Game Preview
• Bulldog Football makes their first road trip to Arkansas this Saturday for a Great American Conference matchup at Arkansas-Monticello, with kickoff set for 6:00 pm on Saturday night at Cotton Boll Stadium in Monticello
• SWOSU enters the game on a two-game win streak after defeating Southeastern Oklahoma State and East Central to open a season 2-0 for the first time since 2013
• In order to move to 3-0, the Dawgs will have to defeat Arkansas-Monticello for a third straight season after picking up a last second 20-19 victory to open the 2017 season and a runaway 49-35 win to open the Chet Pobolish era last season
• UAM enters the game with a record of 1-1 following an overtime win over Arkansas Tech in the home opener, which was followed by a 24-0 loss at #22 Harding last Saturday
• The Weevils finished with 158 yards of total offense against Harding, the second-fewest by a GAC in a single game this season
• The Bulldogs lead NCAA Division II in turnover margin through two weeks, with nine takeaways against two turnovers for a +7 margin
 
The Opponent
• After being picked to finish 5th in the GAC this season, the Boll Weevils are off to a 1-1 start through two weeks
• Last season, UAM finished 6-6 after falling to Emporia State in the Corsicana Bowl, which was the program's first postseason appearance in 25 years
• UAM is guided by ninth-year head coach Hud Jackson, who ranks fourth all-time in wins at UAM with 30
• The Boll Weevils rank 11th in the conference in scoring offense (13.0 ppg) and eighth in scoring defense (19.0 ppg), but their pass defense leads the league by allowing just 71.5 yards per game through the air
• SWOSU and UAM have met eight times in football, beginning with the formation of the Great American Conference in 2011
• The home team has won seven out of the eight all-time meetings, with the lone road victory belonging to SWOSU in 2017
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
• Senior quarterback Tyler Marr ranks second in the GAC in passing yardage (292.0 yards per game) and total offense (330.5 ypg) through two weeks and he's accounted for six of SWOSU's eight touchdowns this season with two rushing scores and four passing touchdowns
• Marr is also ranked second nationally in yards per completion, averaging 21.6 yards per on his 27 completed passes this season, including five catches that went for more than 50 yards
• SWOSU had three completions of better than 60 yards against East Central as Jared Rayburn (65 yards) and Justin Bailey (63) while Donnell Hawkins (64) also hauled in a long gain without reaching the end zone
• The Bulldogs are one of two teams in the GAC (Oklahoma Baptist) who have not allowed a sack this season
• Rayburn leads the team with five receptions for 136 yards, an average of 27.2 yards per catch, and he's one of four different players to catch a touchdown pass from Marr this season
• Bailey has caught four passes for 132 yards and one touchdown and he carried the ball four times for 41 yards on Saturday against East Central
• SWOSU is ranked third in the GAC in scoring and total offense this season, averaging 29.5 points and 411.5 yards per game through the first two weeks
• The Bulldogs have been very balanced on offense this season, with nine different players credited with a rushing attempt and 12 different players who have caught a pass through two games
• Marr is currently SWOSU's leading rusher with 77 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries, while Tristian Houston has run for 68 yards and two scores on 14 attempts
• Kenny Graham has gotten the start at running back in both of the first two games and he's totaled 32 yards on 11 carries
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
• SWOSU has forced nine turnovers (five fumbles, four interceptions) through two games and the Dawgs currently lead NCAA Division II with a turnover margin of +7
• One player leading the way for the Bulldogs has been senior outside linebacker CJ Jennings, who is one of 12 players in the country with two forced fumbles so far this season
• Jalen Carr had a big game with six tackles, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery and one interception against ECU and he's tied for the GAC lead with four passes defended in two games
• Senior safety Braden Sweet is the Bulldogs leading tackler for the season with 15 stops on the year after being credited with nine tackles (five solo, four assist) on Saturday
• Carr is right behind with 14 tackles - including a team-best 12 solo stops - in addition to four passes defended, three pass breakups and two takeaways
• SWOSU has had 13 different players credited with at least a partial tackle for loss, with Malcolm Davis, Reshawn Parker and Jared Young leading the team with 2.0 TFL apiece
• The Bulldogs have had four different players record an interception this year in Sweet, Carr, Jacob Rodman and Davotrick Dotrey
• SWOSU is tied for the conference lead with four sacks in the first two games, getting solo sacks from Sam Ryan and Parker along with partials from Koran Cooper, Rece Wilhelm, Broadrick Logan and RJ Powell
• All three starting defensive linemen for the Bulldogs against East Central were freshmen, with two true freshmen (Logan, Powell) and one redshirt (Wilhelm)
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
• A career-best 71-yard punt from Kane Bowen in the season opener is tied for the second-longest punt in the GAC this season and Bown currently ranks 10th in the league with an average of 38.3 yards per on 12 punts
• Senior placekicker Ryan Buchanan is an unblemished 8-for-8 on extra point attempts and he put through his first field goal of the season with a 24-yard make in the second quarter against ECU
• Buchanan has averaged 61.6 yards on his 11 kickoff attempts, which includes four touchbacks
• Jared Rayburn, Donnell Hawkins, Sam Ryan and Kevin Fox, Jr., have combined to average 16.2 yards per kick return on a small sample size of six attempts
 
Looking Ahead
• Week 4: Saturday, September 28, 2:00 pm, vs. Ouachita (Paul Sharp Cup)
• Week 5: Saturday, October 5, 2:00 pm, at Southern Arkansas