ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The defending Great American Conference Champions will square off against Northwestern Oklahoma State for the second consecutive season; this time it is No. 24/25 Ouachita that will have to make the 12-hour drive to Alva, Okla.

The Tigers have won 11 straight opening week games dating back to the 2006 season and have gone 13-5 since the turn of the century. The Rangers have had the privilege of being the Tigers opening week opponent twice in 2012 and in 2017. In the 2012 game Ouachita picked up their largest victory ever against Northwestern Oklahoma State with
a 55-3 thumping of the Rangers. Last season's opener was much closer, as Ouachita prevailed 31-28 at Cliff Harris Stadium.

Ouachita leads the head-to-head series against Northwestern Oklahoma State 7-3. The Tigers are currently riding a six game winning streak against the Rangers and have never lost to Northwestern Oklahoma State in the Great American Conference era. The last time Ouachita fell to Northwestern Oklahoma State was a 34-3 loss during the 1996 season, meaning the vast majority of the Ouachita football team has grown up in a world that has never seen the Tigers lose to Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Going into tomorrow night's season opener the Tigers and the Rangers are deadlocked in games played at Ranger Field. Ouachita has won the past two meetings in Alva back in 2016 and 2014, while Northwestern Oklahoma State has home victories in 1996 and 1994. Another quick fact about the Tiger football team, the Tigers have not lost a regular season road game since October 22, 2016.

Last season, senior defensive lineman John Rachal came up with a huge fourth-quarter sack and forced a fumble with time expiring, giving the Tigers the victory. Ouachita put up 455 yards of total offense, including 255 rushing yards. Sophomore running back Shun'cee Thomas (Bossier City, La.) had a season high 124 yards rushing and two touchdowns.

The Tigers' offense returns 10 starters from a championship team last season. The sole position not returning a starter, or, for that matter a player that had any kind of game experience is the quarterback position. Redshirt freshman Brayden Brazeal (England, Ark.) will have the keys to an offense that returns an All-American in Drew Harris (Benton, Ark.), First-Team All-GAC wide receiver Allie Freeman (Little Rock, Ark.) and All-GAC running back Kris Oliver (Arkadelphia, Ark.). 

Harris, Freeman and Oliver accounted for 38 of the team's 53 touchdown's last season, with Harris scoring a school and conference record 26 touchdown's last season.
Upfront, Ouachita is anchored by First-Team All-GAC tackles Cori Gooseberry (Little Rock, Ark.) and his twin brother Justin Gooseberry (Little Rock, Ark.). Earlier this summer,

Justin Gooseberry was named to the Starting Lineup by College Football America Yearbook. The starting lineup is the publications version of a preseason All-American list.
Last season, the Tigers had the No. 1 scoring offense in the Great American Conference, averaging 39.5 points per game. Ouachita also had the No. 1 redzone offense, as they converted 52 of a possible 56 scoring opportunities from inside the opponents 25-yard line. The Tigers rushing attack finished second in the GAC only behind Harding with 238.8 yards per game. Ouachita racked up an average of nearly 453 yards of offense per game last year, which placed the third in the conference. The Tigers passing offense, one could say, was the weak spot in the offense. Ouachita finished sixth in the conference in passing yards per game with 214.

On the defensive side of the football the Tigers return a top three scoring defense in the conference. Ouachita was also the No.3 team in the GAC in turnover margin at plus 11. Defensive backs Tevin Jones (Jonesboro, Ark.) and Keandre Evans (Junction City, Ark.) return as the Tigers top tacklers from a season ago.

Ernest Reed (El Dorado, Ark.) and Dameyun McDonald (Helena, Ark.) look to anchor a stout defensive line. The pair are the top returning tacklers and sack leaders along the defensive line. Jon Johnson (Haskell, Ark.), Austin Guymon (Little Rock, Ark.) and Airric Parker (San Diego, Calif.) all return to lead a packed linebacker core.

The Ouachita coaching staff will have a few new faces along the sidelines this season. Wide receivers coach Spencer Knight returns to Ouachita after spending the last two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Memphis. On the defensive side of the ball Kane Bryen returns to Ouachita after a short stint at Blinn Community
College. Dionte Dean is the new defensive backs coach for the Tigers and he enters his 11^th season as a coach at the collegiate level.

Tomorrow night's game will kick-off at approximately 6:00 p.m. Live stat links and a live video feed of the game can be found on www.riderangersride.com Be sure to turn on your radio's tomorrow night as Rex Nelson will be on the call once again this season. The Tigers new flagship station is 101.1 The Answer out of Little Rock, Ark. For a complete listing of Tiger football radio network affiliates go to www.obutigers.com