Game Preview
• Fresh off a 35-17 season-opening victory at Southeastern Oklahoma State last Thursday, the SWOSU Football team will host in-state rival East Central on Saturday night in the ASAP Kickoff Classic
• SWOSU won their season opener for the third straight season, improving to 2-0 in Week 1 under head coach Chet Pobolish
• ECU enters the game at 0-1 following a 21-13 defeat to Northwestern Oklahoma State on opening night in Ada
• With 35 points in the opener, SWOSU matched Henderson State for the highest-scoring output by a Great American Conference team in Week 1
• Last season in Ada, East Central snapped the Bulldogs' three-game winning streak in the series with an 18-11 victory over SWOSU
• SWOSU has won the last two meetings with East Central in Weatherford while averaging better than 40 points per game in those contests
• After forcing six turnovers against Southeastern without committing one, SWOSU has a +6 turnover margin which is tied with California (PA) for the NCAA Division II lead
 
The Opponent
• East Central was picked to finish 11th in the GAC this season, coming off a 2018 season in which they had a 3-8 record
• The Tigers opened the season 0-1 following a close loss to Northwestern despite outgaining the Rangers but more than 150 yards
• Al Johnson is in his second year as the head coach after playing offensive line in the NFL for seven seasons and serving as an assistant offensive line coach at the University of Wisconsin
• Top performers for ECU in the season opener included freshman QB Kenny Hrncir, who threw for 205 yards and rushed for 100 yards, and Basiru Jobe, who led the team with 12 tackles.
• ECU leads the all-time series against SWOSU 50-44-2, which includes a 13-9 record since the teams reclassified to NCAA Division II
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
• The Bulldogs topped the 400-yard mark for total offense against Southeastern, improving to 4-1 under Head Coach Chet Pobolish when reaching that mark
• Quarterback Tyler Marr had a strong start to his senior season, throwing for a career-high 310 yards and two scores while rushing for a team-best 45 yards and an additional touchdown
• Marr was one of three GAC quarterbacks to throw for better than 300 yards in the season opener and he ranks third in the league in both yardage and touchdown passes
• While Marr had the most rushing yards, senior transfer Tristian Houston made the most impact with his runs, averaging 7.4 yards per carry and rushing for two touchdowns in just five carries at Southeastern
• Marr's top receiving threat was Jared Rayburn, who hauled in four receptions for 71 yards with a long reception of 42 yards
• DJ Hicks and Donnell Hawkins each caught a touchdown pass as one of their two receptions, with Hicks catching a 55-yard scoring strike from Marr while Hawkins found the end zone from 41 yards out
• SWOSU's offensive line was one of five in the GAC to not allow a sack in the season opener
• The Bulldogs opened the 2019 season with two seniors (LT Corey Ganz, C Calton Bakker), two redshirt freshman (RG Billy Nunn, RT Riley Mize) and a sophomore (LG Brock Mason) starting on the line
• After Week 1, SWOSU ranks 10th among GAC teams in both 3rd Down Conversions (27.8%) and Time of Possession (27:57)
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
• With six takeaways in the season opener, SWOSU already has one-third as many as they did all of last season when they totaled 18 with eight fumble recoveries and 10 interceptions
• SWOSU got interceptions from Jacob Rodman, Braden Sweet and Davotrick Dotrey along with fumble recoveries from Rece Wilhelm, Jonathan Harris and Jelani Heath - all of which occurred in the second half
• The Bulldogs held Southeastern to 78 yards rushing, which ranked second among GAC teams in the opening weekend
• Sophomore cornerback Jalen Carr recorded a team-leading eight tackles along with one pass breakup against Southeastern
• SWOSU finished with six tackles for loss against SE, led by two TFL totaling eight yards from newcomer Reshawn Parker, who also recorded the Bulldogs first sack of the season
• Starting safeties Derrius Franklin and Sweet combined for 13 tackles in the season opener, with Franklin also adding one tackle for loss
• Rodman had seven tackles (four solo, three assist) in addition to his interception
• In his first game as a Bulldog, nose guard Isaiah Brown led SWOSU's defensive line with five tackles (two solo, three assist)
• SWOSU's defense allowed seven third-down conversions in 19 attempts against Southeastern, good for 36.8% which ranked eighth among league teams
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
• SWOSU punter Kane Bowen booted a career-long 71-yard punt in the season opener and averaged 38.0 yards per on nine attempts against Southeastern
• Starting kicker Ryan Buchanan was 5-for-5 on extra point attempts but misfired on his lone field goal attempt from 40 yards out
• Buchanan averaged 60.3 yards per on six kickoff attempts with one touchback
• Justin Bailey, Jared Rayburn and Kevin Fox, Jr., handled return duties for SWOSU in the season opener and are expected to remain in those roles this week
 
Looking Ahead
• Week 3: Saturday, September 21, 6:00 pm, at Arkansas-Monticello
• Week 4: Saturday, September 28, 2:00 pm, vs. Ouachita (Paul Sharp Cup)