SHAWNEE – Four weeks remain in Oklahoma Baptist's regular season. On Oct. 21, the Bison host Northwestern Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. for Homecoming.
Northwestern is 0-7 this season while the green and gold bring a 4-3 record into the game. The game will be called on the Bison Radio Network with the play-by-play commentary of Todd Miller and Jared Gallagher.
This will be the 16th all-time matchup between the two programs, with OBU holding a 9-4-2 record over NWOSU. The last time the two met, the Bison took down the Rangers 31-23 in Alva.
MATCHUP HISTORY
The Bison have won the last four games against Northwestern heading into Saturday night's contest. A year ago, OBU won 31-23 in Alva and racked up an impressive 11.0 tackles-for-loss and four sacks.
Oklahoma Baptist has had its way offensively over Northwestern since joining the GAC. In the seven D2 matchups with the Rangers, the Bison have scored 266 points, a 38.0 points-per-game average. In that time, the green and gold have scored as many as 56 points. That tally came two years ago in Shawnee, a 56-42 triumph.
As for the Rangers, their last win came Nov. 4, 2017. That contest in Alva brought a 31-24 final score, the fewest points OBU has scored in the series in the Division II era.
A BIG PLAY
More than midway through the second quarter of last week's contest against Southwestern Oklahoma State, the Bison found themselves down 3-0.
Charles Whitebear then provided one of the key plays, and it came through special teams. With SWOSU punter Dayton Thrower inside the eight-yard line, OBU's 6-foot-4 sophomore receiver got his right hand on the punt. It resulted in the Bison starting their next possession at the Bulldogs' 36-yard line. Several plays later,
Luke Watkins tied the game with a 22-yard chip shot. That block by Whitebear marked the first time since a Nov. 2, 2019 game against Northwestern that OBU came up with a special teams block. Previously, Seth Meacham blocked a Rangers field goal during a 34-25 Bison win in Alva in 2019.
SPEAKING OF WATKINS
The Bison's freshman kicker, Watkins, hit two field goals last week at Southwestern. He made a 22-yarder in the second and 44-yarder in the fourth to move his season total to nine. Watkins, a native of McKinney, Texas, is now one of only two OBU kickers to make nine field goals in a season. Previously, Austin Manger attained the same amount during the 2013 campaign. With four games left, Watkins seems poised to set a new benchmark for the OBU program.
MAKING AN IMPACT
While freshman quarterback
Kenny Rosenthal won't see the field for the remainder of the season as Bison coaches preserve a redshirt for him, Rosenthal did accomplish something that's only happened one other time in OBU's D2 history. In last week's win at Southwestern, the Houston, Texas native threw for a 61-yard touchdown and scrambled for a six-yard rushing score. It marked only the second time a true freshman had a passing and rushing score in the same game. Coincidentally, in last year's matchup with SWOSU, former player
Dayton Wolfe had an eight-yard scoring run along with a 40-yard pass to program great
Keilahn Harris. For Rosenthal, he ended up with a season-high 231 passing yards on 15 completions.
HARRIS STRIKES
Nick Harris led the Bison receiving corps last week at Southwestern. He hauled in a career-high five passes for 90 yards which included the go-ahead 61-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. This season, Harris has the second-best yards-per-catch average for those with at least 10 catches. He's at 15.07 a pop on 14 catches for 211 yards.
A STANDOUT SEASON
With two sacks against the Bulldogs,
Brett Karhu jumped into the Great American Conference lead with eight. That total is also good for fourth in NCAA Division II. With four games remaining in the regular season, Karhu is only two off the national lead from Benedict's Loobert Denelus. Plus, Karhu bumped his tackles-for-loss total to 12.0. His TFL count slots him in a tie for 22nd nationally and at the top of the GAC.
DON'T THROW HIS WAY
SWOSU avoided throwing in the direction of
Tainique Taylor in the first half of last week's matchup. After halftime, Bulldog coaches made a change. And Taylor made them pay. The 5-foot-11 sophomore came up with a personal-best four PBUs. With those numbers, Taylor moved his season total to 11. Since football returned to Shawnee in 2013, it is the most passes defensed in single-season history. Previously, D'Ante Meeking notched 10 during the 2016 campaign. For Taylor, he ranks tied for fifth in the nation with those 11 pass break-ups.
LIVING IN THE BACKFIELD
Scooter Baker, once more, was a problem for the opposing offense last week. SWOSU allowed OBU's top tackler to tie his personal-best mark in TFLs with 3.0 while also watching Baker record 2.0 sacks. That total was the most attained by Baker through seven games this fall. With Baker's performance in Weatherford, he was named GAC Defensive Player of the Week. He remains in third in the GAC with 64 stops while sitting in a tie for 12th nationally.
DEFENSIVE SECONDARY UPDATE
As has been documented several times this season, the OBU secondary has delivered game in and game out. Last week against the Bulldogs, the Bison's back line gave up 166 yards. That marked the sixth time in seven contests that OBU held an opponent to under 200 yards passing. Plus, that total versus SWOSU included one completion for 52 yards. Take that big play away and the Bison allowed just eight completions for 114 yards. Not bad. To date, the green and gold rank 22nd in Division II in opponent passing yards allowed at 155.4 per contest.
LOOKING AT THE STATS
An ultra-competitive season has brought plenty of notable statistics for the Bison in 2023. Here's a look at some of the best team marks OBU is ranked in across NCAA Division II. With the help of Watkins, the green and gold are slotted 15th in net punting at 39.64 yards per punt. The team's 22 sacks rank 19th while Karhu ranks fourth nationally with eight. Plus, the Bison check in at No. 33 in team passing efficiency defense, allowing quarterbacks to reach a rating of 110.23. Finally, as an offense, the Bison are 30th in the nation in turnovers lost. Roughly 161 D2 schools are ranked each week.
LAST TIME OUT
Led by a six-sack performance by the Bison defense, Oklahoma Baptist prevailed over Southwestern Oklahoma State 20-13 on Oct. 14 in Weatherford. Baker and Karhu each tallied two sacks for the green and gold while Taylor recorded four pass break-ups.
Offensively, quarterback Rosenthal racked up 255 total yards of offense which included 231 through the air, 24 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Running back
Aaron Smith added 51 rushing yards while Harris hauled five passes for 90 yards a score.
The Bison trailed 3-0 early in the second quarter before a Whitebear blocked punt put OBU in good positioning. The team followed with 10-straight points on a Watkins field goal and Rosenthal touchdown run. By halftime, the Bison led 10-3.
After the break, it was SWOSU who came back with 10 consecutive points. It had an eight-play, 64-yard touchdown drive to tie it before a 29-yard field goal from Brandon McCrary with seven seconds left in the third pushed the Bulldogs back up, 13-10.
Fourth-quarter action belonged to the Bison. On the third play of the final period, Harris hauled in a 61-yard strike down the middle to put the visitors from Shawnee back up 17-13. OBU's defense then closed the deal keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard the rest of the way. Taylor had a couple big pass break-ups while
Nick Carpin's strip-sack with under three minutes to go helped the Bison add three more points on a Watkins' 44-yarder to get the final margin of 20-13.
SCOUTING THE RANGERS
Northwestern's 2023 season has been nothing short of rough. Its 11.86 points per game ranks 154th out of 161 Division II schools. In four of its seven games so far, the Rangers have been held under 10 points which included being shut out by first-place Harding 62-0 and Ouachita 66-0.
Defensively, opponents have scored on average 49.43 points per game. That total is slotted 159th in D2. Plus, teams are rushing for 268.1 yards per game with a 6.8 yards-per-carry average. That is dead-last in the country.
Returner Julian Jackson has been outstanding this season. His 544 kickoff return yards are good for fifth in the nation. He's had a long of 89 yards during the Aug. 31 contest against Arkansas-Monticello and he has averaged 22.67 yards per return.
Sophomore defensive back Braden Waters who wears the #28 jersey is someone to keep an eye on. He has notched 31 solo tackles this year and has 44.0 total. Waters' solo tackle mark is good for 21st in the nation and fourth-most in the GAC.
Offensively, Jashaun Foster has a team-high 270 rushing yards with two touchdowns. He averages 41.3 yards per game. Passing-wise, Ethan Everson and Caleb Deal have each completed at least 37 passes with Everson leading the way in yards (413). Both have also tossed a pair of touchdown passes.
Of note, though, Northwestern has thrown 13 interceptions this year.
On the receiving end, No. 1 Travis Romar has team-highs in catches (27), yards (319) and touchdown grabs (2).
