Game Preview
• The 111th season of intercollegiate football at Southwestern Oklahoma State University gets underway on Thursday night in Durant, Okla., as the Bulldogs face long-time in-state rival Southeastern Oklahoma State
• SWOSU kicks off their second season under head coach Chet Pobolish while Southeastern is led by first-year head coach Tyler Fenwick
• The Bulldogs, coming off a 3-8 record last season, have been to finish 10th in the Great American Conference this season while Southeastern has been picked sixth, the highest among the six GAC teams from Oklahoma
• Among the top returners for the Bulldogs are a pair of All-GAC selections from 2018 in left tackle Corey Ganz and wide receiver Jared Rayburn, who was chosen as an offensive utility player
• This marks the beginning of SWOSU's 23rd season as an NCAA Division II institution and the Dawgs are 12-10 in season opener during that time
• SWOSU has won their season opener in each of the last two seasons, including a 49-35 rout of Arkansas-Monticello last season in Pobolish's first game leading the Bulldogs
 
The Opponent
• Southeastern has been picked to finish sixth in the GAC this season following a 6-5 finish in in 2018
• Tyler Fenwick was named the head coach at SE in January following a six-year stint as the head coach at Missouri S&T, where he posted a 37-29 overall record and was named regional Coach of the Year last season
• The Savage Storm welcome back 16 players who started multiple games last season, eight apiece on offense and defense
• Among the top returners for SE is defensive lineman Jonathon Torres, their lone returning all-conference selection
• Southeastern has won four of the last five meetings with SWOSU and they are 16-6 against the Dawgs as NCAA Division II foes
• SWOSU last won in Durant in 2013, when they picked up a 37-27 victory
 
SWOSU Offensive Notes
• SWOSU ranked seventh in the GAC last season in scoring offense (23.3 ppg), eighth in total offense (339.2 ypg) and fifth in passing offense (236.1 ypg)
• The Bulldogs enter the 2019 season with fifth-year senior Tyler Marr as the starting quarterback after he beat out junior transfer Myron Norfleet and redshirt freshman Hudson Woods for the position
• Marr has appeared in 22 games over the last three seasons, with two starts to his credit late in the 2017 season. For his career, Marr has completed 52.4% of his passes for 597 yards and four touchdowns
• SWOSU welcomes back five starters this season in wide receiver Jared Rayburn, tight end Alex Ramirez and offensive linemen Corey Ganz, Calton Bakker and Brock Mason
• Rayburn is the Dawgs leading returning receiver after hauling in 33 receptions for 524 yards and six touchdowns during his junior season
• Ramirez caught six passes for 85 yards and caught his first career touchdown against Arkansas Tech late in his junior year
• Ganz and Mason will anchor the offensive line from the left side while Bakker moves to center and redshirt freshman Billy Nunn (right guard) and Riley Mize (right tackle) join them to round out the group
• SWOSU's leading rusher from last season is sophomore Jaden Knowles, who rushed for 322 yards and three touchdowns on 111 carries as a true freshman
• Among the newcomers to claim a starting position for the first game are junior transfer Justin Bailey and graduate transfer Tristian Houston
 
SWOSU Defensive Notes
• With eight upperclassmen among the 11 listed starters on defense, the Bulldogs will look to make significant strides after ranking 11th in the GAC in scoring defense (33.9 ppg), total defense (414.5 ypg) and passing defense (228.4 ypg) a year ago
• One of the Dawgs strengths last season was forcing turnovers, where they ranked sixth in the conference with 18 takeaways (eight fumbles, 10 interceptions)
• The Bulldogs have five returning starters back for 2019, including three of the top-four tacklers in linebacker Jacob Rodman and defensive backs Braden Sweet and Gerald White
• Rodman ranked second on the team in tackles with 58 stops (36 solo, 22 assist) in his first year at SWOSU and he's joined by junior transfer Wesley Mathis at inside linebacker this season
• Sweet moves back to safety this season after starting all 11 games at outside linebacker in 2018, finishing third on the team with 53 tackles (32 solo, 21 assist) and 6.0 tackles for loss
• Joining Sweet in the defensive backfield are strong safety Derrius Franklin and cornerbacks Rahzel Young and Jalen Carr, who ranked third in the GAC with 15 passes defended as a true freshman
• Manning the outside linebacker positions to start the season are junior Dalton Cooper and senior Malcolm Davis while CJ Jennings and Reshawn Parker are the primary backups
• Up front, the Dawgs welcome back Jonathan Harris, Reggie Mayes, Jr., and Colten Buie while true freshmen Ryan Pollard and Broadrick Logan are also expected to contribute
• Others expected to contribute at safety include White, who ranked fourth on the team with 48 tackles as a junior, and Diondre Scott, who finished with 29 tackles, two blocked kicks and one forced fumble in seven games last season
 
SWOSU Special Teams Notes
• SWOSU welcomes back specialists at each position this season, led by placekicker Ryan Buchanan and punter Kane Bowen
• Buchanan averaged 54.5 yards per attempt on 45 kickoffs last season with 11 touchbacks while connecting on 5-of-6 extra points and 2-of-6 field goal attempts last season
• Bowen ranked fifth in the GAC last season, averaging 39.6 yards per attempt on 52 punts with six of more than 50 yards and 11 that pinned the opponent inside their own 20-yard line
• The Bulldogs welcome back several experienced return men, including Jared Rayburn, CJ Jennings, Jalen Carr and Kevin Fox, Jr.
• Jennings averaged a team-best 26.5 yards per kick return while Rayburn was close behind with 19.5 yards per return and Carr returned a team-high seven punts last season
 
Looking Ahead
• Week 2: Saturday, September 14, 6:00 pm, vs. East Central (Parents Day/ASAP Kickoff Classic)
• Week 3: Saturday, September 21, 6:00 pm, at Arkansas-Monticello