GAC Column - You Contribute!

[Bisonfan from FLA]

With the news that the GAC will not have a regular columnist for the remainder of fhis football season (praying someone steps up to take on the full-time role for next season), a much enjoyed moment during the week leading to the weekend games is lost. Couple that with the followup comments/details presented a day or so after the weekend games and another enjoyment is now gone. But there is hope. It lies with each one of us, those that follow a team within the GAC who would watch that game (and maybe even another) and could give some after game thoughts specific to the game(s). And those of us who make our predictions for the Pick 'em by givng expected point spreads for the games could spend a moment or two writing some of their thougths about each upcoming game as well as provide a point spread.

With that being said, here is a little synopsis of the games just played. I used the box scores and a few notes from the scoring drives listed.

SE Oklahoma at Southern Nazarene
Two teams sitting at 1-2 coming into the game so one would move to 2-2 on this young season. It was a 27-21 road win for the Savages as they had 443 total yards of offense, evenly split with 227 on the ground and 216 through the air. SNU had 131 yards on the ground with 30 through the air, but they were efficient with the plays by scoring 21 points with much less total offense. I thought the teams were evenly matched and looked for the home team to win.

East Central Oklahoma at NW Oklahoma
Home team holds the lead at 3-0 at the end of the 1st Quarter but then ECU finds their footing, scoring 31 points for a 31-6 lead at the half. It was 41-6 entering the 4th quarter and NWO picks up 14 more points in garbage play time for a final of 41-20.

Oklahoma Baptist at SW Oklahoma
Home team wins. SWO is able to put points on the board and looks to be a 4-5 win team this season. SWO started off scoring on two drives, then OkBU came up with scores on two drives before the SWO Bulldogs score on three trips to make the score 31-14 at the start of the 4th quarter. Final score 38-24 SW Oklahoma.

UAM at Arkansas Tech
Can we say blindsided. Coming into this game at 1-2, UAM has not shown in previous games they had the punching power to win teams in the mid to upper level while undefeated Arkansas Tech had shown they can punch and take a punch. Maybe it was just too much of being elated from a previous victory and overlooking the next opponent. UAM scored two TD's in the 1st quarter (missed extra point) before Tech scored 10 points in the 2nd quarter for a 13-10 halftime score. Two Tech TD's and a UAM field goal makes the score 24-16 with 9:32 left in the game. UAM scores 2 touchdowns with the final one coming at the 1:01 mark, scoring on an 11 play, 81 yard drive. Final score 31-24 UAM!

Southern Arkansas at Henderson State
A 24-21 road win for SAU. This was the game that had a split in the Pick 'Em and for good reason; two very closely matched teams. This was a neck and neck scoring game with scoring drives ranging from 58 to 91 yards. One drive of 58 yards, 4 drives in the 70 yard range, one of 89 yards and one drive of 91 yards.

Ouachita Baptist at Harding
First quarter teams traded three and out and no score in the quarter until 27 seconds is left, when Harding scores a TD. Both teams were back and forth throughout the 2nd quarter with no score. Ouachita kicks off to start the 3rd quarter and the onside kick is recovery by Harding, giving them a short field to work with. They take advantage and run an 8 play drive leading to a touchdown. OBU takes the kickoff and answers with a 12 play 75 yard drive to make the score a one score game again at 14-7. Harding then answers with a 5 play 81 yard drive that took less than 3 minutes to score, now giving the Bisons a 21-7 lead. Ouachita can't answer with any more points while Harding kicks a 48 yard field goal after a 7 play 40 yard drive in the 4th quarter to complete the scoring at 24-7. Ouachita did switch out quaterbacks in the 2nd half, using three different QB's, each with their own unique gifts and playing styles. When they settle on the one QB to lead them they can still be a realevant force in the GAC final standings and the GAC playoff picture.

Hope you enjoyed this synopsis. Hope others can chime in with their thoughts on the games of this past week.
Or maybe can start with a look at the lineup of games this next week.
Let's work as a team to provide some coverage and have "kinda, sorta, not quite but good enough" GAC column each week.

[jtripp]

I know I’m a Ouachita graduate but however I am currently taking classes at Arkansas Tech in Journalism in Sports Media and Broadcasting. So I’m going to be a graduate of 2 GAC schools. I just want to say a few words on the Tech vs UAM game. First, UAM came into the game 0-3. Second there was a huge call that was in the 4th quarter. It was a call that was overturned. The ruling on the field was a fumble and recovered by the Wonder Boys. The call was overturned and then UAM marched down the field and scored the winning score. Give credit to UAM for coming in and taking it to the Wonder Boys. I think that Coach Thompson had an emotional cliff hangover from the previous week against OBU. It happens and it’s only natural for a first year head coach. That is what’s so incredible about OBU and Harding is that Coach Simmons and Coach Knight don’t get to high on the highs and don’t get too low on the lows. That is the main reason for their sustained success on the field and off. It truly shows what kind of character they have as men. Anyway I just wanted to give my two cents worth and contribute in such as small way that I can.

[FootballDad]

My son plays at Tech, not sure I can promise to be impartial LOL! He was at Ouachita for 3 years so I do know what good football looks like. I can say that Tech is really talented, but thin. They are also adapting to a new scheme and while they can beat anyone (outside of Harding) they can also lose to anyone if they overlook an opponent, which happened early last Saturday. At least that is what it looked like from my seat. The QB for UAM is a legit athlete and you can see why he was recruited at the D1 level

[OldBison]

As we near the mid-season mark in conference play the middle tier of teams in the GAC is cluttered with 6 teams that can beat each other any given week. Tier # 1 (Harding, SAU and HSU) are in a battle for two playoff spots. Tier # 2 (ECU, ATU, SEO, SWO, OBU and UAM) are looking to play spoiler. Two more weeks and Tier # 3 teams (SNU, OKBU and NWO) will be wanting basketball season to get here as soon as possible.

Week 5 matchups feature some of the best teams, statistically, versus some of the worst.

OKBU (1-3) at OBU (1-3) - On paper the Battle of the Baptists looks even. OKBU has almost as many passing yards per game as Henderson State (#1 passing team in the GAC). Unfortunately, the No-S Bison haven’t turned all those passing yards into points. They are 11th in scoring out of 12 GAC teams. As the Purple Tigers showed last Saturday against Harding, they’re just playing for pride at this point. Give me the Tigers at home by three TDs.

HSU (3-1) at SWO (2-2) - The Bulldogs have shown signs of improvement over last year’s less than favorable 3-8 record. They ran for 200 yards two weeks ago in a 35-14 win over SEO. Unfortunately they threw for only 131 yards. The Reddies have the #1 offense and lead the GAC in passing (300 yards/game). The Bulldogs give up 389 yards per game, mostly through the air. Not a good recipe for beating HSU. I expect the Reddies to get back on track after their home loss last week to SAU. I’ll take Reddies on the road by a closer than expected 10 points.

SAU (3-1) at NWO (0-4) - SAU is top five in the conference in almost every statistically category. The Rangers are at or near the bottom in every category. The Muleriders are out to prove they have the inside track on the playoffs. It will be Muleriders by 28.

ECU (3-1) at Harding (4-0) - Last year the Bisons were rolling late in the season and almost overlooked the scrappy young squad from Ada. The Orange Tigers have continued to improve and will bring the # 2 defense in the conference to Searcy this Saturday. It’ll be a tougher matchup for the Bisons than most will expect. Harding’s Flexbone is really starting to roll. The Bisons have the #1 rushing offense and the # 1 rushing defense (87 yards/game). Believe it or not, I expect this game to be similar to the HU-SAU game with the only difference being the Bisons are hosting. Harding beat SAU by 19. I’ll still take the only undefeated team in GAC by 24.

SNU (1-3) at UAM (1-3) - Earlier in the season most everyone would have taken the Crimson Storm in this game but UAM’s passing game picked up momentum last week by defeating a high-rolling Arkansas Tech team 31-24. UAM’s quarterback, Taylor Faulk, connected on 21 of 35 passes for 407 yards earning GAC Player of the Week honors. The Crimson Storm has struggled at times to finish drives and put points on the board. The Boll Weevils defense is one of the most porous in the league (421 yards/game). I don’t know if you’d call it an upset but I look for SNU to rebound from their narrow loss to SEO last Saturday. Give me the Crimson Storm on the road by 10.

SEO (2-2) at ATU (3-1) - This is expected to be a really good game between two evenly matched teams. SEO has the # 4 offense in the conference (485 yards/game). ATU has the # 6 defense (355 yards/game). I’m looking for the Wonder Boys to rebound from their humbling loss to UAM last week and take the Savage Storm at home by 2 scores.

[Bisonfan from FLA]

As we near the mid-season mark in conference play the middle tier of teams in GAC is cluttered with 6 teams that can beat each other any given week. Tier # 1 (Harding, SAU and HSU) are in a battle for two playoff spots. Tier # 2 (ECU, ATU, SEO, SWO, OBU and UAM) are looking to play spoiler. Two more weeks and Tier # 3 teams (SNU, OKBU and NWO) will be wanting basketball season to get here as soon as possible.

Week 5 matchups feature some of the best teams, statistically, versus some of the worse.

OKBU (1-3) at OBU (1-3) - On paper the Battle of the Baptists looks almost even. OKBU has almost as many passing yards per game as Henderson State (#1 passing team in the GAC). Unfortunately, the No-S Bison haven’t turned all those passing yards into points. They are 11th in scoring out of 12 GAC teams. As the Purple Tigers showed last Saturday against Harding, they’re just playing for pride at this point. Give me the Tigers at home by three TDs.

HSU (3-1) at SWO (2-2) - The Bulldogs have shown signs of improvement over last year’s less than favorable 3-8 record. They ran for 200 yards two weeks ago in a 35-14 win over SEO. Unfortunately they threw for only 131 yards. The Reddies have the #1 offense and lead the GAC in passing (300 yards/game). The Bulldogs give up 389 yards per game, mostly through the air. Not a good recipe for beating HSU. I expect the Reddies to get back on track after their home loss last week to SAU. I’ll take Reddies on the road by a closer than expected 10 points.

SAU (3-1) at NWO (0-4) - SAU is top five in the conference in almost every statistically category. The Rangers are at or near the bottom in every category. The Muleriders are out to prove they have the inside track on the playoffs. It will be Muleriders by 28.

ECU (3-1) at Harding (4-0) - Last year the Bisons were rolling late in the season and almost overlooked the scrappy young squad from Ada. The Orange Tigers have continued to improve and will bring the # 2 defense in the conference to Searcy this Saturday. It’ll be a tougher matchup for the Bisons than most will expect. Harding’s Flexbone is really starting to roll. The Bisons have the #1 rushing offense and the # 1 rushing defense (87 yards/game). Believe it or not, I expect this game to be similar to the HU-SAU game with the only difference being the Bisons are hosting. Harding beat SAU by 19. I’ll still take the only undefeated team in GAC by 24.

SNU (1-3) at UAM (1-3) - Earlier in the season most everyone would have taken the Crimson Storm in this game but UAM’s passing game picked up momentum last week by defeating a high-rolling Arkansas Tech team 31-24. UAM’s quarterback, Taylor Faulk, connected on 21 of 35 passes for 407 yards earning GAC Player of the Week honors. The Crimson Storm has struggled at times to finish drives and put points on the board. The Boll Weevils defense is one of the most porous in the league (421 yards/game). I don’t know if you’d call it an upset but I look for SNU to rebound from their narrow loss to SEO last Saturday. Give me the Crimson Storm on the road by 10.

SEO (2-2) at ATU (3-1) - This is expected to be a really good game between two evenly matched teams. SEO has the # 4 offense in the conference (485 yards/game). ATU has the # 6 defense (355 yards/game). I’m looking for the Wonder Boys to rebound from their humbling loss to UAM last week and take the Savage Storm at home by 2 scores.

Thank you Old Bison!!
EXCELLENT write up you provided for us...much better that the "review" that I created to start this thread! I hope others will also chime in from time to time so we have a basic GAC Weekly Column for this year.

[OldBison]

Thanks, BisonFan. Not sure my schedule will allow me to contribute weekly, but I’ll do the best I can.

[OldBison]

Week 5 in the GAC brought few surprises but was not without a little drama for a couple of teams.

OBU 35, OKB 13 - The Battle of the Baptists turned out like most thought it would. The young Tigers are starting to gel. OBU jumped out 21-10 halftime lead in front of a homecoming crowd and never looked back. Freshman LB, Justin Crutchmer, forced two fumbles to give the Tigers two turnovers that resulted in TDs. Tigers move to 2-3. The No-S Bison drop to 1-4.

SAU 42, NWO 16 - For a while this looked like it might be a battle. SAU was only up 14-10 at the half. Drives stalled as SAU quarterbacks had to throw into 32 mph wind gusts for half the afternoon. NWO gashed the Muleriders defense for 356 yards. Hezekiah Harris only threw for 86 yards on the day. SAU remain one of the three one-loss teams in the GAC. NWO remains winless at 0-5.

HU 65, ECU 0 - The Orange Tigers traveled from Ada, OK last weekend. Unfortunately their defense never got off the bus. Wow! Even I didn’t expect this. ECU came into the contest with the second best defense in the conference giving up barely 300 yards of total offense per game. The Bisons had almost that much in the first half. It was a great opportunity to see some of Harding’s younger players. Backup QB, Malik Young, did a good job of running the Flex-bone in the second half. Freshman, slot, D’Shawn Chairs, ran for a 20-yard score in the 4th quarter. This game shows what happens to teams that overcommit to stopping the fullback (B Back) and don’t have defenders in the secondary that can fight off blocks and tackle in space.

HSU 35, SWO 32 - That strong western Oklahoma wind must have affected HSU quarterback, Andrew Edwards, as he threw for 198 yards. The Bulldogs scored on three consecutive drives in the first half to lead 17-7 at the break. The Reddies overcame a sluggish start and 31 points in the 3rd quarter. The Bulldogs mounted a comeback in the 4th quarter but fell short. HSU moves to 4-1 with Harding on the horizon in two weeks.

UAM 23, SNU 9 - Ok, it’s official. UAM will not be laying down to die a slow death as in years past. Only 6 out of 15 posters in the GAC Pick’em thought UAM was going to win and none of those came close to the margin of victory. This is two wins in a row for the Boll Weevils. With OKBU coming up the Boll Weevils could be 3-3 going into their game with OBU in two weeks. They have a real shot at finishing 6-6, which is way better than things were looking the first three weeks of the season when SEO, ECU and HSU throttled them by a combined 86 points. Last Saturday the Boll Weevils defense tightened up and held SNU to 238 yards (96 passing, 142 rushing) thanks to the efforts of Boll Weevils LB and GAC POTW, Ghee Evans. The Boll Weevils improve to 2-3. SNU slides to 1-4.

ATU 14, SEO 10 - The Wonder Boys bounced back from their humbling defeat in Monticello a week ago to come from behind to dominate SEO in the 4th quarter. After not scoring a point in the first three quarters, ATU twice in the 4th. ATU’s Trey Howard intercepted a pass to shut down a comeback effort by the Savage Storm early in the 4th quarter allowing the Wonder Boys to take control of the game. The Wonder Boys hold at 4-1. SEO drops to 2-3 with the Harding Bisons coming to town for a Thursday night game.

[BisonDOc]

I think everyone including myself makes UAM the forgotten Arkansas school but they've quietly had 2 good weeks with Tavion Faulk leading the charge stopping SNU. UAM pounded the ground for over 200 yards and held a steady defense to slow SNU down. Watch out because they can easily be .500 this week with a win over OKBU and play spoiler to a lot of top teams as we head towards end of the season.

[Predatory Primates]

I think everyone including myself makes UAM the forgotten Arkansas school but they've quietly had 2 good weeks with Tavion Faulk leading the charge stopping SNU. UAM pounded the ground for over 200 yards and held a steady defense to slow SNU down. Watch out because they can easily be .500 this week with a win over OKBU and play spoiler to a lot of top teams as we head towards end of the season.

Those mid- pack spoiler type teams make a conference more fun to follow.