the Bulldogs with eight tackles apiece while Wilkerson and Braden Sweet each had interceptions
 
Checking the Standings
- Ouachita has risen to the top five in the national rankings and they remain alone atop the GAC standings with an unblemished 8-0 record
- Southern Arkansas sits one game back of the Tigers at 7-1, just ahead of Harding in third place at 6-2
- Henderson State and Southeastern are both 5-3 while Arkansas-Monticello moved their record to an even 4-4 following a victory over Oklahoma Baptist last weekend
- SWOSU and Northwestern are currently tied for seventh in the standings at 3-5
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
- The Bulldogs rolled up a season-best 163 rushing yards against Arkansas Tech, snapping a string of three straight games with less than 100 yards on the ground
- SWOSU ranks sixth in the conference in passing offense, averaging 213.6 yards per game through the air
- Casey Freeman is the fifth-leading passer in the GAC, with a 55.7% completion rate (117-of-210), 201.1 passing yards per game and 14 touchdown passes
- Kedron Banks had his best game of the season, rushing for 86 yards on 16 carries to give him 126 yards and two touchdowns over the past three games
- JR Omigie hauled in the longest reception of his career against Arkansas Tech, a 72-yard touchdown in the second quarter that marks the 14th receiving touchdown of his SWOSU career
- Alex Ramirez recorded the first touchdown reception of his career with a 16-yard scoring play from Freeman in the first quarter at ATU
- Jaden Knowles also scored his first collegiate touchdown with a one-yard scoring plunge in the second quarter against Tech
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
- Gerald White and Jacob Rodman led the Bulldogs with eight tackles apiece against Arkansas Tech, while Rodman added two quarterback hurries
- Rodman now leads the Bulldogs with 42 tackles (26 solo, 16 assist) on the year, with 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack
- SWOSU now has four interceptions on the season, getting two apiece the games against East Central and Arkansas Tech
- The Bulldogs limited ATU to 334 yards of total offense, including 64 rushing yards – the fewest allowed by SWOSU this season
- Jalen Carr had two tackles and one pass breakup against ATU, giving him 10 passes defended (1 INT/9 PBU) for the year, which ranks third in the GAC
- Braden Sweet recorded his first career interception against Arkansas Tech and he's ranked second on the team with five passes defended and third with 37 tackles
- TJ Harris leads the Bulldogs with 8.5 tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries in addition 35 tackles and 1.5 sacks
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
- Kane Bowen was six yards per punt above his average on Saturday with 45.8 yards per on five punts against Arkansas Tech, including a long punt of 56 yards
- Jared Rayburn had two kickoff returns for 53 yards at ATU and he's now averaging 18.2 yards per kickoff return on 12 attempts for the year
- SWOSU is 3-for-3 on two-point conversions this season after Jackson Wilhite found Alex Ramirez for a successful attempt in the first quarter against ATU
- Wilhite was 3-for-4 on extra point attempts on Saturday, moving him 14-for-15 on point after tries for the year
 
Looking Ahead
- Next up for the Bulldogs is a trip to Bethany next Saturday for a showdown against Southern Nazarene
- The 2018 season will conclude on November 10 when they welcome the rival Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State to ASAP Energy Field for Homecoming