SHAWNEE – Coming off a tough loss at home, the Oklahoma Baptist football team (3-2) aims to redeem itself this week as they'll cross state lines to take on the Muleriders of Southern Arkansas (4-1). Kickoff on Saturday afternoon inside Wilkins Stadium at Rip Powell Field is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
This will be the eighth all-time matchup between the two programs, with SAU holding a 6-1 record over OBU. The last time they met in the natural state, Oklahoma Baptist defeated the Muleriders 44-40.
The game will be streamed live MuleriderAthletics.com and heard on the Bison Radio Network with play-by-play Todd Miller and Scott Wanish.
Game Notes
MATCHUP HISTORY
OBU's lone all-time win over Southern Arkansas came in 2019 when the Bison put together 20 fourth-quarter points to erase a 10-point Mulerider lead late. The Oklahoma Baptist offense, led by Bison great Preston Haire, compiled 500 yards of offense and 30 first downs. Haire threw for 273 yards and tossed two touchdowns, with one going to Josh Cornell, who erupted for 148 receiving yards on 10 catches.
A NEW GUN-SLINGER
With starting quarterback Aidan Thompson sidelined this week due to injury, the Bison will turn to Camden McCrary against Southern Arkansas. The 6-foot-2 redshirt freshman saw action against HSU, completing four of nine passes for 61 yards and a touchdown. It will be the former Bixby High School quarterback's first career start for Oklahoma Baptist.
Backing up McCrary will be first-year signal caller Kenny Rosenthal. A native of Houston, Texas and graduate of Lamar High School, Rosenthal closed his prep career with the following stats: 4,069 passing yards, 45 touchdown passes, 1,001 rushing yards, and 20 rushing touchdowns.
TARGET MICHAEL MARSHALL
Redshirt junior Michael Marshall hauled in a career-high seven passes for 95 yards against the Reddies last week. Those totals boosted his season numbers to 26 catches for 364 yards, a personal high. In the process, Marshall moved into second place in the GAC in catches, total yards, and yards per game (72.8).
DEPTH IS KEY
Also sidelined due to injury this week is starting running back EJ Moore. Coming into this week, he has the fifth-most rushing yards (391) in the GAC and two scores. Filling the void will be tailbacks Buddy Bizzell and Aaron Smith. Bizzell, a sophomore and OBU's leading rusher a season ago, has slowly worked his way back into this year's rotation. After racking up 470 yards, the most by a freshman in the Bison Division II era, and seven scores last season, Bizzell is due for a breakout game with only eight carries thus far. Smith has 23 totes in 2023, the second-most of the running back corps to go along with a touchdown and 38 yards.
ANOTHA' ONE
Chalk up another pass break-up for Bison corner Tainique Taylor. He swiped away the ball from Henderson State's Jalen Abraham during the fourth quarter of last week's game, moving his season total to eight. That mark is tied for the Great American Conference lead with Southern Arkansas' Melvin Smith Jr. It also puts Taylor tied for 10th in the country. Furthermore, with that PBU, Taylor ranks second in OBU's D2 history for single-season break-ups. Only D'Ante Meeking has more, 10 in 2016. A mark Taylor seems destined to break.
MR. RELIABILITY
Sophomore Brett Karhu continued to pressure the quarterback in last week's game against Henderson State. He tallied two tackles-for-loss, a sack and six tackles. Those totals boosted his season marks to eight TFLs and 5.0 sacks. To date, he is one of only two Great American Conference defenders to rank in the top-five in both of those categories. The other is Arkansas Tech's Vershaud Richardson. Plus, Karhu's five sacks rank him tied for 13th in Division II.
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
The Bison linebacking core is plagued with difference makers, led by redshirt senior linebacker Scooter Baker. He went over 10 tackles for the second straight week during Sept. 30th's contest against Henderson State. Baker has 43 this year, a top-25 mark in Division II and fourth in the GAC. He is also averaging 8.8 stops per game. That is good for 19th in America.
Baker has reached double-digits in tackles eight times in his career, including twice this season. In 2019, Baker charted three games with 10 or more stops while playing with Southeastern Oklahoma State.
The playmaking ability stretches to OBU's second-leading tackler, Brayden Johnson. The sophomore, standing 6-foot-3 and 232 pounds, has 35 stops with 4.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks. In his first season on Bison Hill, Johnson collected 17 tackles and 1.5 sacks, feats he almost surpassed in single games this year. In the Sept. 23 win over East Central, he tallied a career-high 12 tackles before earning a sack and a half against HSU last Saturday. He ranks 15th for tackles in the GAC.
Completing the hard-hitting trio is Rian Fields, adding 30 tackles to the team's total. Oklahoma Baptist is the only squad in the league with three players with 30 or more stops this season. Additionally, Fields has 3.5 TFLs and one sack.
WITHIN RANGE
Freshman kicker Luke Watkins has made 6-of-7 field-goal attempts this season. His percentage of .857 is tied for 16th in the country and is the best in the GAC. Watkins needs just three more made field goals to tie the OBU single-season record held by Austin Manger (9; 2013). Furthermore, three more attempts will tie him with Manger and Luke Wendl (2018) for most attempts in a single season as well.
Watkins efficiency accounts for 27 of 106 points scored for Oklahoma Baptist. The only kicker in the NCAA era to reach that many points as a freshman is Luke Wendl, who tallied 43 in 2017.
A VALIANT EFFORT
The scoreboard did not favor the Bison after last week's contest against Henderson State. However, it wasn't for a lack of competitiveness. OBU's defense was the key reason. It allowed 27 points, including only six in the second half. That's the second-fewest points ever allowed to Henderson in eight games. The green and gold's defense also gave up just 292 yards of total offense to the Reddies. That total was the fewest ever allowed by an OBU unit in the series versus HSU.
SCOUTING THE MULERIDERS
Southern Arkansas welcomes the Bison for homecoming, fresh off a 28-21 win over Southern Nazarene. The victory boosted the Muleriders' record to 4-1, its best start since 2019. In the latest Great American Conference standings, SAU is tied for second, alongside Henderson State. The Muleriders are led by second-year head coach Brian Smiley, who holds a 9-7 record at the helm.
SAU boasts the third-best offense and defense in the league, racking up 445.0 yds/gm while limiting opponents to 310.0 yards per contest. Their rushing attack jumps off the page, accounting for 250.4 yards per game, the seventh-most in Division II. The Muleriders have rushed for more than 200 yards in all but one game, highlighted by a 395-yard performance against Arkansas Tech on Sept. 9. All their touchdowns (7) came on the ground in the outing. Additionally, they have the eighth-most first downs (123) in America and three less than GAC foe Harding (126).
Southern Arkansas is home to the second-best rush defense in the league, allowing just over 100 yards per game (103.2). That mark ranks 36th in the country. Their squad has spent plenty of time in opposing backfields, too, as its sack total (15) is tied for second in the GAC.
Junior quarterback OB Jones is a proven dual threat. He has thrown for nearly 1,000 yards (944) and rushed for another 487 yards, both team leads. Jones has 14 touchdowns (7 rushing, 7 passing), the second-most among league signal callers. Jariq Scales is the second-leading rusher with 465 yards and four touchdowns. Tight end Matthew Whitten and DJ Wagoner have a combined four scores, led by Whitten's 208 yards on 13 catches.
Defensively, linebacker Jacob Berry has 31 tackles, while Zay Woods has 29 stops. Junior defensive end Dawson Scott pairs the league's third-most sacks (4.5) with 7.0 tackles-for-loss, which ranks fifth in the GAC.
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