SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist's final home game of the 2025 season comes on Nov. 8 at 2 p.m. when the Bison host Arkansas Tech at Crain Family Stadium.
The Bison enter with a 2-7 mark while the Wonder Boys are 6-3. A week ago, OBU fell at No. 2 Harding while ATU defeated Southern Nazarene 42-17. Historically, the team from Russellville holds a 6-3 advantage over OBU and has won the last two contests.
Todd Miller, Dave Myrick and John Brooks will have the call of the game starting at 1:30 p.m. on the Bison Sports Radio Network. Below are notes on both teams.
One Point on Last Week's Game
Harding, the second-ranked team in America, did what it's accustomed to in recent memory. They handed the Bison a 69-0 defeat and attained 654 yards of offense including 504 yards on the ground. That point differential was the largest since Oklahoma Baptist brought its football program back in 2013.
The Arkansas Tech Matchup
In four of the nine all-time contests between OBU and ATU, the winning margin has been decided by single digits. During last season's opener in Russellville, the two squads battled to a 44-41 overtime result that favored the Wonder Boys. The last time in Shawnee, August 31, 2023, OBU won 23-21. Furthermore, the Bison are 2-2 all-time at home against ATU. On top of the 2023 result, the Bison were victorious 19-15 on Sept. 10, 2016.
Remembering Last Season's Matchup
The 2024 opener between the two squads brought fans lots of excitement. For OBU, its receiving corps was a big reason for the 41-point scoring output.
Charles Whitebear and
Nick Harris helped lead that charge. For the 6-foot-4 Whitebear, he hauled in two receiving touchdowns, including a 61-yarder, while Harris posted a game-high nine catches for 61 yards.
Also,
Patrick Maxwell was solid, punting four times for 172 yards, a 43.0-yard average. Two of those boots went inside the 20-yard line.
Weather Looks Great!
The forecast for this Nov. 8 contest is calling for temperatures at 73 degrees with winds to the northwest between 10-20 miles per hour. That would be the warmest November game OBU has played in since the start of Division II play in 2015. To date, there has been only one other game that reached the 70s: Nov. 5, 2016 against Ouachita when temps in Shawnee reached 71 at kickoff.
Senior Day
The Bison program will honor these young men prior to kickoff against Arkansas Tech:
Charles Whitebear,
Chase Whitebear,
Gabe Barres,
Kai McCarty,
Jason Thomason,
TJ McMahon,
Jahden Brown,
Keaton Jinks,
Camden McCrary,
Edric Lambert,
Deuce Wise,
Loren Johnson,
Luke Morrow,
Ryan Edwards,
Tony Cook Jr.,
Greg Quintana,
Triston De La Rosa,
Cade O'Hehir,
Jacob Ostrowski,
Kye Cavin,
AJ Juniper,
Isaiah Vera,
Andrew Sawyer,
Yonas Daniel and
Aditya Singh.
NCAA Stat Updates
With two weeks remaining in the 2025 campaign, here are the Bison's top marks as a team and individually in the NCAA statistics database.
Collectively, OBU is 31st in the nation committing 5.44 penalties per game. Their total of 49 penalties is slotted 33rd. Plus, the team's 10 fumble recoveries are No. 2 in the GAC and 15th in the nation. Lastly, the team's 60-percent conversion rate on fourth down is 34th nationally.
Individually,
Carter Lowry leads the GAC and is No. 23 in D2 with 1.0 field goals per game.
Brady Luff is slotted 36th with 0.29 forced fumbles per game. Harris also has the second-most receiving yards (598) and per-game average (66.4) in the conference. Those marks are also top-53 totals in the country.
Coach's Thoughts
HC
Chris Jensen: "ATU is very creative on offense and do a good job getting the ball to their players in space. They are also very good in their kick and punt return game. Add that with a solid defense and they present a great test for our program. We are excited for the opportunity."
DC
Tyler Roberts: "Arkansas Tech's play-caller (Kevin Wewers) has done a great job with formations and concepts. They have one of the best receivers (Jared Long) and running backs (Bryson Roland) in the conference and ATU can threaten you through the air and ground. I'm hopeful our guys will play with better eye discipline and tackle on an elite level Saturday."
About Arkansas Tech
The Wonder Boys' 42-17 win over Southern Nazarene last week guaranteed ATU's first winning season since 2017.
In that game against the Crimson Storm, Arkansas Tech was well-balanced, amassing a season-high 542 yards of total offense with 272 yards through the air and 270 on the ground.
One of Tech's best attributes is getting its receivers the ball downfield. In fact, they rank fourth in the GAC and 36th nationally with a 13.91 yards-per-completion mark.
Jared Long leads the Wonder Boys receivers, ranking 15th in the conference with 330 yards and four receiving scores. He also pulls in 16.5 yards per catch.
ATU is efficient in the passing game. While they only attain 177 yards per game through the air, the seventh-best mark in the GAC, they don't hurt themselves with mistakes. Tech has the third-fewest interceptions (4) thrown in the league.
Leading the ground game is Bryson Roland, last week's GAC Offensive Player of the Week. He carried 19 times for 207 yards and two touchdowns versus SNU on Nov. 1.
He is No. 12 nationally and second in the GAC with a 7.11 yards-per-carry average. Roland's also third in rushing yards (803) and sixth in touchdowns (6).
As for quarterback play, Jack Dawson has thrown for 1,043 yards and 12 touchdowns while Carter Hensley has totaled 557 yards and four scores.
Defensively, Arkansas Tech has scored three touchdowns, seventh-most in the country and first in the conference. They are also third in the GAC in team tackles for loss per game (6.7) and fourth in third-down conversion percentage (36.6%).
Sam Jackson has a team-high 37 tackles, the No. 13 total in the GAC, while Israel Whitmore ranks 17th in D2 and second in the league with two fumble recoveries. Also of note, Tyrique Jones, Julien Lopez and Diego Sanchez each have two interceptions.
Tech's special teams' unit has down some damage too this fall. They are No. 17 in the nation and lead the GAC with four blocked kicks. ATU also has two blocked punts, a top-12 NCAA mark. Bennett Roberts is the GAC leader with two blocked kicks.
