September 26th, 2024 9:00am
We’re a quarter of the way through the 2024 football season and the results are a mixed bag for the Great American Conference. On the positive, the contenders all look the part, especially Harding, as the Bisons continue their title defense. The negative side can also be called the Oklahoma side, as all six of the Oklahoma school sit at either 1-2 or 0-3.
It’s another keep-it-in-the-state week in the GAC and we also have a massive matchup in Searcy this week as Henderson State travels to take on Harding in a top-20 showdown.
Before we get to the previews, let’s check out the players of the week from week three.
Offensive Player of the Week – Jeremiah Davis, RB, Henderson State, Jr., Montalba, Texas
Davis led the Reddie offense as he scored all three touchdowns in a 27-12 victory against previously undefeated Arkansas Tech. On 22 carries, he gained a career-high 158 and produced the first three-touchdown game of his career. He became the first Reddie running back to rush for at least 150 yards in a game since 2018.
Defensive Player of the Week – Ty Dugger, DB, Harding, Jr., Searcy, Arkansas
Dugger registered the second two-interception game of his career as the top-ranked Bisons defeated Arkansas-Monticello, 63-3, on Thursday. Both interceptions came in the opening quarter. The Bisons turned the first interception into a touchdown two plays later. He returned his second interception back 43 yards for his first interception return touchdown.
Special Teams Player of the Week – Dylan Cox, K, Southeastern OSU, So., Alvarado, Texas
Cox converted all five of his kicks in the Savage Storm’s 29-10 victory against Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday. He went 3-for-3 on his extra points and made field goals from 22 and 44 yards out. The 44-yard field goal represented a career long. Thus far this season, he is 9-for-9 on extra points and 4-for-4 on field-goal attempts.
Game of the Week- No. 17 Henderson State (3-0) at No. 1 Harding (3-0)
This one should be a good one. On paper, it looks like the Bisons should cruise, but this will be the first major test for Harding where we see if the gaudy numbers are competition-based or not. Also, the Reddies have won four of the last five games in Searcy going back to 2013. Given the success Harding has had over that time period, that’s a really impressive stat.
I think the biggest thing in this one is if Henderson State can move the ball at all against the Bisons defense. And it’s not great the Reddies put up an absolute stinker of a performance on offense against Arkansas Tech last week. And obviously, the Bisons’ defense is considerably tougher than the Wonder Boys (no offense to Tech, who is playing well right now). The Reddies’ run game has been solid, averaging nearly 185 yards per game and over five yards per carry. And Andrew Edwards is arguably the best quarterback in the league. So if you’re HSU, you have reasons to be optimistic you can move the ball at least a little bit, if for nothing else to give your defense a break against the flexbone attack.
The Bisons’ offense is averaging over eight yards per play through three games and is pushing 600 yards per game. That’s ridiculous for a team that is ground-based in their plan. We know the Reddies will be able to slow that down. Some. HSU is a great, veteran, talented defense that has the personnel to slow Harding down. What “slow Harding down” means is up for debate. Will they hold Harding under 20? 30? I’m not sure. Regardless, I doubt Harding will be averaging 7.6 yards per rush on Saturday. But they way the Harding offense is rolling to start the year, it’s going to be tough to hold Harding down enough to have a chance to win.
You have to wonder if last week’s dud performance at Tech was a bit of looking ahead on the part of the Reddies. Certainly can understand that if that’s the case. I think the Reddies are well-equipped to give the Bisons problems, but I just think the individual matchups favor the Bisons more than Henderson.
Harding 34, Henderson State 21
Southern Nazarene (0-3) at Southwestern OSU (1-2)
The Bulldogs got a nice win last week at East Central, the first for new coach Andrew Rice. Now they come back home and have a great shot to get back to .500 with a win over the Crimson Storm. Quarterback Kai Kunz has been a nice find and is a dangerous dual-threat option. The Bulldogs have averaged 171 yards on the ground through three weeks, a solid number for an offense that was anemic at best last year. It feels very strange to say it, but they’ll have to find a way to run the ball against an SNU run defense that has been pretty good the last two weeks. The Crimson Storm are allowing 5.1 yards per carry, but that includes the season-opening rushing average of nearly nine yards per carry for Harding. So we’ll see which of those two things is more sustainable on Saturday and whichever one is could determine the outcome of the game.
Offensively, SNU hasn’t been great, but may have finally found their quarterback in Rasheed Noel last week against Northwestern. The offense functioned much better with Noel in the game, especially in the fourth quarter when SNU nearly pulled out the win. It will be interesting to see how the offense performs with Noel clearly recognized as the guy. And the SWOSU defense, while not a sieve, leaves opportunities out there for the Crimson Storm to get the ground game going. Through three games, the Bulldogs are allowing 204 yards per game on the ground at a 5.3 yards per carry clip.
The Crimson Storm have won the last two against the Bulldogs, including two years ago in Weatherford when SNU put up over 500 rushing yards. Don’t think that will happen this week, but I do think SNU will be able to limit Kunz and build on the fourth quarter offensive momentum from last week.
Southern Nazarene 21, Southwestern OSU 17
Southern Arkansas (2-1) at Arkansas Tech (2-1)
Sneaky good one in Russellville this week as both teams come into this one off their first loss of the season. The Wonder Boys have proven over the first three games of the year that they’re improved from the past couple of years, and the program’s first winning season since 2017 is absolutely in reach. The defense in particular has been really impressive so far, ranking in the top half of the league in every category, including third in total defense. They’ll have to slow down the Southern Arkansas attack, which hasn’t quite clicked yet this season. The Muleriders are averaging just under 340 yards per game, but less than 200 on the ground so far. That’s a bit of a concern given the depth at running back and the experience along the offensive line. Perhaps this is the week things get going for SAU.
Offensively, Tech has been fine, but after a 245-yard rushing performance against OBU in the season opener, the Wonder Boys have fallen off a cliff in the ground game. Tech will need to find that performance again if they hope to knock off the Muleriders, who have allowed a paltry 3.5 yards per carry thus far this season. The SAU secondary will also test Tech quarterback Ethan Everson significantly, despite Everson’s marked improvement from his time at NWOSU.
This was not a game we thought would be intriguing at the beginning of the season, but as the early games unfolded, it’s definitely a game to check in on throughout the evening on Saturday. I like the Muleriders to be able to hold the Tech offense in check and win on the road.
Southern Arkansas 31, Arkansas Tech 17
Southeastern OSU (1-2) at Northwestern OSU (1-2)
Two teams coming off their first win of the season go at each other in Alva this week. The Rangers picked up a nice road win at SNU, with a change at quarterback being a key to victory. Brodey Johnson performed well taking over for Beck Moss and we’ll see if the success through the air continues against a solid SEOSU defense. The Savage Storm are last in passing defense through three games, mainly because HSU quarterback Andrew Edwards went for 435 yards against them two weeks ago. I think the defense is better than those numbers, and their performances against SAU and OBU show they’re probably somewhere in the middle.
While Jerry Glanville hasn’t turned Northwestern into the 1985 Chicago Bears, he has given offenses in the league some new looks with some old school alignments. How SEOSU handles that with a young quarterback in Cergio Perez will be key for the Savage Storm on Saturday. The Rangers are more susceptible to the pass, as they rank a decent seventh in the league in rushing defense. However, I’d bet on Southeastern leaning on DJ Brown and Ryan Hirt on the ground to take some decision-making pressure off Perez.
Like I mentioned in the wrap up on Monday, I think the Southeastern defense is pretty good. I think they’ll be able to keep the Rangers down and get just enough offense to get the win.
Southeastern OSU 24, Northwestern OSU 14
East Central (0-3) at Oklahoma Baptist (0-3)
It’s a battle of two winless teams in Shawnee on Saturday, as the Tigers and Bison fight to stay out of the league cellar. So far this year, OBU hasn’t looked great at all. It was fortunate to have a shot to win at Arkansas Tech and the last two weeks have just been out-classed by Harding and SEOSU. Being at home against a struggling ECU team could be just what the doctor ordered, particularly for a defense that has struggled. The Bison have been solid against the pass so far, which bodes well going up against a young quarterback in Sergio Kennedy who has already thrown 10 interceptions this season. The ECU offense has yet to get much of anything going, so we’ll see which struggling unit can get on the right track.
The Tigers have not been great defensively, giving up 6.6 yards per play, which is 11th in the GAC. They’ve also given up 250 per game on the ground through three games, so it’s possible the Bison rushing attack, last in the conference at just 55 yards per game, can finally get rolling. The Bison have had the unfortunate timing of facing three of the top five rushing defenses in the league thus far.
This is one of those weird games where teams seem to struggle in opposite ways, so a shootout breaks out. However, I don’t think either team is going to just break out in this one. Coin flip goes to the home team.
Oklahoma Baptist 30, East Central 20
Arkansas-Monticello (2-1) at No. 16 Ouachita Baptist (3-0)
The Weevils got housed by Harding last Thursday and now has to go on the road to take on Ouachita, which comes in feeling pretty good about their impressive road win at Southern Arkansas last week. The Weevils have been solid through three games on both sides of the ball, but I’d imagine we see a performance closer to last week’s against Harding than the first two weeks against NWOSU and SWOSU. Demilon Brown has looked like his normal, athletic self, which is great for UAM and for the league as a whole from an entertainment standpoint. However, the Tigers have the personnel to keep him in check, and I just don’t see anyone else able to step up and get the job done for UAM.
The Tigers grinded out a win over SAU last week, but should find more success against the Weevils. UAM has been solid against the pass, ranking second in the league in pass defense at just 122 yards allowed per game, but they are allowing 8.5 yards per attempt, which is 11th in the league. Eli Livingston hasn’t been a world-beater at QB for the Tigers so far, completing just 58 percent of his passes, but I would imagine he’ll have the chance for some big plays in this one. He’s already averaging nearly 20 yards per completion this year.
Pretty easy one here. I like the Tigers to get a big win and keep rolling
Ouachita Baptist 42, Arkansas-Monticello 21