The Truman Bulldogs will venture to central Nebraska to face the University of Nebraska-Kearney Lopers for the first time on Saturday afternoon. Both teams will be looking to get back into the win column as Truman has lost their last two games while the Lopers are winless this season, their first in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
Bulldog quarterback
Conrad Schottel threw for a career-high 384 yards on 34 completions but two costly redzone turnovers and big plays generated by Fort Hays (Kan.) State led to a 37-23 loss last Saturday at home. Schottel's 384 yards was the most by a Bulldog since Matt Ticich's 493 yard performance against Upper Iowa in 2007.
The Lopers were victims of another gun slinger in the MIAA as Lindenwood (Mo.) University's Ben Gomez threw for a school-record 480 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-28 win for the Lions to keep UNK winless on the season. The Lopers five previous opponents have a combined record of 22-3. Sean Flanagan rushed for 99 yards and threw for another 167 for the Lopers.
This is the first and most likely final meeting between the two schools. Nebraska-Kearney joined the MIAA from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference this season and has been to the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2002, 2005, 2009 and 2001. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs are departing the league after being a charter member of the conference following this season for the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
MIAA “Game Of The Week”
The Bulldog/Loper game is the fifth of nine scheduled MIAA Network games of the week with the final two games being “flexed” games in the package. The broadcast is slated to start at 2:30 p.m. and is available in Kansas City on KSMO (Channel 62 or 10 on most cable systems).
The game is also available on Eagle Cable (Channel 15), Cox Cable System (Channel 22 in Kansas, 3 in Oklahoma), Mediacom (Channel 22) and Suddenlink (Channel 19). It will not be available through CableOne in Kirksville or DirectTV/Dish Network systems.
Bulldogs Quick Glance:
Truman (3-2; 2-2 MIAA) has had a balanced offense through the first half of the season with junior quarterback
Conrad Schottel passing for 1,113 yards and 10 touchdowns while a pair of running backs have gained over 500 yards on the ground. Senior
Will Mosquera has 75 rushes for 302 yards while sophomore
Garrett White has 44 rushes for 268 yards and a team leading five touchdowns. Junior
Dallas Grier has been the top target for Schottel with 31 catches for 456 yards.
Defensively, senior
Richie Schumacher leads the team with 39 tackles and senior
Patrick Blackwell has five sacks and eight tackles for loss. The Bulldogs have picked off nine passes and recovered six fumbles through five games.
Truman won their first three games to start the season defeating Southwest Baptist 24-14, Lincoln 42-12 and non-conference Northwestern Oklahoma State 63-21 before dropping consecutive games at Central Missouri 38-17 and Fort Hays State 37-23.
Lopers Quick Glance:
Nebraska-Kearney (0-5; 0-5 MIAA) has had a tough draw in their first weeks in the MIAA with three nationally ranked teams plus Emporia State and a long road trip to Lindenwood. The Lopers have also experienced injury problems especially at quarterback where they were looking to replace Harlon Hill candidate Jake Spitzlberger from last season.
Aric Kaiser entered the season as the starter and was 51-of-91 for 426 yards in the first three games before being knocked out against Missouri Western in week three. Matt Berry and Sean Flanagan took over with Flanagan keying a 21-point fourth quarter last week against Lindenwood.
Tommy Flanagan leads the team in rushing and receiving with 277 yards on the ground and 19 catches for 113 yards through the air. Adam Lehner has 13 catches for 203 yards.
Sam Kuck has 49 total tackles with 2.5 for loss and Greg Sherwood paces the Lopers with 3.5 of the team's seven sacks. The Lopers have just four forced turnovers this season, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
About the Bulldogs:
Head Coach
Gregg Nesbitt is in his third season on the Truman sideline after two straight 4-7 campaigns. The Bulldogs return 47 juniors and seniors, 59 total letterwinners and 18 starters from 2011. Of the starters returning, five are on offense, 10 on defense and both punter and place kicker are back.
• The Bulldogs have played 951 games all-time. The Bulldogs are 537-380-34 (.583) all time.
• Truman is 4-2 in overtime games. All six games have been played at Stokes Stadium with the last being on Oct. 24, 2009 against Emporia State (Truman lost 30-24).
• The Bulldogs have finished .500 or above in 70 of the 104 seasons of football played at the University and have had five wins or more in 62 seasons.
• Truman is the winningest NCAA program all-time in the state of Missouri with the .583 win percentage. The University of Missouri has the most wins with 627 with the Bulldogs second with 537.
• Truman's 537 wins is eighth all-time in Division II.
Returning All-Americans:
Truman features four players that have earned all-America honors during their career.
Senior defensive back
Richie Schumacher was a third team BeyondSportsNetwork All-America selection after finishing third in Division II in tackles with 130.
Junior place kicker
Derek Koon was also a BSN All-American earning a nod on the honorable mention list going 15-of-17 in field goals and converting on 22-of-27 point-after attempts.
Senior punter
Eric Phillips was a second-team Don Hansen Division II All-America in 2011 after averaging 42.9 yards per punt, good for sixth in Division II. For his career, Phillips has averaged 39.0/yards per punt with a long of 75.
Senior defensive back
Michael Elliott returns after earning a third-team Don Hansen selection in 2010 and taking last season off due to injury. Elliott led the defense as a junior with 91 total tackles and has six career interceptions.
Bulldogs In The MIAA/NCAA Statistics:
The Bulldogs lead the MIAA with nine interceptions and are tied for second in sacks with 17 for 117 yards. They are fourth in kick coverage (42.8 net), and fifth in punt return (11.6), punting (37.3) first downs and turnover margin.
Their highest national rankings for the Bulldogs are tied for 18th in sacks and 20th in net punting.
Michael Elliott is tied for first in the with 1.00/interceptions per game. Elliot has four on the season in four games played.
Patrick Blackwell is tied for 2nd in the league in sacks per game (1.0/g) and tied for 21st nationally.
Offensive Notebook:
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Senior Will Mosquera is leading the team in rushing with 302 yards on 75 carries (4.0/rush). He has four rushing touchdowns with a 60.4 yards per game average. Sophomore Garrett White has 44 rushes for 268 yards and five touchdowns. White is averaging 6.1 yards per touch and has been the team's “big play” player with a 55-yard rush and a 42-yard pass reception.
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Junior quarterback Conrad Schottel has completed 56% of his passes (91-of-160) with 10 touchdowns and five interceptions. He has an efficiency rating of 129.7 and has thrown for 1113 yards.
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Junior Dallas Grier has been the top target with 31 catches for 456 yards. Redshirt freshman Chico Orlando has caught 13 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Paul Taylor also had three TD receptions and sophomore Jared Haferbier has 14 catches for 113 yards.
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The Bulldog offensive line has allowed 15 sacks for 91 yards and 32 tackles for loss for 130 yards.
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Through five games, Truman is averaging 33.8 points per game, up from 23.0/game 2011 and from 22.1 in 2010.
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On the ground, the Bulldogs are averaging 142.6/g and have 713 yards rushing through five games. Passing, the Bulldogs are averaging 245.0/g (1225 yards) with an average of 387.6/g (1938 yards) in total offense. Last season, the team gained 1,389 yards on the ground (126.3/g), 2,422 yards passing (220.1) for a total offensive mark of 3,811 (346.4/g).
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The longest plays from scrimmage are a 60-yard pass from Conrad Schottel to Dallas Grier against Northwestern Oklahoma and a 55-yard rush by Garrett White against Lincoln (Mo.) University. Last year it was a 69-yard rush by J.B. Clark against Missouri Southern and a 61-yard pass from Clark to Kurt Loyd against Central Missouri.
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The Bulldogs, though five games, have turned the ball over 11 times (five interceptions and six fumbles lost). Opposing teams have scored five times following a Bulldog turnover. Last season, Truman turned the ball over 24 times with 16 interceptions and eight fumbles. Of those turnovers, opposing teams scored 11 times (10 touchdowns and one field goal).
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Truman converted in the redzone this season 67% of the time with 15 touchdowns and three field goals out of 27 trips. Last year, the Bulldogs scored 80% of the time. They were 28 of 35 with 16 touchdowns.
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The Bulldogs have started a third of their total drives (26 of 85) on the plus side of the 50 yardline. They have scored 12 touchdowns and one field goal (50%) when starting a drive in their opponent's territory.
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The offense has converted 34% of their third downs in 2012 same from the 34% last season.
Defensive Notebook:
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Senior Richie Schumacher leads the Bulldogs with 39 total tackles while 19 Truman defenders have over 10 tackles through five games.
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The Bulldog defense has 17 sacks for 117 yards and 38 tackles for loss for 170 yards. Last season, Truman had 21 sacks for 145 yards and 56 tackles for loss. Senior Patrick Blackwell leads the team with five sacks. His 18.5 career sacks is seventh all-time in Truman history.
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Truman allows 24.4 points per game through five this season after allowing 32.5/g last year.
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The team has allowed 723 yards rushing (144.6/g), 1168 yards passing (233.6/g) and 1891 yards of total offense (378.2). In 2011, the Bulldogs allowed 2,188 yards on the ground (198.9/g) , 2,703 yards passing (245.7/g) for a total defensive mark of 4,891 (444.6/g).
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The Bulldogs have allowed eight plays from scrimmage over 30 yards this year the longest being a 67-yard rush and 53-yard pass by Fort Hays St. In 2011, the Bulldogs allowed 24 plays from scrimmage of 30-yards or more.
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The Bulldogs defense has forced 15 turnovers, nine interceptions and six fumble recoveries. The offense has scored touchdowns on three of the 15 turnovers forced with another coming on a defensive pick-six against Central Missouri. Last season they forced 27 turnovers with nine interceptions and 18 fumble recoveries. Of the 27 turnovers, 10 resulted in scores for the Bulldogs with two scores directly credited to the defense.
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Opponents have been in the redzone 17 times out of 84 drives this season but have converted for touchdowns in 14 trips (94%). Last year, opponents were successful 72.3% of the time with 34 of 47 with 28 touchdowns.
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The opposing offenses are 39% successful on third down after going 39% in 2011.
Special Teams Notebook:
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Junior Derek Koon is 3-of-8 in field goals in 2012 with a long from 37 and two blocked from 36 and 28 yards. For his career, he is 29-for-43 in field goals with a long 42 yards against Fort Hays State and Central Missouri in 2011. He has also converted on 66-of-75 extra point attempts. Koon has made his last 27 straight extra point attempts.
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Koon made 12 straight field goals to start the 2011 season, breaking the school record of Scott Bresaw's 10 set in 1990 and tied Bresaw's 1990 single-season record of 15 field goals made. Koon also broke Josh Barcus' (Pittsburg State) MIAA record for consecutive field goal. Koon's streak snapped when he missed a 51-yard field goal against Missouri Southern. That record was broken by Missouri Western's Greg Zuerlien also during the 2011 season.
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Senior Eric Phillips has had 32 punts in 2012 for an average of 40.3/punt. His long this season is 58 yards while his career long is 75 against Southwest Baptist in 2011. Last year, Phillips was second in the nation in punting with an average of 42.9/punt.
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Phillips has had four punts this season downed inside the opponents one-yardline and 15 finishing inside the opponents 20 with four touchbacks.
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The Bulldogs have blocked two punts this season and four in the last two years.
Academic Success:
• The Bulldogs had 48 players earn distinction on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll last year, the most of any conference program. To be eligible, a player must have a cumulative grade-point average above a 3.00. The team had a cumulative grade-point average of 3.02 following the 2012 spring semester and an average ACT score of 24.
• Truman had an 88% Academic Success Rate in football according to data released by the NCAA last year. It was the highest ASR rate in the MIAA and one of the top percentages of all Division II public institutions. The Truman Athletics department had an overall ASR of 95%.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will play back-to-back on the road for the first and only time this season as they will head to nationally-ranked Washburn University for a 1:00 p.m. start time in Topeka, Kan. The Ichabods spoiled homecoming last year in Kirksville with a 42-14 victory over the Bulldogs and will face Lincoln (Mo.) this week on the road.
Truman/Fort Hays Footnotes:
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Schottel's 384 yards passing was most by a Truman quarterback since Matt Ticich threw for 493 in victory against Upper Iowa on September 8, 2007. His 34 completions and 59 attempts were the most by a Bulldog signal caller since Jake Czeschin had 60 attempts against Northwest Missouri on Oct. 23, 2004 and 35 completions against Southwest Baptist on Nov. 6 of that same year.
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Dallas Grier notched his second 100-yard receiving day of the season (127) and sixth of his career. Grier went over 1,600 yards for his career (1,603) and is now within 55 receiving yards from cracking the Bulldog top 10 all-time.
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The 348 yards rushing allowed was the most since an October 31, 2009 game at Washburn (363) and the 136 yards rushing by Tarean Austin was the first 100+ yard rusher against the Bulldogs in 10 games (Justin Cooper,168 yards for Washburn).
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The Tigers had four plays from scrimmage go for over 40 yards including the longest pass (53) and longest rush (67) against the Bulldogs this season. Entering the game, Truman had allowed just three plays from scrimmage to go for over 30 yards in the first four games.
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The Bulldogs had a season low rushing yards (50) which matched fewest since September 20, 2008 game against Northwest Missouri.
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Truman's season high passing yards of 384 were the most since 405 against Central Missouri on September 13, 2008.
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The Tigers had six plays on third down go for 10 yards or more and were 9-of-17 on third down conversions for the day.
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Michael Elliott and Richie Schumacher led the defense with nine tackles apiece while Matthew Smith, Patrick Blackwell and Ryan Johnson recorded the three pass sacks for the Bulldogs.
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Smith and Dennis Walls had fumble recoveries while Charlie Heinzmann picked up his first career interception.
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The Heinzmann interception was the first Bulldog defensive stop inside the redzone this season. Opponents had scored on the previous 15 trips this season.
