SHAWNEE – Two teams aiming for their first win of 2024 will meet Saturday night in Durant. Oklahoma Baptist and Southeastern Oklahoma State will clash at 6 p.m. on Sept. 21 at Paul Laird Field.
The Bison are coming off a defeat to No. 1 Harding while Southeastern dropped its last game at Henderson State.
Todd Miller and Scott Wanish of the Bison Sports Network will be in attendance for the call of the game on KGFF. Be sure to follow OBU Football on Instagram and X/Twitter for updates too.
A Premiere Linebacker
Through two weeks of action, Bison linebacker
Scooter Baker ranks No. 2 in the nation with 27 tackles. That's tied with Tyveon Williams, a fellow defender for the Southeastern Oklahoma State Savage Storm. Baker is also top-ten with 15 solo stops. Something to keep an eye on is Baker's OBU career total. He's at 148 tackles, needing 52 more to reach 200. Only five other Bison in program history have reached that mark.
Relying on Harris
Senior
Nick Harris has quietly started to put together a solid 2024 season for the Bison receiving corp. He has snagged a team-high 12 passes and is averaging 7.33 catches per game. That latter total is tied for 23rd in the country and is the third-best GAC mark.
Needing Balance
Any intelligent fan knows the benefits of having a balanced offensive attack. OBU is averaging 174.0 passing yards per game, however, its rushing game is producing just 54.0 yards per contest. That's 11th in the Great American Conference. It should be noted, through two weeks of competition, the Bison have gone against the No. 1 (Harding) and No. 2 (Arkansas Tech) rushing defenses in the league. On Saturday, the green and gold might have a good chance to boost its average rushing total as Southeastern ranks seventh in the GAC allowing 190 yards per game on the ground.
A Chance For Success
Furthering the note above, the Bison should feel positively about their chances at Southeastern. The Savage Storm's defense has been gashed through two weeks, allowing a league-worst 515.5 total yards and 325.5 passing yards per game. In week one, Southern Arkansas rushed for 252 yards with 208 passing yards versus SE while Henderson State went for 128 rush yards and a whopping 443 air yards.
Rush The Passer
One of the early-season talking points from the coaches' offices is the need to find a pass rush. In the previous two weeks, OBU has not recorded a sack and has been credited with only three quarterback hurries. Two of those three hurries have come from non-defensive lineman:
Scooter Baker and safety
Michael Grandy. Keep an eye on this front Saturday night.
NCAA Statistical Ranks
The Bison have a trio of top-50 marks in the NCAA Division II database. Led by
Patrick Maxwell, OBU's net punting average of 38.7 yards ranks 42nd in the nation. Defensively, OBU is allowed 156.5 passing yards per game. That total is also slotted 42nd. Finally, with a 43.3 percent third-down conversion rate, the green and gold rank 45th in that category.
Still Leading The Pack
Darius Melton is now up to 243 combined kick return yards after last week's game versus No. 1 Harding. That total is fifth-best in the country and tops in the conference. The redshirt senior from Pompano Beach, Fla., has a long return of 48 yards, attained against Arkansas Tech, while also adding a 25-yard return versus Harding. Melton is also a big-play threat in the passing game. He's averaged 16.67 yards per catch so far.
Last Time Versus Southeastern
OBU dialed up a 36-3 victory over the Savage Storm last September, scoring 36 unanswered points.
Aidan Thompson threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns while
EJ Moore rushed for 105 yards with two scores. On the receiving front,
Michael Marshall was dominant, hauling in six passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively,
Scooter Baker and
Chase Whitebear led the team with eight tackles apiece while Whitebear,
Brandon Spencer II and
Tainique Taylor each recorded interceptions.
Historically Speaking
Since 2015, both OBU and Southeastern have won four games. Most recently, the Bison have won four of the last five dating back to a 34-28 victory in Shawnee on Sept. 8, 2018 to last year's 36-3 triumph at Crain Family Stadium. For SE, its last win in the series was 2022 when it cranked out a 62-14 result at Paul Laird Field.
Scouting Southeastern
The Savage Storm's defensive struggles have already been addressed so we'll look at SE's offense next. Gabe Corona, a sophomore from Mesquite, Texas, has been the top individual playmaker so far. He ranks fifth in the GAC with 121 receiving yards on just four catches. Plus, his 30.3 yards per catch is a top-five conference total. Quarterback Cergio Perez is seventh with 245 passing yards while DJ Brown checks in at No. 13 with 125 rushing yards.
On special teams, punter Jackson Nalley is third in the league with a 42.5 average. Plus, he has three 50-plus yard punts and has pinned four inside the 20-yard line.
