October 26th, 2023 8:00am
Week Nine in the GAC is upon and it STILL doesn’t quite feel like football weather in the Natural and Sooner states. But hopefully that will change soon.
On the field, it’s an interesting week, with just a handful of really intriguing matchups, but we’ll break them down all the same!
Here are the Players of the Week from last week
Offensive Player of the Week: Andrew Edwards, QB, Henderson State
-22-of-27 for 295 yards, four touchdowns
-34 rushing yards, one touchdown
Offensive Player of the Week: Kendel Givens, RB, Ouachita Baptist
-Career-high 181 yards rushing, three touchdowns
-33 receiving yards
Defensive Player of the Week: Carter Brock, LB, Southern Nazarene
-Team-high 10 tackles
-4.0 tackles for loss
Special Teams Player of the Week: Luke Watkins, P, Oklahoma Baptist
-10 punts, 39.9 yard average
-Four punts inside the 20-yard line
Game of the Week (Thursday night): No. 14 Ouachita Baptist (6-1) at Southern Nazarene (4-4)
I (and most, probably) expected the Tigers to come out with some aggression against Arkansas Tech last week after the disappointing performance at Harding. That the Tigers trailed into the fourth quarter is of some concern and makes this short turnaround game on the round against SNU interesting, indeed. The Tigers have run the ball well the past few weeks, a bad sign for an SNU defense giving up 190 yards per game on the ground. But the Crimson Storm pass defense has been really good this year, so we’ll see if SNU can make things difficult for quarterback Riley Harms and make the Tigers more one-dimensional.
A fascinating part of this one will be how the Tigers handle Gage Porter. The Crimson Storm were not the offense we’ve come to know over the last season and a half when they traveled to Arkadelphia in the second game of the season last year. SNU had just 54 rushing yards and threw more than they ran. Preparing for the SNU offense on a short week is a tough task and the Crimson Storm are coming off a 399-yard rushing performance at East Central last week. We’ve seen SNU move the ball against Harding the past two years, so how this SNU offense works against Ouachita is really going to be interesting.
The Crimson Storm have yet to beat the Tigers, the only GAC school SNU has not defeated since coming into the league. Two of the last three meetings in Bethany have been competitive ball games, and those were with SNU teams that weren’t nearly as talented as this one. I’d expect a tight one on Thursday, but a Ouachita win.
Ouachita Baptist 31, Southern Nazarene 21
Arkansas-Monticello (2-6) at Oklahoma Baptist (5-3)
The Weevils are in a free-fall right now, having lost six consecutive games. Meanwhile, the Bison are continuing a strong bounce back season and just got quarterback Aidan Thompson back from injury. The Bison have been probably the biggest surprise of the season and they’ll be licking their chops on Saturday in Shawnee. UAM gave up nine sacks last week against Henderson State, but it won’t be any easier against the Bison, who have racked up 26 sacks of their own this year, second to the Reddies in the league.
The Bison struggled offensively against Northwestern OSU last week, a bit concerning considering the Rangers are probably the worst defense in the league. Even with several starters out along the offensive line, it wouldn’t have been unreasonable to expect more from OBU. The Weevils aren’t world-beaters defensively, but they’ll pose a bit stiffer of a test. The Bison really need to get the run game going, as it has been really ineffective since running back EJ Moore went down with an injury earlier in the season. In fact, the Bison are averaging just 64 yards per game on the ground the last four games.
The Weevils just aren’t the same without quarterback Demilon Brown. The Bison haven’t been flashy, but they’ve gotten the job done. They’ll get it done again on Saturday.
Oklahoma Baptist 28, Arkansas-Monticello 10
Southwestern OSU (0-8) at Southern Arkansas (6-2)
Not going to spend too much time here. The Bulldogs aren't good and going on the road against a team that just got pummeled for 631 rushing yards is not the way to turn a season around. The Bulldogs might make things tough in the short term as the Muleriders shake off last week’s defeat to Harding, but I’d expect that to be short-lived.
Southern Arkansas still has a lot to play for as they try to at least position themselves for the playoffs should chaos ensues. It’s a very tough scenario, one where they need a LOT of help, but you can’t be there if you don’t take care of your own business.
Muleriders. Big.
Southern Arkansas 45, Southwestern OSU 10
No. 4 Harding (8-0) at Southeastern OSU (4-4)
This is the other intriguing matchup of the week. The Savage Storm have won three straight games and have weathered a lot of change at the quarterback position to be sitting at .500 with three games to play. This is definitely a trap-game scenario, as the Bisons have taken care of business against all comers thus far and have all but wrapped up the GAC title. Going on the road against a team playing with confidence is the literal definition of a trap. One thing to note is the Savage Storm’s run defense has been really good this year. SEOSU is ranked second in the league, giving up just 140 yards per game and 3.9 yards per carry. Obviously, Harding’s 417.8 yards per game and 7.5 yards per carry will be tough to hold down, but the Savage Storm have shown they can definitely make life difficult on the ground.
The other side is where the problems lie. Southeastern has found a good thing in running back D.J. Brown, but the Harding defense has been just outstanding all season long. It will be hard for the Savage Storm to find space against the Bisons on the ground, but the bigger concern will be how a young quarterback—either redshirt freshman Kane Donovan or sophomore Weston Conaway—holds up against the Harding pass rush. Not to mention a secondary that has intercepted 14 passes this season. Even if the Bisons are slowed on offense, I’d expect the defense to pin their ears back and get after SEOSU.
Harding avoids the trap game and keeps the record unblemished.
Harding 38, Southeastern OSU 14
Northwestern OSU (0-8) at Henderson State (6-2)
Again, not going to spend too much time on this one. The Rangers have struggled mightily all season and going to Arkadelphia isn't going to help. The Reddies are really clicking right now, especially on offense, and they should have no problem plowing through the sieve that is the Rangers’ defense.
Reddies roll in this one.
Henderson State 52, Northwestern OSU 13
Arkansas Tech (3-5) at East Central (3-5)
No doubt about it, the Wonder Boys are getting better after starting the year 0-4. Even though it was a loss, the performance at Ouachita last week might have been the most impressive performance of the last four games. Quarterback Taye Gatewood has been among the best quarterbacks in the league this year and he’ll need to be good against a solid East Central defense. The Tigers aren't as stingy as they were a year ago, but they still have reigning Defensive Player of the Year Devon Roush roaming the middle of the field, so that makes it hard for any offense. Plus, despite the recent successes, the Wonder Boys still haven’t been able to run the ball effectively. To put it in perceptive, Tech has more games under 40 yards rushing than over 120 yards rushing.
East Central’s offense continues to be a struggle, putting up just 13 points last week against SNU. The Tigers haven’t had a single running back or quarterback appear in every game this year, so that inconsistency has prevented any rhythm from being established. Quarterback Jaiave Magalei has been alright since taking over the starting role, but hasn’t been a big difference maker for the Tigers. Tech’s defense hasn’t been great this year, either, so perhaps the Tigers will be able to find some success all the way around against the Wonder Boys.
I think this is a pretty even matchup, but I’m riding the hot hand. That belongs to Tech.
Arkansas Tech 27, East Central 20