SHAWNEE – Head Coach
Chris Jensen's Bison football squad is back in action on Oct. 10 at 6 p.m. when they host Southern Arkansas at Crain Family Stadium at the Hurt Complex.
The Bison Sports Network Crew of Todd Miller, Scott Wanish and John Brooks will be on the call of the contest starting with pregame coverage at 5:30 on KGFF.com.
Thursday Night Football
October 10th's game with Southern Arkansas, and this might surprise some, is actually the second Thursday-night contest since Oklahoma Baptist brought back football in 2013. During the 2016 campaign, the Bison played Northwestern Oklahoma State on Saturday, Oct. 15 before turning around five days later to play at Southwestern Oklahoma State. That Oct. 20 road date with the Bulldogs was a close one, with the hosts winning 37-35 on a time-expiring, 41-yard touchdown pass at ASAP Energy Field.
Filling Some Big Shoes
Sophomore
Tyler Johnson filled in for the injured
Brayden Johnson last Saturday at Henderson State. And boy did he make some noise. The 5-foot-11 sophomore from Tulsa came up with a career-high 13 tackles. That included three solo and 10 assisted stops. To date, that's the second-most tackles by a Bison defender in a single game this fall.
Peevey's Scamper
Sophomore
Caden Peevey broke off a second-quarter, 53-yard run against the Reddies. That was the speedy back's longest career rush, and it marked just the 11th time in the D2 era (2015-present) that a Bison running back ripped off a 50-plus yard rushing effort. The longest run from scrimmage since 2015 came courtesy of Tyler Stuever in 2019 when he had an 87-yard carry against Southwestern Oklahoma State. Prior to Peevey, a season ago
EJ Moore had a 72-yard burst at East Central on Sept. 23.
Mr. 100
Redshirt senior
Michael Marshall hauled in four catches for 34 yards against Henderson State. With that, Marshall eclipsed 100 catches, becoming one of only six OBU players to ever haul in at least 100 passes. Marshall currently is in sixth all-time and trails Josh Pettijohn (2015-18) who attained 130 receptions. All-time great Keilahn Harris has the most catches in program history with 196.
On the Ground
OBU did a decent job with its rushing attack last week in Arkadelphia. The team ran for 113 yards, marking the second-straight contest it went over 100 yards rushing.
EJ Moore had a touchdown with 61 yards while Peevey carried four times for 55 yards.
Passing Game Struggles
Alternatively, the Bison passing attack did not pose a threat to Henderson's defense. The team threw for just 85 yards. That was the lowest total in eight years when the Bison reached 57 yards passing against Southern Arkansas on Oct. 8, 2016. Furthermore, it was only the fifth time in 94 Division II games that the green and gold did not throw for over 100 yards.
A Balanced Team
Southern Arkansas has one of the most balanced attacks in the GAC this season. With the help of quarterback Judd Barton, SAU boasts the second-best passing attack in the conference. That unit averages 223.6 passing yards per game. On the ground, Southern Arkansas is talented, too. The Muleriders are fourth, averaging 162.4 yards.
Individually Speaking
SAU's Barton is second in the GAC in completion percentage (62.0) and ranks third with seven touchdown passes. His favorite target is Rasheen Green who is sixth in the league with 16 catches. After Green, Jakarion Lockett boasts a top-six yards-per-catch average (22.5). Running back Jariq Scales is slotted fourth in the conference with 307 rushing yards with six touchdowns.
On the defensive end, Dawson Scott's 8.0 tackles-for-loss is a top-five GAC mark. Plus, his 6.5 sacks are best in the conference and fourth in the nation. In the secondary, Zay Woods leads with eight pass break-ups.
Regarding special teams, Scales is a dangerous returner. He has returned nine punts for 205 yards, a 22.8 average, a mark that's second-best in the GAC. Punter Andrew Schreiner is slotted fifth in the league with a 41.1 per-punt average and includes five punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
Historically Speaking
Southern Arkansas leads the all-time series 7-1. In six of those eight games, the Muleriders have scored at least 40 points including pouring in 63 a season ago. OBU's lone win in the series came during the 2021 season when it rallied for a 44-40 win in Magnolia on Oct. 30.
