Game Preview
• SWOSU Football faces their second ranked opponent in four weeks as they head to Arkansas for the final time this season to matchup with Harding
• The Bisons, ranked #21 in the AFCA Top 25 and #16 in the D2Football.com poll this week, have won five straight games since dropping their season opener against Ouachita on a last-second field goal and Harding has held three of their last five opponents to three points or fewer
• SWOSU enters the contest on a four-game slide following a 35-7 setback against Henderson State last Saturday at ASAP Energy Field
• The Bulldogs opened the season 2-0 but they've dropped four straight games, each of which came against a Great American Conference opponent from Arkansas
• SWOSU is 2-7 all-time against Harding in Searcy, but First Security Stadium has been a tough place to play for the Dawgs since the formation of the GAC
• The Dawgs are 0-5 in Searcy in GAC play, with Harding scoring at least 38 points in each game while outscoring SWOSU by an average of 33.2 points in those matchups
 
The Opponent
• The Bisons of Harding feature the top rushing attack in the GAC and they rank third in NCAA Division II with an average of 335.7 yards per game on the ground
• With the strength of their ground game, Harding is able to control the clock and they rank fifth in the country with an average time of possession of 34:19
• Harding has won at least seven games in each season since 2012, including an unbeaten 11-0 regular season and GAC Championship in 2016
• Head Coach Paul Simmons is in his third season leading the Bisons Football program following 11 seasons as an assistant coach and he's guided Harding to two straight NCAA Division II Playoff appearances
• Harding ranks third in NCAA Division II in both total defense (223.5 yards per game) and scoring defense (10.8 points per game)
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
• SWOSU was held to 250 yards of total offense by Henderson State, their second-lowest yardage output of the season and they've now dropped to 10th in the conference with an average of 319.3 yards per game
• The Bulldogs were also limited to a season-low 52 rushing yards against HSU and they'll enter Week 7 averaging a league-worse 101.8 yards per game on the ground
• The strength of SWOSU's offense is through the air, where they are throwing for an average of 217.5 yards per game despite being held to less than 200 passing yards in three of the last four games
• Tyler Marr completed a season-best 22 passes on 39 attempts, throwing for 198 yards and one score against Henderson State
• For the year, Marr is the third-leading passer in the Great American Conference, having completed 87-of-182 passes for 1,276 yards and 11 touchdowns, good for 212.7 passing yards per contest
• Marr also remains the Bulldogs leading rusher with 162 yards and two scores to his credit, which is good for an average of just 27.0 yards per game
• Justin Bailey hauled in a season-best five receptions for 59 yards and the Bulldogs lone score against HSU, which was his second receiving touchdown of the season
• Jared Rayburn's streak of 100-yard receiving games ended at two as he was limited to 34 yards on three receptions by Henderson State
• Rayburn leads the conference with an average of 19.5 yards per reception while ranking fourth with 81.8 receiving yards per game and second with 124.4 all-purpose yards per game
• Donnell Hawkins returned to the backfield last week and led the Bulldogs with 22 rush yards on six attempts against Henderson State
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
• The Bulldogs trouble stopping the run continued on Saturday as Henderson State became the fourth consecutive opponent to rush for at least 200 yards against SWOSU
• SWOSU enters their meeting with Harding ranked 9th in the GAC in total defense (412.7 ypg) and 11th in rushing defense (222.3 ypg)
• Senior safety Braden Sweet added nine tackles to his team-leading tackle on Saturday, giving him 53 stops (29 solo, 24 assist) on the year, which ranks him fifth among GAC players
• Jalen Carr brought home his third interception of the season against Henderson State and he's now tied for the conference lead in interceptions while ranking second with nine passes defended
• SWOSU's defense now has 12 takeaways this season (six interceptions, six fumbles), which ranks tied for third among conference teams
• Freshman safety Javotrick Dotrey made six stops against Henderson State, giving him at least six tackles in three straight games and 27 on the year, which ranks third on the team
• Junior defensive tackle Isaiah Brown is the Bulldogs leading tackler among defensive lineman after making four stops while also blocking a field goal against HSU
• In his return to the lineup, junior linebacker Wesley Mathis totaled six tackles (one solo, five assist)
• CJ Jennings made six tackles against Henderson State and he remains SWOSU's team leader in tackles for loss (5.0), fumbles forced (2) and fumbles recovered (2)
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
• SWOSU punter Kane Bowen had a game-high punt of 62 yards against Henderson State while averaging 35.8 yards on five attempts
• For the year, Bowen is ranked ninth in the GAC, averaging 39.8 yards per punt with a long of 71 yards, six of 50+ yards and eight downed inside the opponents 20-yard line
• Placekicker Ryan Buchanan misfired on a season-long 48-yard field goal attempt against Henderson State, which drops him to 2-for-5 on field goals this season
• SWOSU ranks eighth among GAC teams in both kickoff returns (19.2 yards per attempt) and punt returns (8.5 yards per attempt)
 
Looking Ahead
• Week 8: Saturday, October 26, 5:30 pm, vs. Arkansas Tech
• Week 9: Saturday, November 2, 2:00 pm, vs. Southern Nazarene