MAGNOLIA, Ark.-The Southern Arkansas football team returns home for its highly-anticipated Homecoming game against Southeastern Oklahoma after consecutive road contests in the Sooner State.
SAU's two-game Oklahoma swing yielded very positive results as the Muleriders won both games, and in the process, extended their winning streak out to three games.
Homecoming over the nine years has been really successful for the Muleriders as they are unbeaten in their last nine homecoming games dating back to 2008 and will look to make it 10 in a row against a tough opponent in Southeastern Oklahoma.
Despite losing their first game of the year last weekend, Southeastern figures to come into the game nationally-ranked, and with SAU 5-2 overall and in the GAC, the Muleriders will be playing for a share of first-place in the league standings.
Offensively, the Savage Storm are averaging 34.6 points per game and 423.1 yards of total offense per game with 234.1 passing yards and 189.0 yards rushing.
Defensively, the Savage Storm are allowing 20.7 points per game and 359.6 yards of total offense per game.
This will be the 42nd meeting all-time between the Muleriders and Savage Storm with SAU holding a 21-17-3 lead in the series.
East Central at Henderson State
ARKADELPHIA, Ark.-Henderson State will play its 1,000th game in program history as the Reddies play host to East Central for its annual Homecoming game, Saturday at Ruggles Field at Carpenter-Haygood Stadium with kickoff at 2 p.m.
The Reddies are looking for its first home win of the season, while the Tigers are attempting to end a six-game losing skid.
Henderson State, 4-3 on the season, won its 16 consecutive road contest played in Oklahoma and a NCAA Division II record 30th straight road game last week with a 21-20 victory over previously unbeaten and nationally-ranked Southeastern Oklahoma.
East Central and Henderson State meet for the 29th time in a series which dates back to 1928, with the Reddies leading the series 16-11-1.
The Reddies have won 10 of the last 12 meetings. In 2015, ECU snapped a 9-game losing streak by beating the Reddies 35-28. It was the Tigers' first win against HSU since 1985. Henderson has an 11-3 record all-time in home games.
Oklahoma Baptist at Ouachita Baptist
ARKADELPHIA, Ark.-The Ouachita Tigers' football team (5-2) will look to clinch its 10th straight winning season as they host the Oklahoma Baptist Bison (0-7) at Cliff Harris Stadium in Arkadelphia.
"We would be the only college football program in the state at any level to get 10 back-to-back winning season," Ouachita Head Coach Todd Knight said. "So, it's big for the legacy for the players. It's big for the coaching staff. It's good for the university, and it's good for our program."
The Tigers will be looking to take momentum from last week's 21-14 win over Southern Nazarene and translate it to a strong showing this week. The game against Southern Nazarene was played on a Thursday night, meaning the Tigers are able to get a few extra days of rest in before Saturday's game.
"They're rested," Knight said. "They've got their legs back. We purposefully planned a Thursday night game to get our guys off their feet for the weekend going into the final four games. Definitely, the attitude has been great already and the health of the guys is so much better."
The Ouachita defense will have a task of stopping a Bison offense which is second-to-last in the GAC in scoring with an average of 21 points-per-game.
Oklahoma Baptist tends to rely on its passing game where it is led by freshman quarterback Preston Haire. Haire averages 195 passing yards-per-game and has thrown 11 touchdowns. Senior receiver Alex Lewis leads the Bison receivers with 412 yards and two touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, Oklahoma Baptist have not performed well this season. The Bison allow a GAC-worst 44.7 points-per-game.
Ouachita has defeated Oklahoma Baptist in every matchup since the Bison joined the Great American Conference in 2015. Last season, Ouachita knocked off Oklahoma Baptist by a final score of 51-28. The matchup last year was headlined by Shun'cee Thomas' 211 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Saturday's GAC Schedule
Oklahoma Baptist at Ouachita Baptist, 1 p.m.
Southwestern Oklahoma State at Harding, 2 p.m.
East Central at Henderson State, 2 p.m.
Northwestern Oklahoma State at Arkansas Tech, 2 p.m.
Southeastern Oklahoma State at Southern Arkansas, 2:30 p.m.
Southern Nazarene at Arkansas-Monticello, 3 p.m.