September 9th, 2024 6:00am
The first week of the 2024 season is in the books. We saw some expected domination and some expected exciting games as well. Let’s dive into the recaps of each game to break it all down.
Arkansas Tech- Well, we figured this would be a competitive game, but we didn’t anticipate it going completely nuts. Wild night in Russellville, as Tech had the game won, nearly gave it away with a bad snap on a punt that allowed OBU to tie the game with less than a minute remaining, then won it for real in OT when OBU missed a field goal on the first possession of the extra period. Tech outgained the bison by nearly 200 yards, so the fact this was a tight one is more a product of its zaniness than anything. Very balanced offensive attack for the Wonder Boys as well, putting up over 200 through the air and on the ground. We’ll see what the status is of quarterback Ethan Forrester, who was 15-of-18 for 195 yards and two scores with 78 rushing yards before leaving the game with an injury. He remained on the sideline with his arm in a sling, so we’ll see who is quarterback when Tech travels to SNU on Saturday.
Oklahoma Baptist- The biggest surprise was incumbent starting quarterback Aidan Thompson being unseated by Kenny Rosenthal. Rosenthal was solid on Thursday, throwing for 218 yards and two scores. However, the Bison rushing attack showed no improvement from last year, as OBU ran for just 81 yards and 2.5 yards per carry. Not a great start in that department. The defense was repeatedly gashed by the Tech offense as well, especially in the first half when the Wonder Boys scored on five of six possessions. That will need to improve, but we knew there could be some growing pains as the Bison acclimate a bunch of new pieces along the defensive line. Special teams were special for the Bison, as they returned a blocked punt for a touchdown and kick returner Darius Melton averaged 29 yards per kickoff return.
No. 1 Harding 59, Southern Nazarene 0
Harding- Yup, go ahead and let the back-to-back championships speculation begin. The Bisons looked spectacular, rolling up 554 yards on the ground and 607 total yards while holding SNU to just 49 yards on 51 plays. The Bisons even lost three fumbles and it didn’t matter one bit. The Bisons had rushing touchdowns from five different players and racked up 15 tackles for loss. It was about as good of an opener as you could have hoped for.
Southern Nazarene- To be completely fair, it’s hard to wonder if the Crimson Storm’s performance was more Harding or SNU. Either way, breaking in a new quarterback on the road against the defending national champions wasn’t going to go well, but I don’t think anyone thought it would have gone THAT poorly. Just four first downs for the SNU offense with seven drives that went backwards. We’ll get a perhaps more accurate version of 2024 SNU against Arkansas Tech this weekend, but things can only go up from Thursday.
No. 17 Ouachita Baptist 42, Southwestern OSU 3
Ouachita Baptist- The Tigers got off to an uneven start with a punt and a fumble on their first two possessions, but then rolled off touchdowns on their next six to take of business against the Bulldogs. The Tigers had the ball for just over 20 minutes, though, and ran just 45 plays. Three total fumbles prevented this one from being worse, but quarterback Eli Livingston threw for 195 yards on just 10 attempts. The Tigers also held SWOSU to just 3.1 yards per play and forced three turnovers of their own.
Southwestern OSU- Losing by 39 doesn’t offer much in the way of optimism, but holding the ball for almost 40 minutes on the road takes some semblance of success. SWOSU put up four drives of at least four minutes in length, as new quarterback Kai Kunz threw for 94 yards and rushed for 85. Almost anything would have been a marked improvement over what the Bulldogs called offense last year, but this is certainly a positive. The defense got burned for a lot of big plays in this one as the Tigers averaged 23 yards per completion.
No. 22 Henderson State 41, East Central 17
Henderson State- The Reddies looked great, rolling up nearly 500 yards in a very balanced effort in Ada. The defense was stout as well, forcing four turnovers and holding the Tigers to just 3.4 yards per play while collecting nine tackles for loss. Andrew Edwards went just 14-of-24 with an interception, so you know he’ll be looking to improve on that performance in the weeks ahead. However, if the Reddies run the ball as well as they did against ECU, he won’t have to be much better. We knew HSU would be well-rounded this year and, at least through one game, they’ve proven us right.
East Central- Not a fun debut for quarterback Sergio Kennedy, who was just 8-for-24 for 95 yards and three interceptions. Offense was a struggle for the Tigers a year ago and against the Reddies, nothing had really changed. However, HSU is really good, so we’ll give the Tigers more than one week to show improvement. One potentially worrisome thing to note: the Reddies drove into ECU territory on all but two possessions in the game, one of which was the end of the first half. That’s something that will need to change for a group that was supposed to be the strength of the team coming into the season.
Southern Arkansas 36, Southeastern OSU 31
Southern Arkansas- The Muleriders took some time to get going, but the offense finally started looking like last year’s edition, scoring on five of six possessions across the end of the second quarter and into the second half. The defense also clamped down, forcing a punt on every Southeastern second half possession until a Savage Storm touchdown with 3:14 remaining in the ball game. The offense was well balanced, going over 200 yards through the air and on the ground, with explosive plays sprinkled across the evening. SEOSU did manage 5.4 yards per play for the game, but managed just 109 of their 370 yards after halftime.
Southeastern OSU- It was looking like a sensational start to the year for the Savage Storm, but then the second half happened and we got a bit more of what we expected to see for the entire game. However, still a lot of positives to take away from the first half. The quarterback duo of Luke Hohenberger and Cergio Perez combined to throw for 268 yards, two scores and no interceptions. The offensive line only gave up one sack as well. The Savage Storm will need to improve on their 2.9 yard per carry average on 37 rushing attempts, as well as the defensive slips that allowed the Muleriders to take control of the game in the second half. This one definitely slipped away from the Savage Storm, but it will be a good learning experience for this young, but talented bunch.
Arkansas-Monticello 34, Northwestern OSU 7
Arkansas-Monticello- The Weevils got after the Rangers defensively, racking up seven sacks, returning a fumble for a touchdown and holding NWOSU to just 162 yards and 3.2 yards per play. It was an impressive performance for a group that has a considerable number of newcomers. Offensively, it was a solid showing, especially for quarterback Demilon Brown in his first action since missing most of last season with injury. Brown only ran the ball seven times, but he didn’t need to do much with his legs. We’ll see if that remains the case throughout the year or if Brown will run more as he gets more comfortable back in action.
Northwestern OSU- The Rangers only ran 50 plays on offense and Jerry Glanville didn’t work wonders on the defensive side. At least not yet. Overall, not a great day for the Rangers, who averaged just 1.8 yards per carry. The offensive line was a sieve, giving up those seven sacks and preventing quarterback Beck Moss from establishing any sort of rhythm. NWOSU did buckle down in the second half, giving up just 92 yards after halftime, so that’s certainly something to build on going forward.