Oklahoma Baptist at Southern Arkansas
WHEN 2:30 p.m.
WHERE Wilkins Stadium, Magnolia
RADIO KVMZ-FM, 99.1, in Magnolia/ Waldo; KELD-FM, 106.5, in Hampton/ElDorado/ Camden; KZNG-AM, 1340, in Hot Springs; KENA-AM, 1450, in Mena; KPGG-FM, 103.9, in Ashdown/Texarkana; KMTB-FM, 99.5, in Murfreesboro/ Nashville
INTERNET muleriderathletics.com
RECORDS Oklahoma Baptist 1-4, 1-4 Great American Conference; SAU 3-2, 3-2 COACHES Chris Jensen (13-14 in third season at Oklahoma Baptist and overall); Bill Keopple (29-37 in seventh season at SAU and overall)
SERIES First meeting
LAST WEEK Oklahoma Baptist defeated Arkansas-Monticello 56-28; SAU defeated Southern Nazarene 55-20
COMMENTS SAU ranks first in the conference in four major offensive statistical categories, including total offense (529.6 yards per game) and passing offense (325.8) . … Freshman quarterback Barrett Renner leads the GAC in total offense (362.0) and passing average (313.6). He is second in the league with 15 touchdown passes. … SAU had 571 yards of total offense in last week’s victory over Southern Nazarene. It was the fourth time in five games that the Muleriders had more than 500 yards. … Freshman William McKnight rushed for 66 yards in SAU’s first four games but broke out with a 95-yard effort on five carries against SNU, which included three touchdowns. … The Bison are ninth in scoring defense and rank 10th in total defense and passing defense in the 12-team GAC. … Oklahoma Baptist opened a 43-14 lead last week over Arkansas-Monticello before the Boll Weevils cut the deficit to 43-28 midway through the fourth quarter. The Bison scored the final two touchdowns of the game to secure their first GAC victory.
— Frankie Frisco
Ouachita Baptist at Arkansas Tech
WHEN 3 p.m.
WHERE Thone Stadium, Russellville
RADIO KHTE-FM, 96.5, in Little Rock; KHTO-FM, 96.7, in Hot Springs; KVRC-AM, 1240, in Arkadelphia; KAMD-FM, 97.1, in Camden; KNAS-FM, 105.5, in Nashville; KQOR-FM, 105.3, in Mena; KFMD-FM, 105.3, and KFMD-AM, 1340, in Springdale; KCJC-FM, 102.3, in Russellville
INTERNET obutigers.com; arkansastechsports.com
RECORDS OBU 4-1, 4-1 Great American Conference; Tech 4-1, 4-1
RANKINGS OBU is No. 20 in the AFCA Division II coaches poll and the d2football.com poll
COACHES Todd Knight (81-84 in 17th season at OBU, 109-116-2 in 23rd season overall); Raymond Monica (12-15 in third season at Tech, 57-49 in ninth season overall)
SERIES Tech leads 42-30-7
LAST MEETING OBU won 14-9 in 2014. LAST WEEK OBU defeated Harding 26-21; Tech lost to Henderson State 17-7.
COMMENTS The teams are ranked second and third in the conference in rushing, behind Harding. OBU is averaging 274.4 yards per game, while Tech is just behind at 273.0. … The Tigers are ninth in NCAA Division II with a third-down conversion rate of 52 percent. They converted 8 of 12 third downs in last week’s victory over Harding. … OBU is the least penalized team in the GAC, having been flagged an average of 6.2 times for 58.2 yards per game. … The Tigers are fourth in Division II in kickoff returns with a 32.67 average. Ke’Vontae Pope ranks third individually, averaging 35.8 yards per return. … Tech senior quarterback Arsenio Favor has 10 rushing touchdowns and is averaging 58.0 yards rushing a game. He has thrown for at least one touchdown in each of the Wonder Boys’ five games and has completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 882 yards. … The Wonder Boys are allowing 15.2 points and 289.8 yards per game, both of which rank second in the GAC and among the top 20 in Division II.
— Frankie Frisco
Southern Nazarene at Arkansas-Monticello
WHEN 3 p.m.
WHERE Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium, Monticello
RADIO KHBM-FM, 93.7, in Monticello INTERNET uamsports.com
RECORDS Southern Nazarene 0-5, 0-5 Great American Conference; UAM 0-5, 0-5
COACHES Craig Hubbard (0-5 in first season as interim coach at Southern Nazarene; Hud Jackson (13-35 in fifth season at UAM and overall)
SERIES UAM leads 2-0
LAST MEETING UAM won 44-37 in 2014. LAST WEEK Southern Nazarene lost to Southern Arkansas 55-20; UAM lost to Oklahoma Baptist 56-28.
COMMENTS The loser of today’s game will be the only remaining team in the GAC without a victory. … The Boll Weevils have outscored opponents 41-37 in the first quarter but are being outscored 192-76 in the final three quarters. … Former UAM quarterback Sean Rochelle will have his number retired during halftime. Rochelle led the Boll Weevils to a 10-2 record in 1988, the only 10-victory season in the team’s history. He was the AIC offensive player of the year that season and accounted for 4,615 total yards during his career. … SNU comes to Monticello on a 27-game losing streak dating to the final week of the 2012 season.
— Frankie Frisco
Henderson State at Harding
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE First Security Stadium, Searcy
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in Little Rock; KDEL-FM, 100.9, in Arkadelphia; KAFN-FM, 100.7, and KZYP-AM, 1310, in Malvern; KEWI-AM, 690, in Benton; KVHU-FM, 95.3, in Searcy
INTERNET hsusports.com, hardingsports.com
RECORDS HSU 4-1, 4-1 Great American Conference; Harding 4-1, 4-1
RANKINGS Harding is No. 22 in the AFCA Division II coaches poll and the d2football.com poll
COACHES Scott Maxfield (73-38 in 11th season at HSU, 102-50 in 15th season overall); Ronnie Huckeba (53-36 in ninth season at Harding and overall)
SERIES HSU leads 31-18-1
LAST MEETING Harding won 28-24 in 2014.
LAST WEEK HSU defeated Arkansas Tech 17-7; Harding lost to Ouachita Baptist 26-21.
COMMENTS Donatella Luckett scored on a 3-yard run with 17 seconds left to give Harding the victory last season. It was Henderson’s first regular-season loss since Oct. 29, 2011, a span of 30 games. … This year’s game features the GAC’s top rushing offense (Harding, 366.6 yards per game) and the conference’s No. 1 rushing defense (HSU, 92.0 ypg). … HSU running back Jaquan Cole was named the GAC offensive player of the week after rushing for a school-record 245 yards on 27 carries against Arkansas Tech. He leads the GAC and ranks 16th in Division II with 118.2 rushing yards per game. … HSU’s defense recorded a season-best 11 tackles for loss against the Wonder Boys. The Reddies also had two interceptions, giving them 14 for the season, which is tied with East Central (Okla.) for the most in Division II. … Senior linebacker Lawson Schulz had a career-high 15 tackles against Tech. … Harding quarterback Park Parish’s 12 rushing touchdowns is tied for the most on any level in the NCAA. The Clinton native has at least one rushing touchdown in all five games this season. … Harding has been ranked in the past 17 AFCA polls, reaching as high as No. 12 earlier this season. … Junior Eric Kelly rushed for 114 yards on four carries in last week’s loss to OBU.