Game Preview
• Following a 28-7 victory over Southern Nazarene on Senior Day, Bulldog Football hits the road for the first of two in-state matchups to close out the 2019 regular season
• This Saturday, SWOSU heads to Shawnee to face Oklahoma Baptist in a game that will kick off at 1:00 pm from Crain Stadium
• Saturday's matchup marks the fifth consecutive season the in-state rivals have competed after OBU re-instituted football and joined the Great American Conference prior to the 2015 season
• SWOSU and Oklahoma Baptist have split their series as GAC foes, with SWOSU winning the first two meetings and OBU claiming victories in each of the last two seasons
• The Bulldogs are 1-1 in prior trips to Shawnee, where they were victorious by a score of 42-14 in 2015 and dropped a 28-24 decision in 2017
• SWOSU's victory over SNU snapped a six-game slide and improved the Bulldogs to 3-0 against GAC opponents from Oklahoma this season
 
The Opponent
• At 5-4, Oklahoma Baptist is the lone GAC school from Oklahoma with a record above .500 and the Bison have won nine consecutive games against teams from the Sooner State
• OBU has won two straight games, with victories over Arkansas-Monticello and Northwestern to move into a tie for fifth place in the league standings
• The Bison have had a GAC Offensive Player of the Week four times this season and in each of the past two weeks, with quarterback Preston Haire and running back Tyler Stuever claiming the award
• OBU leads the GAC in total offense (437.0 ypg) and pass offense (283.8 ypg) while ranking third in the league with an average of 33.0 points per game
• Conversely, Oklahoma Baptist ranks last in the GAC in both scoring defense (35.1 ppg) and total defense (453.4 ypg)
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
• The Bulldogs rushed for a season-high 207 yards on Saturday against Southern Nazarene, their highest rushing total since totaling 227 rush yards against Oklahoma Baptist in their last trip to Shawnee (Oct. 28, 2017)
• Donnell Hawkins became the first SWOSU running back to break the 100-yard mark this season after totaling 103 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries against SNU
• Hawkins was one of three Bulldogs with a rushing touchdown against SNU as Jermaine Mask and Kenny Graham also reached the end zone for the first time in a SWOSU uniform
• SWOSU maintained four touchdown drives of at least 10 plays in the win over SNU and the Dawgs' 55 rush attempts in the game was the program's third-most during the NCAA era
• Senior wide receiver Jared Rayburn ranks sixth in the GAC this season with 64.5 yards per game and with two games remaining in his collegiate career, he's among the Top 10 of SWOSU's NCAA era for career receptions (7th, 118), yards (8th, 1,518) and touchdowns (T-3rd, 15)
• Senior quarterback Tyler Marr is ranked third in the Great American Conference in a trio of major categories, including passing yards (1,907), passing touchdowns (17) and total offense (239.0 yards per game)
• Marr's 17 touchdown passes is the seventh-best single-season total at SWOSU during the NCAA era while his 1,907 yards ranks as the 10th-best season total
• DJ Hicks has moved up to third on the team with 17 receptions for 277 yards and he's hauled in four touchdowns in the past three weeks, giving him five for the season
• Justin Bailey is SWOSU's second-leading receiver with 23 receptions for 450 yards and three scores on the year in addition to throwing a touchdown pass against Arkansas Tech
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
• SWOSU limited Southern Nazarene to 245 yards of total offense on Saturday, marking the best defensive performance by the Bulldogs in two seasons under head coach Chet Pobolish
• The Bulldogs finished with five tackles for loss against SNU, which included sacks by freshmen Aidan Craun and Landis Morris
• For the seventh time in nine games this season, Braden Sweet led the Bulldogs in tackles against SNU, recording six stops in addition to one pass breakup
• Sweet remains the third-leading tackler in the conference with 85 stops (45 solo, 40 assist) for the year, leaving him 15 shy of becoming the first Bulldog since 2016 (Conner Bays, 128) to record 100 tackles in a season
• Senior linebackers Jacob Rodman and Malcolm Davis had five stops apiece against SNU, while defensive backs Derrius Franklin and Jalen Carr made four tackles each
• Carr is ranked second on the team with 42 tackles and he leads the conference with five interceptions this season while sitting tied for first in the league with 14 passes defended
• After making three stops against SNU, Dalton Cooper is third on the team with a total of 36 tackles (15 solo, 21 assist) this season to go along with one-half tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry
• SWOSU is now ranked eighth in the league in scoring defense (30.3 ppg) and 10th in total defense (407.1 yards per game)
• The Bulldogs have forced 15 turnovers this season, including seven fumble recoveries and eight interceptions
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
• The Bulldogs rank 11th in the league in kickoff coverage, but senior kicker Ryan Buchanan has had 10-of-39 kickoffs go for touchbacks, which is the fifth-best total in the conference
• SWOSU and Oklahoma Baptist are tied for 11th among GAC teams in field goal kicking, with each team 2-for-5 on field goal attempts for the year
• Junior punter Kane Bowen was called into action a season-low once against SNU, booting a 27-yarder that moved his average to 38.6 yards per attempt for the year
 
Looking Ahead
• Week 11: Saturday, November 16, 3:00 pm, at Northwestern Okla.