Ouachita Game Notes 
SAU Game Notes
GAC Weekly Report 

ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The Great American Conference game of the week is heading to Cliff Harris Stadium as No. 4 Ouachita squares off against No. 20 Southern Arkansas in a battle for GAC supremacy.

If Ouachita (9-0) is able to come away victorious tomorrow afternoon, the Tigers will have won three consecutive games over the Muleriders, but more importantly Ouachita will lock up their second consecutive GAC Title. A title that has only left the city of Arkadelphia once in the Great American Conference era.

Southern Arkansas (8-1) is looking to hand Ouachita their first loss of the season. A win for the Muleriders would give them their first GAC title in program history and it would move the Muleriders above the Tigers in the Super Region III rankings.

Last season Ouachita escaped El Dorado with a come from behind victory over the Muleriders in the Murphy Oil Classic. The Tigers used 21 fourth quarter points to overcome the late deficit, Ouachita quarterbacks Austin Warford and Lucas Reed combined to throw for 280 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Kris Oliver (Arkadelphia, Ark.) added 119 rushing yards while wide receiver Allie Freeman (Little Rock, Ark.) hauled three touchdown receptions in the game. Southern Arkansas quarterback Barrett Renner picked apart the Tigers secondary for 533 yard and 5 passing touchdowns.  

Saturday's game will mark the 72^nd meeting All-Time between the two school with Ouachita holding a 36-34-1 lead in the series. The Tigers are looking to remain unbeaten inside the friendly confines of Cliff Harris Stadium. Since the stadium was renamed to honor the former Ouachita defensive back in 2014, the Tigers have accumulated a 22-5 mark at home. This season Ouachita has outscored opponents 148-15 inside Cliff Harris Stadium.

The Tigers are coming off a 35-10 road victory over the University of Arkansas at Monticello. Ouachita scored 28 first half points and never looked back a trait that has become characteristic of this Tiger offense for much of the season. Ouachita has relied heavily on the run game this season. The Tiger rushing attack currently averages 282 yards per contest, ranking Ouachita eighth in the country. The Tiger trio of Oliver, Shun'cee Thomas (Bossier City, La.) and Brockton Brown (Sheridan, Ark.) have accounted for 1,816 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns. Over the past three weeks the Tigers have had at least one running back run for 140 or more yards in a game.

If the Tigers need to pass though, redshirt freshman Brayden Brazeal (England, Ark.) has shown that he is efficient and consistent when the Tigers need him to be. Brazeal completed 62 percent of his passes and averages 98 passing yards a game. The England native has thrown four touchdown passes while running for an additional four scores. Freeman has once again shown that he is the go to receiver in the Tigers offense having recorded 37 receptions for 384 yards.

This season's Ouachita defense looks very different from defenses' of old. The Tigers have limited opponents to just 9.6 points per contest this season, ranking them the number one scoring defense in the country. A large part of that has come from a strong diet of rushing the passer and locking down receivers. The Ouachita defense has recorded 47 tackles for a loss and 15 sacks, while batting away 41 passes in the secondary. The Tiger defense has also intercepted the ball 16 times this season, Keandre Evans (Junction City, Ark.) and Airric Parker (San Diego, Calif.) have emerged as some of the leaders on the defense. Parker a former GAC Defensive Player of the Week currently leads the team in total tackles with 40.5. Evans another GAC Defensive Player of the Week selection leads the secondary with four interceptions and 11 pass breakups.

If and when the Tigers need to turn to their special teams unit Cole Antley (Atlanta, Ga.) and Jake Ford (Australia) are there to be game changers for the Tigers. Antley has connected on 10 of his 11 field goal attempts this season and currently has a long of 45 yards on the season. Ford, meanwhile, leads the nation in net punting average at 40.8 yards per kick. The Australian had three kicks go at least 50 yards and 19 punts have been downed inside the 20-yardline.

Southern Arkansas meanwhile is coming off a victory in the Murphy Oil Classic against Henderson State University. The Muleriders defeated the Reddies 34-14 last weekend, thanks to a 296 yard passing performance by Renner. Mulerider running back Lorenzo Alexander rushed for 83 yards and a pair of scores in the victory. On the defensive side of the ball DaVondrick Lison proved to be a force up front recording three tackles for a loss, a pair of sacks and a forced fumble. Lorenzo Watkins added four tackles in the contest while intercepting two passes to keep the Reddies at bay.

This season the Muleriders were ranked as high as 14^th in some polls before they saw their unblemished record fall on the road at Southeastern Oklahoma State. Since the Southeastern game, Southern Arkansas has outscored opponents 82-23.

The game will be featured as one of the NCAA Division II Showcase Games of the Week. Coverage of the game can be found on the Great American Conference YouTube page, the Division II, GAC and Ouachita Facebook pages, Division II Twitter account and on the Division II Periscope App. Kickoff is set for 1:05 p.m. but the ticket office will be open at 10:30 a.m. so come early and be loud.