SWOSU Football Game Notes | vs. No. 2 Harding | 9.10.2026

SWOSU Football returns to Weatherford for its 2026 home opener Thursday night against No. 2 Harding. The Bulldogs are coming off a 26-20 loss at Arkansas Tech in which they outgained the Wonder Boys 447-300 and drove to the Tech 5-yard line with a chance to win in the closing seconds. Harding enters 1-0 after opening the season with a 76-0 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Thursday's game will be streamed free on Bulldog TV. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. from Flex-Chem Field at Milam Stadium.

SIX THINGS TO KNOW

1. HOME OPENER
SWOSU returns to Weatherford for its 2026 home opener Thursday against No. 2 Harding. The Bulldogs will play six home games this season.

2. FIVE YARDS SHORT
SWOSU's comeback bid at Arkansas Tech ended five yards short in a 26-20 loss. The Bulldogs outgained Tech 447-300 and held a 28-16 edge in first downs.

3. NO. 2 COMES TO TOWN
Harding enters Thursday ranked No. 2 nationally after a 15-1 season and trip to the Division II National Championship. The Bisons opened 2026 with a 76-0 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State.

4. BISONS RUNNING WILD
Harding rushed for 608 yards and nine touchdowns in its opener, averaging 11.1 yards per carry while setting a school record with 747 yards of total offense.

5. STRENGTH VS. STRENGTH
SWOSU held Arkansas Tech to 125 rushing yards and 3.0 yards per carry in Week 1. Harding counters with its flexbone attack after rushing for 608 yards in its opener.

6. SERIES HISTORY
Harding leads the GAC-era series 12-2 and has won nine straight meetings. Both SWOSU wins came in Weatherford, most recently a 21-13 victory in 2015.

SCOUTING HARDING

2025: 15-1 (11-0 GAC) • NCAA Division II National Runner-Up
Head Coach: Roddy Mote (1st Season)
Preseason GAC: 1st
National Ranking: No. 2

Harding enters Week 2 under first-year head coach Roddy Mote after a 15-1 season that ended in the NCAA Division II National Championship game. The Bisons were picked unanimously to win the GAC again in 2026 and opened the season ranked No. 2 nationally.

The flexbone remains Harding's calling card. The Bisons set NCAA all-division single-season records in 2025 with 6,943 rushing yards and 88 rushing touchdowns while averaging 433.9 yards per game on the ground. Andrew Miller returns after rushing for 2,048 yards and 28 touchdowns last season and finishing as the Harlon Hill Trophy runner-up.

Harding showed no signs of slowing down in Week 1, rushing for 608 yards and nine touchdowns in a 76-0 rout of Northwestern Oklahoma State. The Bisons averaged 11.1 yards per carry, totaled a school-record 747 yards of offense and held Northwestern to -26 total yards.

Defensively, Harding is coming off a 2025 season in which it allowed just 12.8 points and 282.5 yards per game. The unit was particularly strong in the red zone, holding opponents to a 51.7 percent scoring rate.

SERIES SNAPSHOT

Harding leads all-time, 15-5
GAC-era series: Harding leads, 12-2
SWOSU in Weatherford: 3-4
Current streak: Harding, W9
Last SWOSU win: 2015, 21-13
Last three:
2025: L, 55-0
2024: L, 48-14
2023: L, 52-3

LAST TIME VS. HARDING

SWOSU fell 55-0 to No. 2 Harding last season in Searcy. The Bulldogs showed early rhythm with several sustained first-half drives but were unable to finish them, while Harding scored on eight of nine possessions and built a 28-0 halftime lead. The Bisons rushed for 436 yards and six touchdowns behind their flexbone attack. SWOSU finished with 215 yards of offense and held a slight 32:02-27:58 edge in time of possession, but went 4-for-16 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth down. All three failed fourth-down attempts came in Harding territory.

BULLDOG BITES

BEASLEY BREAKS OUT
DeAndre Beasley caught 12 passes for 131 yards in
his SWOSU debut against Tech, leading all receivers
in the season opener.

FIRST IN A WHILE
DeAndre Beasley's 12 receptions were the most by
a Bulldog since at least 2024 and marked SWOSU's
first 10-catch performance since Elijah Reed had 10
against Oklahoma Baptist on Oct. 19, 2024.

MOVING THE CHAINS
SWOSU produced 28 first downs and 447 yards of
offense at Tech. The Bulldogs held the ball for 31:57
and ran 80 offensive plays in the opener.

TWO-QB ATTACK
Knox Dyson completed 29-of-43 passes for 257
yards in his Bulldog debut, while Charles Mutter
completed all three of his attempts and rushed for 40
yards and a touchdown.

ROCKWELL ROLLS
Keith Rockwell led SWOSU with 70 rushing yards on
10 carries at Tech, including the Bulldogs' first touchdown
of the season on a three-yard run

McBEE DELIVERS
Ethan McBee connected on both field-goal attempts
at Arkansas Tech, hitting from 25 and 41 yards while
also going 2-for-2 on PATs.

JACKSON's BACK
After missing the 2025 season due to injury, Keshaun
Jackson produced 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks
and a fumble recovery in the opener. His two sacks
accounted for half of SWOSU's four-sack total.

SPECIAL TEAMS SPARK
Jaylen Niedo blocked Arkansas Tech's first-quarter
PAT, preserving SWOSU's 7-6 lead after Tech scored
on the final play of the opening quarter.

BEHIND THE LINE
SWOSU totaled 13 tackles for loss for 68 yards against
Arkansas Tech, including four sacks. The Bulldogs had
24 sacks across all 11 games last season.

SPREADING IT AROUND
Ten different Bulldogs caught at least one pass
against Arkansas Tech. DeAndre Beasley led the
group with 12 catches, while Jaiden Dozier added
six and Marcus Dockins Jr. had five.

TAKEAWAYS
The Bulldog defense forced three turnovers in the opener.
Wyatt Rohmer recorded an interception, Keshaun
Jackson and CJ McKinney recovered fumbles, and
Malcom Gooden forced a fumble.

EVEN ON TURNOVERS
Despite throwing three interceptions, SWOSU finished
even in turnover margin after its defense generated
three takeaways of its own.

GETTING HOME
SWOSU recorded four sacks against Arkansas Tech after
totaling 24 sacks throughout the entire 2025 season.
Keshaun Jackson led the effort, while
Madox Sekyere added another.

A DIFFERENT TEST
SWOSU's defense saw Arkansas Tech throw 15 passes
in Week 1. Harding needed just three passes to total
139 yards and two touchdowns last week vs NWOSU.

DISCIPLINED DAWGS
SWOSU was flagged just three times for 30 yards in the
season opener. The Bulldogs averaged 51.5 penalty
yards per game last season.

A HISTORY OF TOUGH TESTS
Harding has arrived nationally ranked for several recent
meetings with SWOSU, including No. 24 in 2018, No. 21
in 2019 and No. 2 in each of the last two seasons.

THE WEATHERFORD WINS
SWOSU's two GAC-era victories over Harding both
came in Weatherford, a 27-23 win in 2013 and a 21-13
victory in 2015.

BY THE NUMBERS

SWOSU enters Week 2 after totaling 447 yards of offense in the opener, including 277 through the air and 170 on the ground. The Bulldogs held Arkansas Tech to 300 total yards and 125 rushing yards while controlling possession for 31:57.

Harding's Week 1 numbers were considerably more extreme. The Bisons totaled 747 yards of offense, rushed for 608 yards and scored 76 points while holding Northwestern Oklahoma State to minus-26 total yards. Harding completed all three of its passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.

Looking back to 2025, SWOSU averaged 29.8 points and 386 yards per game, including 213 rushing yards per contest. Harding averaged 43.5 points and 472 yards per game, with 433 yards coming on the ground. Defensively, the Bulldogs allowed 22.4 points and 337 yards per game, while Harding allowed just 12.8 points and 283 yards per contest.

SWOSU was picked seventh in the 2026 GAC Preseason Coaches Poll, while Harding was the unanimous preseason favorite.