EAST CENTRAL (OKLA.) AT ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium, Monticello
RADIO KHBM-FM, 93.7, in Monticello
INTERNET uamsports.com
2013 RECORDS UAM (5-6, 4-6 GAC); East Central (5-5, 5-5)
COACHES UAM: Hud Jackson (11-22 in fourth season at UAM and overall); East Central: Tim McCarthy (33-42 in eighth season at East Central, 36-69 in 12th season overall)
SERIES East Central leads 6-2.
LAST MEETING East Central won 46-22 in 2013.
COMMENTS Arkansas-Monticello was 5-1 at home last season, losing to eventual conference champion Henderson State. … UAM has two NCAA Division II preseason All-Americans: Senior cornerback Mike Early, who had four interceptions last season, and sophomore kicker Jamie McGee, who set school and conference records with 17 field goals last year. … East Central junior quarterback Spencer Bond passed for 2,811 yards and 23 touchdowns last season.
QUOTEABLE UAM Coach Hud Jackson: “[Contending for a conference title] are things that our guys talk about and are serious about. It’s a standard that we set, and it just takes time when you’re trying to build something.”
SOUTHERN NAZARENE AT HENDERSON STATE
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE SNU Stadium, Bethany, Okla.
RADIO KARN-AM, 920, in Little Rock; KYXK-FM, 106.9, in Arkadelphia; KZYP-FM, 100.7, and KZYP-AM, 1310, in Malvern
INTERNET hsusports.com
2013 RECORDS Henderson State (11-1, 10-0 GAC); Southern Nazarene (0-11, 0-10)
COACHES Henderson State: Scott Maxfield (60-36 in 10 seasons at HSU, 88-48 in 14 seasons overall); Southern Nazarene: Mike Cochran (40-47 in nine seasons at SNU, 86-59 in 14 seasons overall)
SERIES Henderson State leads 2-0.
LAST MEETING Henderson State won 82-10 in 2013.
COMMENTS Henderson State, ranked No. 5 in both NCAA Division II preseason polls, has won two consecutive conference titles and 23 consecutive regular-season games. … Southern Nazarene has lost 11 in a row and 19 of their past 21. … HSU senior quarterback Kevin Rodgers, a two-time All American and GAC offensive player of the year, has completed 39 of passes for 928 yards and 10 touchdowns in 63-21 and 82-10 victories over the Crimson Storm the past two years.
QUOTEABLE Henderson State quarterback Kevin Rogers: “We’ve built a program around here, but we have to keep everybody in check because we know everybody else out there is working that much harder just to beat us.”
SW OKLAHOMA STATE AT HARDING
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE First Security Stadium, Searcy
RADIO KVHU-FM, 95.3, in Searcy
INTERNET hardingsports.com
2013 RECORDS Harding (9-2, 8-2 GAC), SW Oklahoma State (6-5. 6-4)
COACHES Harding: Ronnie Huckeba (40-33 in eighth season); SW Oklahoma State: Dan Cocannouer (18-36 in sixth season)
SERIES Harding leads 5-4.
LAST MEETING SW Oklahoma State won 27-23 in 2013.
NOTEWORTHY Harding’s overall record is 297-297-18. A victory would put them over .500 for the first time since Oct. 18, 1924. … The Bisons are 10-2 in their past 12 season openers. … They have won seven consecutive season openers at home. … Quarterback Dustin Stenta scored on an 8-yard touchdown run with 1:13 left to win last year’s game for the Bulldogs in Weatherford, Okla. … Harding’s rushing offense ranked third in NCAA Division II in 2013 (359.7 ypg), and its defense was second in the same category (69.3 ypg). … The Bisons have finished in the top five in NCAA Division II rushing offense in each of the past four seasons, including first in 2011. … The Bulldogs return all five starting offensive linemen from last year’s 6-5 team, including All-GAC selections Derrick Shelton, Mark Cannon and Nathan Butler. …
QUOTABLE Harding Coach Ronnie Huckeba: “It seems everything is different for Southwestern this year — changes on the coaching staff and some real good players have graduated. It’s the ones you don’t know about that are most concerning, so we don’t know the personality of the team.”
SE OKLAHOMA STATE AT SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
WHEN 6 p.m.
WHERE Wilkins Stadium, Magnolia
RADIO KVMZ-FM, 99.1, in Magnolia
INTERNET muleriderathletics.com
2013 RECORDS Southern Arkansas (6-4, 6-4 GAC), SE Oklahoma State (2-8, 2-9)
COACHES Southern Arkansas: Bill Keopple (21-30 in sixth season). SE Oklahoma State: Bo Atterberry (0-0 in first season)
SERIES Southern Arkansas leads 19-16-3.
LAST MEETING SE Oklahoma State won 56-50.
NOTEWORTHY SAU is 1-4 in season openers under Bill Keopple, with its only victory coming in a 56-0 shutout at Texas College in 2012. … The Muleriders have to replace their leading passer (Tyler Sykora), leading rusher (Mark Johnson) and leading receiver (Chris Terry) as well as their leading tackler (Tate Mustin) from 2013. … The Muleriders were 0-3 last season when teams ran for 200 or more yards in a game. Southeastern’s Devlon Wortham, last year’s GAC Freshman of the Year, ran for 220 and 3 touchdowns on 13 carries last season in the Savage Storm’s victory over SAU. … Southeastern Coach Bo Atterberry was the team’s defensive coordinator in 2013.
QUOTABLE Southern Arkansas Coach Bill Keopple: “We’re amped up, nervous, excited. We’re running the whole gamut of emotions. They beat us in a shootout last year, but that was last year. We’ve had good preparation and a good fall camp, so we feel confident but still nervous.”