Game Preview
• SWOSU Football returns to ASAP Energy Field on Saturday, looking to snap a three-game slide when they host Henderson State at 3:00 pm
• The Bulldogs dropped to 2-3 following a 42-20 loss at Southern Arkansas last Saturday while Henderson State continued their strong start to 2019 with an emphatic 47-7 home win over Northwestern Oklahoma State
• While Henderson State has controlled the series against SWOSU since the two teams helped form the Great American Conference, the Bulldogs won the last meeting with a 35-31 triumph in Arkadelphia last September that snapped a seven-game run by HSU in the series
• SWOSU opened the 2019 season 2-0 with victories over Southeastern Oklahoma State and East Central before dropping three straight matchups against conference foes from Arkansas
• Henderson State comes to ASAP Energy Field with a 4-1 record, their lone loss coming two weeks ago by a score of 14-13 at #22 Harding, and they are 4-0 in Weatherford since the GAC's formation in 2012
 
The Opponent
• Despite finishing 5-6 last season, the Reddies were picked to finish 4th in the GAC this season and they've established themselves as one of the top offenses in the league this season
• HSU leads the GAC in passing offense with 277.6 yards per game while ranking third in both total ofense (420.6 ypg) and scoring offense (31.2 ppg)
• The Reddies have been equally stout on defense, where they rank second in the conference in total defense (296.4 ypg) and third in scoring defense (15.2 ppg)
• Henderson State has already had two players claim GAC Offensive Player of the Week honors this season in quarterback Richard Stammetti, who ranks second in the GAC with 1,337 passing yards, and wide receiver L'liott Curry, who is averaging better than 100 yards per game and has a league-leading six touchdown receptions to his credit
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
• Senior wide receiver Jared Rayburn led the Bulldogs with a second-consecutive 100-yard receiving game at Southern Arkansas, finishing with 8 receptions for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the contest
• For the year, Rayburn leads the Dawgs and ranks third in the Great American Conference with 93.8 receiving yards per game and five receiving touchdowns in four games played
• SWOSU quarterback Tyler Marr is ranked third in the GAC in passing yards per game, averaging 215.6 yards per after throwing for 246 yards and three scores at SAU
• Marr has completed less than 50% of his passes in four-of-five games this season, but he's thrown for at least two touchdowns in four games and he enters Week 6 ranked sixth in NCAA Division II with an average of 16.6 yards per completion to his credit
• Marr also leads the Bulldogs in rushing after gaining 56 yards on nine carries at SAU, giving him 148 yards and two scores through five games
• SWOSU was held below 100 yards rushing at SAU for the second time this season and they enter this week ranked 11th in the conference with an average of 111.8 yards per game on the ground
• The Bulldogs remain among the conference leaders for sacks allowed, with Marr only being thrown for a loss three times through five games
• SWOSU enters the game ranked eighth in the GAC in scoring offense (21.8 ppg) and ninth in total offense (332.2 ypg)
• Marcellous Dowell made the most of his lone reception at SAU, hauling in a 17-yard scoring strike from Marr for his first touchdown reception of the season
• Dowell became the fifth different Bulldog receiver to catch a touchdown pass from Marr this season, joining Rayburn (5), Donnell Hawkins (2), Justin Bailey (1) and DJ Hicks (1)
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
• Davotrick Dotrey and Reshawn Parker led the Bulldogs with eight tackles apiece at Southern Arkansas
• Dotrey made his first career start at cornerback and responded with six solo tackles and two assists while Parker returned to the starting lineup at outside linebacker and totaled five solo and three assist tackles
• Braden Sweet added to his team-lead with seven tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss against the Muleriders and he enters Week 6 ranked fourth in the GAC with 44 tackles (24 solo, 20 assist) to his credit
• After making six tackles at SAU, cornerback Jalen Carr is now second on the team with 24 tackles on the year while leading the Dawgs with two interceptions and three pass breakups
• CJ Jennings remains tied for the conference lead with two fumbles forced and two fumbles recovered, which has helped the Dawgs to 11 takeaways this season, the second-most among league teams
• In the teams three-game slide, SWOSU has struggled to stop the run, allowing opponents to rush for an average of 279.7 yards after holding each of the first two opponents under 200 rushing yards
• SWOSU enters this weekend's game ranked eighth in the GAC in scoring defense (30.0 ppg) and ninth in total defense (417.2 ypg)
• The Bulldogs have only had three players start all five games defensively in Sweet, Carr and Dalton Cooper, who has played the last two weeks at inside linebacker after starting the season at outside and ranks third on the team with 21 tackles (7 solo, 14 assist)
• Colten Buie leads the Bulldogs defensive linemen with 16 tackles (9 solo, 7 assist) on the year and he's also totaled one-half tackle for loss and one pass breakup
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
• SWOSU punter Kane Bowen climbed from ninth-to-seventh in the GAC's punting average after averaging 45.0 yards per on four punts at Southern Arkansas
• For the year, Bowen is now averaging 40.5 yards per punt on 28 attempts with a long of 71 yards, five of 50+ yards and seven downed inside the opponents 20-yard line
• Placekicker Ryan Buchanan was 2-for-2 on extra point attempts at SAU but he misfired on a 38-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter, which drops him to 2-for-4 on field goal attempts this season
 
Looking Ahead
• Week 7: Saturday, October 19, 3:00 pm, at Harding
• Week 8: Saturday, October 26, 5:30 pm, vs. Arkansas Tech