Game Preview
• SWOSU Football plays at home for the final time in 2019 on Saturday as they host in-state rival Southern Nazarene on Senior Day
• Kickoff is set for 2:00 pm at ASAP Energy Field, where the Bulldogs are 1-3 this season following a 36-35 Homecoming defeat to Arkansas Tech last Saturday
• SWOSU and Southern Nazarene will enter the contest with matching records of 2-6 and tied for seventh place in the GAC standings alongside Arkansas Tech and Northwestern Oklahoma State
• SNU dropped their second consecutive game last Saturday, falling 27-13 against #5 Ouachita
• After starting the season 2-0 with victories over Southeastern and East Central, SWOSU went 0-6 against the GAC opponents from Arkansas and they come into Week 9 mired in a nine-game slide
• SWOSU has dominated the all-time series against SNU with victories in seven consecutive games before the Crimson Storm defeated the Bulldogs 35-23 last season in Bethany for their first-ever victory over SWOSU
 
The Opponent
• SNU started the season 0-3 before picking up wins over Southeastern and Arkansas Tech in a three-week span, but they've now lost two straight games to Arkansas-Monticello and #5 Ouachita
• The Crimson Storm feature the 11th-highest scoring offense in the GAC with 16.8 points per game while their defense is allowing 30.9 points per game to rank eighth in the league
• SNU has recorded a league-leading 11 interceptions, with a 30.0 yard average return and two returned for touchdowns
• The strength of the Crimson Storm offense is their quarterback Gage Porter, who ranks ninth in the GAC with 513 rushing yards in addition to 739 yards and four touchdowns through the air
• SNU has struggled stopping the run this season, ranking 12th in the conference with opponents averaging 273.1 rush yards per game
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
• After matching their season-high with 35 points against Arkansas Tech, SWOSU's scoring average has risen to ninth in the GAC at 20.6 points per game
• The Bulldogs rushed for a season-high 153 yards against ATU, including 75 yards on 11 carries from Donnell Hawkins, both of which represent high marks by a SWOSU running back this season
• Starting quarterback Tyler Marr finished 14-of-36 passes for 214 yards on Saturday and he tossed three touchdown passes in a game for the third time this season
• Wide receiver Justin Bailey hauled in six passes and recorded his first 100-yard game as a Bulldog with 102 yards and a touchdown while also throwing one pass for a 21-yard score
• DJ Hicks was the beneficiary of one of Marr's scoring throws and also Bailey's touchdown pass as he took both of his receptions against Arkansas Tech for touchdowns covering 48 yards
• Marr remains SWOSU's leading rusher with 206 yards and two touchdowns on 51 rushing attempts this season
• Jared Rayburn had two receptions for 46 yards on Saturday and he's the fourth-ranked receiver in the GAC with 507 yards and six touchdowns
• SWOSU's offensive line didn't allow a sack for the third time this season and first time since Week 2 on Saturday
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
• Jalen Carr made two interceptions on Saturday, including the second pick-six of his career, and broke up three passes against Tech which moves him to the top of the GAC rankings in interceptions (5) and passes defended (14)
• SWOSU safety Braden Sweet reached double figures in tackles for the second straight game and fourth time this season after being credited with 12 stops (7 solo, 5 assist) against Arkansas Tech
• Sweet is ranked third in the conference with 79 tackles (43 solo, 36 assist) for the year, more than twice as many as any other Bulldog defender
• Arkansas Tech totaled 439 yards of offense against SWOSU, which is just above the Dawgs average of 427.4 yards allowed per game, which ranks 11th in the conference
• The Bulldogs enter their final three games of 2019 ranked 8th in the GAC in pass defense (180.6 yards per game), 10th in rushing defense (236.8 ypg) and 11th in scoring defense (33.2 ppg)
• Rece Wilhelm had a career-high six tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and one sack on Saturday while Malcolm Davis and RJ Powell each had sacks also
• Rahzel Young doubled his season total with two pass breakups against Tech in addition to three tackles
• With eight interceptions this season, the Bulldogs rank fourth in the conference and Carr's pick-six last Saturday makes SWOSU the eighth team in the league to score a defensive touchdown this season
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
• Jared Rayburn and Kevin Fox, Jr., combined to average 16.6 yards on seven kickoff returns against ATU and the Dawgs are ranked 11th in the GAC with 18.1 yards per return for the season
• The Bulldogs also rank 11th in kickoff coverage with a net average of 35.4 yards per kickoff and net punting with a 33.3 yards per attempt average
• SWOSU placekicker Ryan Buchanan is now 21-of-22 on extra point attempts this season to rank sixth in the GAC and he's connected on 2-of-5 field goals with a long of 40 yards at UAM
• Junior punter Kane Bowen averaged 32.4 yards per punt on seven attempts against ATU and he's ranked eighth in the GAC for the year with an average of 38.9 yards per punt
 
Looking Ahead
• Week 10: Saturday, November 9, 1:00 pm, at Oklahoma Baptist
• Week 11: Saturday, November 16, 3:00 pm, at Northwestern Okla.