OBU Seeks First Win Against SAU Saturday

SHAWNEE – The Oklahoma Baptist football team heads to the Natural State in search of their first win in school history against Southern Arkansas on Saturday night at Wilkins Stadium. The Bison travel to Magnolia for their sixth meeting all-time with SAU, and third at Rip Powell Field.

Live video of Saturday's contest is available on MuleriderAthletics.com and OBU fans can listen to the broadcast on the Bison Radio Network with the trio of Todd Miller, John Brooks, and Scott Wanish.

Game Notes

• The Bison are coming off a thrilling overtime 43-37 victory over Southeastern Oklahoma State, who was in a four-way tie for first place in the GAC coming into the contest. OBU claimed their win in walk-off fashion in front of a crowd of 3,200-plus on homecoming weekend.

• Oklahoma Baptist claimed their 15th straight victory over an Oklahoma opponent in their win over the Savage Storm. OBU has not lost a game to anyone from the sooner state since the 2017 football season. Safe to say, we own this state. The Bison will look to extend their streak to 16 in the regular-season finale against the Crimson Storm of Southern Nazarene on Nov. 13.

HIGH-FLYING OFFENSE

• After finishing the 2019 season as the top-ranked offense in the Great American Conference, OBU is on track to do it again on an even higher level. In 2019, the Bison recorded 26 passing touchdowns. This season, they already have 28 with three games remaining. Oklahoma Baptist comes in at second in the league with 39 total touchdowns, averaging 442.3 total yards of offense per game. Nationally, OBU ranks third for total pass completions (219) and passing touchdowns (28). The Bison also come in at No. 19 for total passing yards (2,382) and passing yards per game (297.8). The Oklahoma Baptist passing touchdown total ties the all-time school record for scores in a single season, set in 2018. The offense has matched this total with 170 fewer attempts to put things in perspective of how efficient they've performed. OBU has thrown only seven interceptions this year, one less than in 2019, and ranks third in the conference for passing percentage (65.2%). All of this success has happened with the Bison averaging 36.9 points per contest.

• Once again, quarterback Preston Haire reaches a career milestone. Against the Savage Storm, Haire pitched four touchdowns to bring his career passing touchdown total over the century mark. He now has 101 passing touchdowns in a Bison uniform and is just the third in GAC history to eclipse the 100 mark. The head-man is number one amongst active career leaders for total touchdowns in the nation. With 28 touchdowns this season, Haire is tied for second in D-II and leads the conference. The Texan has thrown six touchdowns in a single game twice this season and is one of three players in the country to do so. His passing yards total (2,353) is second in the league and 12th in the country, as he averages 295.4 yards per game. Haire completed 25 of his 34 passing attempts against Southeastern, tying his season-high passing percentage of 73.5%, set back in week three of this year.

• After rumbling to 89 yards against the Savage Storm, tailback Tyler Stuever has eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark in his career. Stuever now has 2,068 yards in his time at OBU and is just the second Bison ever to reach this mark. Isaiah Mallory (2015-19) set the top spot in the Oklahoma Baptist record books at 2,476 career rushing yards. Stuever has the chance to extend the mark further as he is only in his junior season. The Washington, Oklahoma native secured Saturday's win with a six-yard scamper into the endzone, tallying his fifth score of the season. In his time at Bison hill, Stuever has 30 total touchdowns, including 28 rushing scores. He ranks 12th among active career leaders in D-II and third in the league for the same category. This season, Stuever is fourth in the league with 813 yards and ranks eighth with five scores. This year, teammate Rueben Thompson leads the squad with six rushing touchdowns, good for sixth in the conference.

• The two-headed monster of Keilahn Harris and Josh Cornell lit up the field again last week. Harris hauled in three touchdowns for the second time this season, totaled 10 receptions, and racked up 114 yards against SEOSU. Cornell caught one touchdown, extending his streak of scoring at least one touchdown in a game to three. Harris' 68 catches this season are six shy of breaking the all-time single-season record of 74, set by Cornell in 2019, and there are still three games left. Nationally, his season reception total is tied for number two, averaging 8.5 per game. Cornell isn't far behind at 53 this year, good for a tie at ninth in the country. The touchdown totals of Harris (12) and Cornell (10) rank second and fourth in the nation, respectively. OBU is one of two teams in D-II to have teammates rank within the top-5 in this category.

• It has been no secret of the tear that linebackers Josh Arnold and Nick Boone have been on this season. Arnold has accumulated 71 tackles while Boone has 65, good for second and third in the conference, respectively. Arnold's 15.5 TFLs lead the GAC and rank fifth in the nation, while Boone's 9.5 TFLs land at the four spot in the league. Arnold also is second in the conference with 6.0 sacks.

PARTY IN THE BACKFIELD

• The Oklahoma Baptist defense has seemingly lived in the backfield this season, tallying 21 total sacks, which ranks second in the GAC, and 56.0 TFLs. Robert Lolofie, Malik Allen, and Nick Carpin are the three forces up front stopping offenses in their tracks. Lolofie and Allen have recorded a matching 3.5 sacks, while Carpin comes in right behind at 2.0. These three anchors are a part of a unit that ranks third in the conference for rush defense, allowing 146.1 yards per game.

• Oklahoma Baptist won their second straight game last Saturday as they prevailed 43-37 over the Savage Storm of Southeastern in overtime in Shawnee. In front of a packed homecoming crowd, the Bison claimed their 15th consecutive victory over an Oklahoma opponent in walk-off fashion as Tyler Stuver reached the endzone untouched in extra time. The OBU offense racked up 378 yards, including 141 yards on the ground. The squad pitched four touchdowns and reached paydirt twice between the tackles. The Bison fell short in the total yardage and time of possession margin to SEOSU, but found a way to pull out their fifth win of the season. Receiver Keilahn Harris went for three scores and 10 catches as he torched the Savage Storm defense for 114 yards. Tailback Tyler Stuever found his groove and reached the endzone twice, including the game-winner in overtime. Stuever finished with 89 yards on 19 carries. Preston Haire completed 25 of his 34 attempts for 237 yards and four touchdowns, one of his most efficient outings of the season.
• After tallying three points in the inaugural quarter, OBU scored 28 through the following two periods before being forced into overtime after a last-minute SEOSU touchdown with no time remaining. After a Southeastern missed field goal, the Bison defense stood tall and forced the ball back into the offense's possession. The rest was history as Stuever called game to bring Oklahoma Baptist home in dramatic fashion.
• Josh Arnold led the Bison defense with nine tackles while Felipe Alvear followed up with eight. Safety Trajan Lands and corner Tyler King added a matching seven tackles on the backend and sides of the defense. Xavier Lott notched a big-time sack that resulted in a forced fumble, while Robert Lolofie and Taurean Smith were credited with 0.5 sacks apiece on the night.

• Southern Arkansas comes into the weekend with a 3-5 record, suitable for a fifth-place standing the GAC. Head Coach Mike McCarty is in his first season at the helm of the Muleriders, holding wins over NWOSU, SWOSU, and Arkansas Tech this year. SAU has experienced a bit of a dropoff compared to the past few years, where the Muleriders ranked near the top of the league's offensive and defensive categories. Currently, Southern Arkansas has the sixth-ranked offense, and the defense sits near the bottom of the GAC, allowing 433.3 yards per contest.
• The Muleriders are coming off a 42-7 loss at the hands of Ouachita Baptist where the Tiger offense piled up 408 yards. After being down 7-0 at the end of the first quarter, SAU allowed OBU into their territory for 35 points to wrap up their loss last weekend. Senior quarterback Hayden Mallory leads the Mulerider offense with 1,837 passing yards and 16 touchdowns. Mallory is averaging 229.6 yards per game and has thrown nine interceptions this season. Freshman Jariq Scales heads the SAU rushing attack with974 yards and five scores, averaging 121.8 yards per game. His yardage total ranks second in the GAC and sixth in the nation. This season, receiver Micah Small has been Mallory's favorite target as he has 43 catches for 712 yards. Small has reached the endzone eight times so far, placing him fourth in the GAC. Teammate Dekendrick Bender has been another reliable source in the receiving corps, tallying 248 yards and four scores.
• Defensive back Brock Floyd ranks number one on the SAU defense with 63 tackles, two interceptions, and one forced fumble. Floyd is fourth overall in the league for total tackles and is the leading tackler among defensive backs in the GAC. Freshman linebackers Rayvon Ingram and Gavin Roe total 55 and 52 tackles, respectively.
• In 2019, Southern Arkansas escaped a Bison comeback 30-28 as OBU scored 14 points in the fourth to try and beat the Muleriders in Magnolia. Preston Haire found Josh Cornell for a touchdown on back-to-back drives in the last quarter before a 48-yard SAU field goal sealed up the Mulerider win with no time remaining.