September 4th, 2026 9:00am
Week One GAC Recap
Wow. Week One of the Great American Conference football season is officially in the books, and it certainly did not disappoint. There were some big-time upsets, great games across the league and, well, some games that were not quite as exciting.
But that is the beauty of Week One in college football. You never truly know what a team is going to look like until it comes out and plays the game. Preseason expectations, rankings and predictions can only tell you so much. Now, with Week One in the rearview mirror, it is time to take a look back at what happened across the GAC.
Oklahoma Baptist 38 – Southern Arkansas 20
Who saw this coming? When SAU broke off a 64-yard house call to open the game, I figured it would be a repeat of last year’s 49-14 beatdown of the Bison in Magnolia. Instead, the team in green licked its wounds and got back on the field. After falling behind 20-17 with under three minutes to play in the first half, the Bison scored 21 unanswered points to upset the preseason No. 3 team in the conference.
This is just the second time Oklahoma Baptist has defeated the Muleriders, with the last victory coming in a shootout back in 2021, when the Bison came out on top 44-40.
East Central 27 – Ouachita Baptist 17
Back-to-back. Back-to-back times that East Central has opened the season with a win over the Purple Tigers, this time coming in Arkadelphia. If I am a fan of this Ouachita team i might have some worries. QB Tre Nichols, who was great last year, was just 8-21 for 74 yards, 36 of which came from one play, so 7-20 for 38 yards without the one long pass. That will not cut it. He firmly got outplayed by Sergio Kennedy who had 200 yards on 18-27 passing.
The Ouachita defense allowed 429 yards compared to just 260 for the Tigers, and to cap it all off, the Tigers turned the ball over three times, all on fumbles that were lost. That is something they will have to clean up if they want to get back to the winning ways we are used to seeing when they travel to Durant to face a Southeastern team coming off a win.
Arkansas Tech 26 – Southwestern Oklahoma State 20
The most competitive game of the week, which I said would happen in my season preview, did not disappoint. This game came down to the final drive after Tech scored with 1:56 to go in the game. SWOSU drove down the field, completing a 24-yard pass on fourth-and-11 to set themselves up at the ATU five-yard line with 15 seconds to go. After killing the clock on first down, the Bulldogs were unable to connect with anyone in the end zone, overthrowing the receiver on the final play as Tech held on to win a thriller.
This game was the only one-possession game in the GAC this week and remained within one possession at all times. The teams combined for six turnovers, including four interceptions and two fumbles, while racking up 747 total yards.
Southeastern Oklahoma State 21 – Arkansas-Monticello 12
This game was never really out of Southeastern’s hands, as the Savage Storm jumped out to a 21-0 lead with under five minutes to play in the opening half. UAM had a chance to make things interesting in the fourth quarter, but SE stopped them on downs at their own 35-yard line to basically put the game to rest.
UAM totaled just 184 yards, 58 of which came on the ground. The Boll Weevils did have a chance early in the game after a fake punt by SE did not work, but ultimately were stalled by a goal-line stand.
Henderson State 57 – Southern Nazarene 21
Yeah, this was not close. Henderson State completely outmatched SNU to open the season, racking up 580 yards of offense, with 338 coming through the air, the most passing yards in the GAC after Week One. Most of that production came from Austin Ledbetter, who had a great opening game to start the year.
SNU needs to work on its passing game, however, going a combined 5-for-16 for just 50 yards. That will not be enough to beat talented teams like the Reddies.
Harding 76 – Northwestern Oklahoma State 0
Now we can talk about what happened in Searcy. I know not many people predicted this to be a close game in any fashion, but 76-0 is insane. Somehow, though, that was not even the craziest part of the night. Northwestern totaled NEGATIVE 26 yards of offense. They also did not record a single first down in the game.
What I learned is that Harding, despite having a new coach and starting quarterback, is still very, very good. Northwestern, with its new coach and the team he brought in, is still at the bottom of the conference.
Side Note: This game was called with 13:15 remaining in the fourth quarter by mutual agreement between both teams following a medical emergency involving a Harding player who was taken to a local hospital. Team officials said all signs were positive, with the player awake and talking and expected to remain in the hospital overnight for observation.