Complete Notes (.pdf)

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Radio – 104.7 FM KRES (Brad Boyer, Chad Speakar, Hank Janssen, Kevin White)

Pregame show begins at 1:30 p.m.

 

Game Preview:

The Truman Bulldogs will look to send out their seniors with a victory as they will host the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks in the season finale on Saturday at Stokes Stadium.

 

The game will be televised regionally as part of the MIAA Television Network and will be seen on the following outlets: KSMO-62 (Kansas City), Eagle Cable-15 (western Kansas), Cox KS Cable-22, Cablevision-20 (St. Joseph) and Mediacom-22 (Columbia, Jefferson City and Springfield).

 

The Bulldogs have won eight of their last nine season finales and defeated the Mavericks in their last visit to Stokes Stadium in dramatic fashion with a 26-20 double overtime win back in October 2008.  It was the first game in MIAA history that ended on a defensive score in overtime as Demetrius Lavant scored on a pick six to end Homecoming.

 

Last season was a much different tale as the Mavericks scored 14 points in the first minute of the game and cruised to a 38-0 victory over the Bulldogs.

 

Both Truman and UNO are coming off of heartbreaking losses last Saturday.  The Bulldogs outgained and mostly outplayed the Pittsburg State Gorillas but lost 17-14 as Derek Koon's 26-yard field goal on the final play skirted the right post.  The Bulldogs had 376 yards of total offense compared to just 241 by the Gorillas and dominated the time of possession by over 11 minutes.

 

UNO grabbed a 14-10 lead with 1:39 left but watched as Missouri Western marched down the field with Drew Newhart connecting with Adam Clausen with 16 seconds left to give the Griffons a 16-14 victory.

 

Phil Davis leads the Truman attack s the senior quarterback has 682 yards rushing and 1284 yards through the air.  His top target is freshman Dallas Grier with 28 catches for 471 yards.

 

The Mavericks are paced on the ground by James Franklin III with 760 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns.  John Teigland has completed 65 percent of his passes for 1,586 yards.

 

Truman will honor 13 seniors prior to kickoff.

 

Series History:

This will be just the seventh meeting between the Mavericks and the Bulldogs and third all-time conference match-up with the league's newest member.

 

UNO has won four of the six previous meetings but the teams have split the conference games with each winning on their home turf.  The Bulldogs last victory against a nationally-ranked opponent came when they defeated the #16 Mavericks back on Oct. 4^th 2008 26-20 in double overtime. 

 

All-Time Records:

·         The Bulldogs have played 934 games all-time.  The Bulldogs are 530-370-34 (.586) 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 102 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 .586 win percentage.  The University of Missouri has the most wins with 614 with the Bulldogs second with 530. 

 

Drive Summaries:

• The Bulldogs have had 19 drives this season start in opposing territory and have come away with 34 points (four touchdowns and two field goals).
• Opposing teams have had 26 drives start on Truman's side of the 50 and have scored 103 points (13 touchdowns and four field goals).
• Truman has started four times inside their own 10 yardline and have had three punts and one turnover.
• Opposing teams have had eight drives start inside the 10 and have one touchdown, one field goal, three punts, a missed field goal and two turnovers.

 

Tale of Two Halves:

Truman has been outscored by 37 points in the first half of all games (132-95) but in the second half has been outscored by 71 points (158-87).  The biggest discrepancy has been in the third quarter as the Bulldogs have been outscored 71-33.

 

Story On Third Downs:

Truman has converted on third and less than three yards nearly 50% of the time but are just 26% when needing seven or more yards to go.  The longest conversion was a third and 22 when a pass interference call gave the Bulldogs a first down. 

 

Opponents have converted over 23% of the time when facing a third and seven or more this season.  The longest third down conversion was a third and 26 by Southwest Baptist (pass completed for 35 yards). 

 

Truman has eight sacks and seven tackles for loss on third down.

 

Notable National Rankings:

• The Bulldogs are 50th in Division II in sacks allowed (1.60/g).
• Truman is 28th in Division II in defensive sacks (2.60/g).
• Truman is 58^th in tackles for loss (6.80/g).
• Truman is 51^st in rushing offense (159.7/ypg).
• Truman is 134^th in passing offense (141.5/ypg).
• Truman is 117^th in pass defense (234.8/ypg).
• Truman is 54^th in rush defense (130.3/ypg).
• Patrick Blackwell is tied for 40^th in sacks per game (0.70/g).
• Derek Koon is tied for 28^th in field goals per game (1.10/g).
• Phil Davis is 79^th in rushing yards and 67^th in total offense (68.0/196.4 ypg).

 

Offensive Quick Hits:

• The Bulldogs recorded 152 first downs this season, 71 by passing, 69 by rushing and 12 by penalty.
• In 421 rushing attempts, Truman averages 3.8 yards per carry up from a 3.1 mark last season. 
• Truman has gained 1597 yards on the ground.
• The 159.7 yards per game gained on the ground is the highest average since the Bulldogs finished the 2006 season with a 168.5 mark.
• With 117 pass completions, the Bulldogs have 1415 yards passing and 12.1 yards per completion average.
• The 141.1 yards passing per game is the lowest average by a Truman team since 1979 (125.3).
• With 670 offensive plays, the Bulldogs have amassed 3012 yards of total offense for a per play average of 4.5 up from 4.3 yards last season.
• In their 39 trips to the redzone this season, the Bulldogs have 19 touchdowns and 11 field goals.
• The Bulldogs are 54-of-153 (35%) on third down conversions. 
• Truman is 7-of-13 on fourth down conversions.
• The offense has been on the field 31:54 per game this season and has scored 173 points.
• The offensive line has allowed 16 sacks through 10 games, last season, the Bulldogs allowed 25 qb sacks.
• The Bulldogs longest drive of the season has been a 14-play 84-yard drive that consumed 7:39 and resulted in a touchdown against Washburn. 
• The last 1,000 yard rusher for the Bulldogs was Jerard Leverson (1012 yards) following the 2003 season.

 

Defensive Quick Hits:

• In 350 rushes, Truman's defense has allowed 1303 yards rushing for a 3.7 yards per carry average, down from a 5.3 mark last season.
• The 130.3 rushing yards allowed is down from 228.3 last season and the lowest mark since 1982 (80.6).
• In 182 pass completions for 2348 yards, opponents averaged 12.9 yards per completion. 
• The 234.8 yards per game passing currently is the most allowed by the Bulldogs since 274 in 2004.  Last season, Truman allowed 189 passing yards per game.
• In 656 offensive plays, opposing teams averaged 5.6 yards per play down from 6.1 yards in 2009.
• Opponents have made 35 trips into Truman's redzone and come away with 22 touchdowns and seven field goals.
• The Bulldog defense has been on the field on average 27:52 minutes per game and allowed 283 points.
• Opponents have converted on third down 32% of the time (42-of-131).
• Opponents are 9-of-27 in fourth down conversions. 
• The longest drive by the opposing team this season has been a 12-play, 79-yard drive that lasted 6:53 and resulted in a touchdown in the season opener against St. Joseph's College.

 

Special Teams Quick Hits:

• The Bulldogs are 11-of-18 on field goal attempts this season, all by Derek Koon.  The longest attempt was also made by Koon of 41 yards against Missouri Southern on Oct. 16^th.
• Koon is 17-of-20 on point after attempts this season and the Bulldogs are 1-1 on two-point conversions.
• Opponents are 32-for-35 on extra point attempts and are 0-3 on two-point conversions.  They are 8-for-12 on field goal attempts with the longest make being from 39 yards (Andrew Kocurek – Southwest Baptist).
• Truman averages 56.0 yards per kickoff (Brian Rosser) and 35.0 yards per punt (Eric Phillips).
• Opponents are averaging 59.5 per kickoff and 38.8 yards per punt.
• The Bulldogs average 20.3 yards per kick return and 7.6 per punt return.  Truman's longest kick return was 55 yards by Donald Harvey and longest punt return was 42 also by Harvey.
• Opponents are averaging 19.4 yards per kick return and 6.3 per punt return.  The longest punt return was 34 yards by DeJuan Beard of Washburn.  The longest kick return was 78 yards by Central Missouri.
• Eric Phillips has 19 punts inside the 20 and 22 punts fair caught (41 of his 62).

 

Truman/Pittsburg State Recap:

 

PITTSBURG, Kan. – Derek Koon's 36-yard field goal at the buzzer was wide left and Pittsburg State escaped their final home game of the season with a 17-14 victory over the Truman Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon.

 

After quarterback Phil Davis hit Kendrick Blue on a 15-yard scoring play with 4:50 left in the quarter, Pitt State did the Bulldogs a favor by burning just 19 seconds off the clock and having to punt the ball back.

 

Davis converted on two big plays in the final drive as the Bulldogs started from their own 15-yard line.  He found Anthony Brown for 21 yards on a third and 12 then found Caleb Roberts down the middle on fourth and two to cross midfield.

 

Davis and Brown hooked up for 18 and 11 yards respectively to move the chains down to the 18 yard line as time clicked off the clock. 

 

Donald Harvey nearly won the game for the 'Dogs as the receiver was judged to have bobbled the ball as he drug his foot in the endzone with under 10 seconds to play.

 

Pitt burned all three of their timeouts as Koon's waited to tie the game but pushed the ball slightly right from 36 yards as the clock expired.

 

Blue's touchdown to cut the lead to three with 4:50 to play in the game finished off a 12-play 60-yard drive that consumed 7:11.  Davis converted on fourth and one by the nose of the football and also had a 16 yard rush to the Pitt 15.  Blue caught a swing pass and dove for the pylon for the score.

 

Dallas Grier then converted on the first two-point conversion by the Bulldog this season to pull the 'Dogs to within three.

 

Davis finished with 210 yards passing on just 13 completions as the Bulldog's amassed 376 yards of total offense to just 241 by the Gorillas.

 

Davis and Will Mosquera each had over 70 yards on the ground as Mosquera had 16 for 74 yards and Davis added 71 yards on 22 rush attempts.

 

Pittsburg State was led by Terrance Isaac's 82 yards on the ground and Briceton Wilson's 55 rushing yards.  The Gorilla quarterbacks were just six of 16 passing for 60 yards.

 

Truman/Pittsburg State Footnotes:

 

• The three-point victory by the Gorillas was the closest contest between the two teams at Carnie Smith Stadium since a 13-10 Pitt State victory in 1994.  The previous seven road games had the Gorillas winning by just under 29 points a game.
• It was the 12th straight win by the Gorillas at home over the Bulldogs dating back to 1969.
• Both teams converted on just four third downs.  Truman was 4-of-14 while the Gorillas were 4-of-12.
• For the second straight week, the Bulldogs allowed four sacks (for 19 yards).
• The Bulldogs did not turn the ball over for the second consecutive game.
• Pitt State averaged 47.8 yards per punt while the Bulldogs averaged 34.8.
• Richie Schumacher led Truman's defense with nine total tackles while Patrick Blackwell had the team's lone sack.
• Truman led in possession time by over 10 minutes (35:50 to 24:10).  The Bulldogs had the ball 12:57 in the fourth quarter.
• The 210 yards passing by the Bulldogs was the most this season.
• Truman matched a season high with 47 rushing attempts.
• The Bulldogs also set season highs in plays (74) and first downs (22).
• It was the first time Truman held Pittsburg State under 300 yards of total offense (241) in at least 16 games.

 

Up Next:

 

Important dates to keep in mind following this week's game.  Next week the MIAA All-conference team will be selected by league coaches,  Wednesday, Feb. 2^nd is national letter of intent day or signing day for Football, and the 2011 season opener will be Thursday night, September 1^st against Northwest Missouri at 7:30 p.m.