KICKING OFF
Through the first three weeks of the season, the Arkansas Tech football team is in feverish pursuit of a breakthrough moment that can serve as a catalyst for the remainder of the year. In each of the first three games, the Wonder Boys have found themselves trailing by double-digits at some point in the fourth quarter, but have also found ways to pull themselves with a possession before narrowly coming up short. Combined, over the first three games of the season, the margin of defeat for the Wonder Boys has been just 12 points.
In order to have that breakthrough moment, the Wonder Boys must do so in a location that has not showed a lot of success to the Tech football program over the years, and that's playing at Southern Arkansas. While there is some clarification needed for context on this stat, the Wonder Boys have not won a game in Magnolia since 2006. The context behind that is there have only been six meetings between the two in Magnolia since 2006 with games in '08, '11, '12, '14, '16 and '18.
The series was meant to be played in Magnolia in 2020, but was canceled due to COVID wiping out the entire season. When the schedule resumed in 2021, the road game for Tech at SAU was shifted to the neutral site of El Dorado for the annual Murphy USA Classic of which SAU is the defacto home team.
TECH(NICALLY) SPEAKING
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively after three games, the Wonder Boys are averaging 25.3 points per game and 287.3 yards of total offense. Their ppg average ranks seventh in the GAC, while their total offense ranks ninth.
Taye Gatewood has assumed the starting quarterback role for the Wonders Boys with starts in each of the last two game. Thus far, he has thrown for 617 yards on 42-of-68 passing with five touchdowns and three interceptions.
On the ground, the Wonder Boys have had 10 different ball carriers through two games. Deuce Wise has had the most carries by a running back with 33 and the most yards with 128. From the QB position, Gatewood leads the team in rushing touchdowns with two. Jordan Edinton and Corbin Humphrey account for the other two rushing scores.
In terms of receiving, Tech has had pass completions to 11 different targets. Matthew Rivera leads the team in receptions and yards with 12 catches for 187 yards. Caleb Tanis is next with 185 yards on nine receptions. Both Rivera and Tanis are tied for the team-lead in receiving touchdowns with two each.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively through three games, the Wonder Boys are allowing an average of 452.3 yards of total offense per game by their opponents and 29.3 points per game. The total defense ranks 11th in the GAC, while their scoring defense is seventh.
Individually, Tech has eight players that have registered 10 or more tackles. The leading tackler thus far is Jyrin Steward and his 26 stops. Vershaud Richardson lead the team in tackles for loss with 6.0 and sacks with 4.0. Richardson also leads the team in forced fumbles with two.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The new-look kicking game for the Wonder Boys has Austin Hosier handling the placekicking duties. He is 10-of-10 in extra point attempts and 2-of-2 in field goal attempts.
In the punting game, Tech has used a pair of punters but are expected to rely on veteran returner Aaron Winn when healthy. He is currently averaging 44.9 yards per punt and has a long of 63 yards.
In the return game, the Wonder Boys lead the GAC in kickoff returns and are averaging 36.8 yards per return. They already have three returns of at least 50 yards this season, all done by different players with Mason Ross, Hunter Wilkinson and Ryan Wilkerson having the big returns.
ABOUT SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
LAST GAME
The Southern Arkansas Muleriders come into Saturday's game with a 2-1 record overall and are looking for a bounce back after their first defeat of the season last weekend on the road at No. 5-ranked Ouachita Baptist. The game was close through the early part of the second quarter and was tied 14-all before Ouachita pulled away to cruise to a 52-24 win.
THE COACH
The Muleriders are coached by Brad Smiley, who is in his second year as the head coach at Southern Arkansas. Prior to coming to SAU, Smiley was at Northwestern State where he was the team's offensive coordinator beginning in the 2018 season. Before that, Smiley spent time as the head coach at Trinity Valley Community College. Overall, Smiley has nearly 30 years of collegiate coaching experience.
SCOUTING THE OFFENSE
Offensively, the Muleriders feature a spread offensive attack. Through their first three games of year, SAU has the sixth-ranked scoring offense in the GAC at 27.3 ppg and the fourth-ranked total offense with an average of 437.7 ypg. Through the air, the Muleriders are averaging 232.7 ypg to rank fourth in the GAC. On the ground, SAU is averaging 205.0 ypg to rank fourth in the GAC.
The leading rusher thus far has been quarterback OB Jones with 266 yards gained. Jones is averaging 88.7 yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry. He also has five of the team's seven rushing scores. Not far off Jones' pace is tailback Jariq Scales. He has 203 yards gained and a touchdown.
In the passing game, the Muleriders have led by OB Jones. He has thrown for 698 yards on 67-of-108 passing attempts with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
The leading receiver for SAU is Matthew Whitten with 168 yards on 10 receptions. He is also tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions with one.
SCOUTING THE DEFENSE
Defensively, the Muleriders base out of a multiple scheme and currently rank sixth in scoring defense, allowing 29.3 ppg. Their total defense ranks fourth in the GAC allowing 317.7 ypg of total offense by their opponents. Through the air, SAU ranks sixth in the GAC with 207.0 ypg. On the ground, the Muleriders allow an average of 110.7 ypg and rank fourth in the GAC.
Individually, Southern Arkansas has nine players with 10 or more stops and are led by Gavin Roe and Dawson Scott with 18. Scott leads the team in TFLs with 5.0 and sacks with 2.5.
THE SERIES
This will be the 86th meeting all-time between Arkansas Tech and Southern Arkansas in a series that dates back to 1916. Playing almost annually as conference opponents in the AIC and GSC, Tech and SAU also became charter members of the GAC in 2011. In that time span, SAU leads the series 8-3. Dating back to when both schools made the jump to NCAA DII in 1995, SAU holds a 14-11 lead.
