September 15th, 2026 9:00am
Week Two GAC Recap
Well, I would assume most people picked the correct winners of the week; however, the results are still pretty shocking, and we are starting to figure out a picture of what the conference looks like it will shake out to be.
Oklahoma vs Arkansas
Week Two || 5-1 Arkansas
This season || 8-4 Arkansas
East Central 42 – Arkansas-Monticello 37
A high-scoring affair in this one, Monticello scored the most points it has in two years and still came out on the wrong end because ECU might just be able to outscore everyone this year.
QB Sergio Kennedy took home his second GAC Offensive Player of the Week honor in as many weeks, going 18-for-27 with 289 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while adding 31 yards and another two touchdowns on the ground. However, don't let that overshadow UAM QB Drew Forkner. He went 27-for-34 for 316 yards and three touchdowns through the air. If UAM had come away with the win, I wouldn't have been surprised to see him take home the honor.
This game really had UAM in control early, as the Boll Weevils held the lead on four different occasions, including a 31-28 advantage with just under 10 minutes to play. ECU would retake the lead, and then a crucial fumble by the Boll Weevils allowed the Tigers to tack on another seven points and put the game out of reach. UAM did attempt an onside kick with 1:10 to play, but was unable to recover it.
Good game all around. Both sides played well, and ECU was ultimately able to close it out on its home field.
Arkansas Tech 34 – Northwestern Oklahoma State 29
Well, maybe Harding just wanted to make a statement last week, because this Northwestern offense looked fine on Thursday. The Rangers totaled nearly 400 yards of offense, including 300 through the air, and scored three touchdowns.
This game was really, really even when looking back on it. Time of possession was nearly identical, both teams went 4-for-11 on third down, and both averaged about nine yards per passing attempt. But Northwestern still lost by five. Why?
ATU went 2-for-2 on field goals, while the Rangers went 0-for-2, with both of their attempts coming from beyond 40 yards. Six points were left off the board with those two misses, and in a five-point game, that ended up being the difference.
Harding 37 – Southwestern Oklahoma State 14
The score does not represent this game in the slightest. SWOSU held a 7-6 lead after the first quarter and scored a touchdown late in the third to cut the Bisons' lead to just 16-14. Then Harding took the ensuing kickoff to the house, because that is what Harding does.
In the fourth, the Harding offensive line was able to separate itself from the Dawgs, with Andrew Miller adding a second touchdown before a final score with 12 seconds left to inflate the point margin. SWOSU could have let the clock run out, but did call a timeout, allowing the Bisons to run that final play.
SWOSU held Harding to just 314 rushing yards, obviously a large number for a normal team, but the fewest the Bisons have posted in conference play since they faced No. 8 Ouachita in 2024. The Dawgs kept the Bisons behind the sticks for most of the day, as Harding finished just 3-for-14 on third down. However, the Bisons were 3-for-3 on fourth down, consistently capitalizing on fourth-and-short situations to keep drives alive.
By the way, Harding still won by 23 points. They are doing just fine, and I expect a big game from them against Southern Arkansas next weekend.
Southern Arkansas 27 – Southern Nazarene 21
Well, this game showed a few things, one of which we will get to later, but Southern Arkansas should not be in a tight game with SNU, and now this is back-to-back years of having a one-possession win over the Crimson Storm.
SNU held a lead at the break, but Southern Arkansas scored 14 points in the third quarter, with both touchdowns coming within 40 seconds of each other. The Muleriders scored first, then SNU threw an interception on its next possession, setting up a one-play touchdown drive that quickly put the game firmly in Southern Arkansas' favor.
Southern Arkansas should be in the group of the top Arkansas schools in the conference, and one of the top teams in that state has dominated both SNU and now OKB. SAU has gone 1-1 in those games, losing big in its loss. If I'm SAU, I'm not sleeping all that well with the in-state games starting this week.
Ouachita Baptist 23 – Southeastern Oklahoma State 17
Ouachita held on for its first win of the season, but required an interception on Southeastern's final drive to do so, as the Savage Storm were looking for the comeback after falling behind 23-3.
Southeastern ultimately just got started too late. The Tigers held a 16-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to two touchdowns and a blocked punt that went for a safety. Southeastern had just seven yards of offense in the first quarter, compared to 118 for Ouachita. The rest of the game was a completely different story, as the Savage Storm totaled 393 yards of offense compared to just 181 for the Purple Tigers.
Another underwhelming game by Ouachita, who was picked second in the GAC Preseason Poll, next weeks game will be very interesting against Arkansas Tech to see where they truly stand.
Henderson State 66 – Oklahoma Baptist 9
Now the nightcap, which did not end until after 11 p.m. on Saturday, was over much, much earlier than the final 60 minutes. The game was 59-0 before Oklahoma Baptist finally scored its first points of the game on a blocked PAT that was returned for two points.
Henderson State was dominated in its 120 minutes of play over the first two weeks, and this time it was on the ground. The Bison ran for 430 yards, Henderson State's most rushing yards in a game since Oct. 30, 2004, when HSU totaled 453 rushing yards against West Alabama. Through two weeks, it looks like Harding and Henderson State, then everyone else.
For Oklahoma Baptist, its Week 1 performance looked promising, but in the end, it might be more that SAU is not as impressive as it has been in years past, outside of Oklahoma Baptist simply looking like a better team.