November 25th, 2024 12:00pm
The first round of the playoffs was an opportunity for the Great American Conference to prove themselves. With both Ouachita Baptist and Harding matched up against the top of the MIAA, the GAC wasn’t going to get a more perfect chance.
At the end of the day, the GAC came out looking really good. The defending national champion Bisons put a beatdown on Pitt State on the road, showing they weren’t going to give up the title so willingly. While the Tigers ultimately lost to Central Oklahoma in overtime, they more than proved themselves as a great team.
Let’s take a look at the two teams’ performances.
Central Oklahoma 38, Ouachita Baptist 31 (OT)
The Tigers gave up a lot of yards, but held the Bronchos well below their scoring average, particularly when you account for the fact this one went to overtime. The offense moved the ball effectively enough to hang tough with the Bronchos. Things didn’t look great in the first half when the offense went three-and-out on half of their eight first half possessions. But the defense held UCO to just 14 points in the first half to keep the Tigers in it. The offensive line didn’t have a great day for the Tigers, giving up seven sacks for the game. Eli Livingston shouldered six of those, but otherwise gave the Tigers every possible chance. He threw for 198 yards and rushed for 78 yards not accounting for sacks. Again, the defense gave up a bunch of yards and points, but they made the Bronchos work for every bit of them. UCO ran 93 plays but had just three carries for 10 yards or more and seven receptions of at least 15 yards. That’s a pretty good job against one of the best offenses in the nation. At the end of the day, they couldn’t move the ball quite well or enough or get enough stops. Still, a great season for the Tigers with a not-quite finish in the playoffs.
Harding 48, Pitt State 3
We thought this would be a good one. We were wrong. The Bisons looked every bit of the defending national champions and going on the road doesn’t appear like it’ll be quite the hindrance. The Bisons eviscerated the Gorillas’ run defense, one of the best in the nation coming in, piling up 518 yards on nearly eight yards per carry. After a feel-it-out first quarter, the Bisons exploded for 24 points in the second quarter and never looked back. We knew the Bisons would be able to limit the Pitt State offense and they did exactly that, keeping them out of the end zone all day and allowing just 148 yards and 3.1 yards per play. The Bisons held the ball for over 37 minutes which also allowed them to hold the Gorillas to just 48 plays on offense. Harding did pretty much everything right, punting just a single time and facing just nine third downs on 72 offense plays. Next week against Grand Valley State is going to be a much different game than what the Bisons faced against Pitt State, but there’s a lot of reason to be optimistic about Harding’s chances of going on the road and pulling off another win. For at least the first week of the postseason, the Bisons proved wresting the crown off their head is going to be quite the challenge.