SWOSU (3-5) at Arkansas Tech (3-5)

Russellville, Ark. | 2:00 pm

Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field

swosuathletics.com/coverage

For Complete Game Notes, Click HERE (pdf)

Game Preview

• SWOSU Football enters a sensitive part of the season heading into week nine, currently in a three-game winless streak and holding a 3-5 overall record. With three games remaining in the regular season, the Dawgs are still within reaching distance of a five-win season -- something that hasn't been done since 2016
• Standing in the way of that goal is Arkansas Tech who also holds an identical 3-5 record on the year and are losers of their last two
• These two teams have a 5-5 record against one another in the Division II era. The last two matchups between the Bulldogs and Wonder Boys have been decided by a whopping one point in both contests
• SWOSU is 3-0 all-time when playing in Russellville. The last time they made the trip was the 2018 season when the Dawgs beat Tech 35-14

The Opponent - Arkansas Tech

• Arkansas Tech enters Saturday as one of five teams in the GAC who sport 3-5 records, but they do have a strong early season victory over East Central which has proven to be a solid win
• The Wonder Boys like to run the ball, led by Devontae Dean who averages 80.6 ypg as the league's 10th ranked rusher
• On the contrary, Tech ranks ninth in the GAC in passing behind only the other obvious heavy running teams in the league: Ouachita, Southern Nazarene, and Harding. However, they are coming off a 35-19 loss to Henderson State where Jack Grissom threw for 300+ yards for the first time all season. Grissom looks to have taken over the starting duties in week five of the season.
• Defensively, Tech has forced 10 turnovers this season and is allowing 35.5 points per game (8th GAC) and 467 yards per game (10th)

SWOSU Offensive Notes

• Last week against ECU was the second straight week the Dawgs have racked up 200+ yards on the ground in losses. The 242 yards rushing by the team was a season high.
• Last week was also SWOSU's lowest passing performance. Quarterback Tylan Morton finished 14-30 for 104 yards and one touchdown on a very windy afternoon in Ada. He did account for 64 yards on the ground and added another score with his legs
• Despite the passing performance, Morton and the Dawgs still rank second in the GAC in passing yards (253 ypg) and TD (18)
• Morton also ranks second in total offense, accounting for 291.3 yards per game with 300 yards rushing on the season
• Running back Dexter Brown has flashed some explosiveness over the last two weeks. He is averaging better than 6.0 yards per carry in the last two games, tallying 21 rushes for 142 yards during that span with both a rushing and receiving TD
• RB Gerald Palmer still brings the boom as the more physical option and workload leader. He got 22 touches last week and leads the team with 98 carries and 437 yards (54.6 ypg) on the year
• Receivers Deshon Moreaux and Isreal Watson both have 5 TDs on the year. Moreaux, the team leader with 562 yards (37 catch, 70.25 ypg) and Watson, the team leader with 55 receptions (66.0 ypg)
• Seven different pass catches have caught TD grabs from Morton this season

OFFENSIVE CONFERENCE RANKINGS THROUGH EIGHT GAMES
31.3 points per game (5th in GAC)
411.1 yards per game (7th)
157.4 yards rushing per game (9th)
253.8 yards passing per game (2nd)
37.3% (50-134) 3rd down conversions (10th)
69.2% (18-26) 4th down conversions (2nd)

SWOSU Defensive Notes

• The big play continues to haunt the Dawgs on defense. Last week at ECU, of SWOSU's six touchdowns allowed, four went for plays of at least 40 yards (66, 40, 42, and 88 yards)
• After forcing at least one turnover in each of the first five games, SWOSU has been turnoverless on defense in two of the last three games including the ECU game
• If you eliminate two long scoring runs in the first half that eclipsed 100 total yards, SWOSU defended the run well against the Tigers. After allowing 1,000+ yards against Ouachita and Southern Nazarene the two weeks prior, the Dawgs buckled down to hold ECU to 219 yards on the ground which included the two aforementioned big plays
• Keldric Martin added 14 tackles to his season sheet against ECU. He now has 69.0 on the season, ranking 5th in the GAC
• Christian Toeleiu (7.5) and Richard Silva (7.0) sit 4th and 5th respectively in tackles for loss in the conference
• Rece Wilhelm has 4.5 sacks on the year, good for 3rd in the conference. Silva's 3 in just six games has him tied for 5th in the conference
• SWOSU's eight interceptions has them ranked 2nd in the GAC, despite the Dawgs not recording an interception since week five against UAM
• The Dawgs also continue to lead the GAC in sacks with 23 through eight games

DEFENSIVE CONFERENCE RANKINGS THROUGH EIGHT GAMES
39.5 points per game (10th in GAC)
473.1 yards per game (11th)
257.3 rushing yards per game (10th)
215.9 passing yards per game (9th)
39.4% (43-109) opponent 3rd down conversions (5th)
61.1% (11-18) opponent 4th down conversions (7th)

SWOSU Special Teams Notes

• Jaren Van Winkle sits second in the GAC in field goals. He is 10-13 on the year as one of only two players with 10 makes. His longest is 35 yards this season
• Van Winkle is 6th in punting in the GAC, averaging 39.4 yards per punt