S. ARKANSAS AT NW (OKLA.) ST.
WHEN 1 p.m.
WHERE Ranger Field, Alva, Okla.
RADIO KVMZ-FM, 99.1, in Magnolia INTERNET muleriderathletics.com RECORDS Southern Arkansas 2-1, 2-1; NW Oklahoma State 0-3, 0-3 COACHES Southern Arkansas: Bill Keopple (17-27 in fifth year); Northwestern State: Alan Hall (4-10 in second year).
SERIES SAU leads 2-1.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR Southern Arkansas enters on a two-game winning streak and draws a winless Northwestern State team coming off a 22-20 loss at Arkansas-Monticello. The numbers bode well for Southern Arkansas, which is averaging 40 points a game and faces a team that is giving up 43. Northwestern State is averaging 10 points a game and will face an SAU defense that is tops in the league in interceptions (7), pass defense efficiency (101.3 yards) and turnover margin (plus 4). If the Muleriders can get ahead early and force the Rangers to start throwing, it could be another productive day for SAU, but Northwestern should benefit from playing on its home field.
EAST CENTRAL (OKLA.) AT HENDERSON STATE
WHEN 3 p.m.
WHERE Carpenter-Haygood Stadium, Arkadelphia RADIO KDEL-FM, 100.9, in Arkadelphia; KZNG-AM, 1310, in Hot Springs INTERNET hsusports.com RECORDS Henderson State 3-0, 2-0; East Central (Okla.) 1-2, 1-2 COACHES Henderson State: Scott Maxfield (81-46 overall, 52-35 in ninth season at Henderson State); East Central: Tim McCarty (48-54 overall, 28-36 in sixth year at East Central) SERIES HSU leads 13-10-1 WHAT TO LOOK FOR Henderson State wants a better overall effort after costly turnovers, like an interception returned for a touchdown, led to the Reddies trailing for the first time all season last week in their game at Southeastern Oklahoma. Henderson State couldn’t be expected to maintain its scoring average of 78.5 points a game from earlier this season, but expect the Reddies to be more focused at home and to continue to spread the ball among multiple receivers to open up the running game.
SE (OKLA.) STATE AT OUACHITA BAPTIST
WHEN 7 p.m.
WHERE A.U. Williams Field, Arkadelphia RADIO KHTE-FM, 96.5, in Little Rock; KFMD-AM, 1340, and KFMD-FM, 105.3, in Springdale and Rogers; KAMD-FM, 97.1, in Camden; KYXK-FM, 106.9, in Arkadelphia and Gurdon; KNAS-FM, 105.5, in Nashville; KQOR-FM, 105.3, in Mena INTERNET obutigers.com RECORDS Ouachita Baptist 2-0, 2-0; Southeastern State 1-2, 1-2 COACHES Ouachita Baptist: Todd Knight (89-111-2 overall, 62-79 in 15th season at OBU); Southeastern State: Ray Richards (54-75 overall, 40-45 in ninth year at Southeastern) SERIES Ouachita Baptist leads 29-16-4 WHAT TO LOOK FOR Ouachita Baptist will be tested by a Southeastern State team that almost upset high-scoring Henderson State last week. Southeastern took a four-point lead into the fourth quarter against the No. 8 Reddies before falling at home. OBU should be motivated in its home opener, and recent match ups between these teams have been tightly played. It took a late touchdown by Chris Rycraw to help the Tigers edge the Savage Storm last season in Durant, Okla. Southeastern has a tough secondary led by GAC interceptions leaders Anthony Foster and Kaymon Farmer. It will be interesting to see which team can maintain drives. OBU leads the nation with a 65.6 third-down conversion percentage, and Southeastern is allowing opponents a third-down percentage of just 26.1, which leads the conference.
ARK.-MONTICELLO AT SW (OKLA.) STATE
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE Fast Lane Field, Weatherford, Okla.
RADIO KHBM-FM, 93.7, in Monticello INTERNET uamsports.com RECORDS Arkansas-Monticello 2-1, 2-1;Southwestern State 2-1, 2-1 COACHES Arkansas-Monticello: Hud Jackson (8-17 in third season); Southwestern Oklahoma: Dan Cocannouer (14-32 in fifth year) SERIES 1-1 WHAT TO LOOK FOR Arkansas-Monticello, which ended an 11-game losing streak in Week 2, is looking to extend its winning streak to three. The Boll Weevils last won two conference games in a row in 2009, but Arkansas-Monticello has struggled on the road and has yet to win a game away from home. It is something of a crossroads game for each team, and the Boll Weevils’ opportunistic defense and offensive line could make the difference. Arkansas-Monticello has recovered five fumbles and has forced nine fumbles. It ranks second in the league in both categories. The Boll Weevils are giving up less than one sack a game and are near the top of the GAC in fewest penalties and least penalty yardage.
ARKANSAS TECH AT NICHOLLS
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE John L. Guidry Stadium, Thibodaux, La.
RADIO KWKK-FM, 100.9, in Russellville INTERNET athletics.atu.edu RECORDS Arkansas Tech 2-1; Nicholls 2-2 COACHES Arkansas Tech: Raymond Monica (47-35 overall, 2-1 in first season at Arkansas Tech); Nicholls: Charlie Stubbs (8-29 in fourth year at Nicholls) SERIES First meeting WHAT TO LOOK FOR Arkansas Tech steps outside the Great American Conference and up a level to the Football Championship Subdivision to face Nicholls, which is 5-0 against GAC schools and beat Southern Arkansas 31-13 in 2007 in its last game against a GAC opponent. Arkansas Tech is getting some mileage out of its running game and will try to establish that against a team that is giving up an average of 529.8 yards a game, good for eighth in the Southland Conference. The Wonder Boys have one of the sturdier defenses in the GAC, allowing averages of 306 yards (third) and 15 points (second) a game, while the Colonels are giving up averages of 529.8 yards and 45.2 points a game.
SOUTHERN NAZARENE AT HARDING
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE First Security Stadium, Searcy RADIO KVHU-FM, 95.3, in Searcy RECORDS Harding 1-1, 1-1; Southern Nazarene 0-3, 0-3 COACHES Harding: Ronnie Huckeba (32-32 in seventh season at Harding); Southern Nazarene: Mike Cochran (86-50 overall, 40-38 in eighth season at Southern Nazarene) SERIES Harding leads 1-0 WHAT TO LOOK FOR Harding should be well-rested after taking a week off following its 69-0 victory over Northwestern Oklahoma, which doesn’t bode well for winless Southern Nazarene. The Bisons won 42-13 in Bethany, Okla., last year and held the ball for 39 minutes, and it is possible a similar scenario could play out this season. The Bisons have the second-best scoring offense and the best scoring defense in the league, while Southern Nazarene is near the bottom in those categories and several others. Harding also has the fifth-best rushing offense, averaging 343 yards a game, and may be content to pound it out on the ground. The Bisons need to avoid overconfidence against a team with nothing to lose.
TODAY’S GAMES All times Central
S. Arkansas at NW Okla. State, 1 p.m.
E. Cent. (Okla.) at Hend. St., 3 p.m.
Southern Nazarene at Harding, 6 p.m.
Arkansas Tech at Nicholls State, 6 p.m.
Ark.-Mont. at SW Okla. State, 6 p.m.
SE Okla. St. at Ouachita Baptist, 7 p.m.
Sports, Pages 23 on 09/28/2013