The Truman Bulldogs will return home and host Fort Hays (Kan.) State University for game number five in the 2012 season. The Bulldogs are coming off a 38-17 loss at the hands of the University of Central Missouri for their first loss of the season while the Tigers will be looking to crack the win column for the first time in '12 after a 21-3 loss at home to nationally-ranked Missouri Western. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Stokes Stadium.
The two teams played in week two last season in Kirksville with the Bulldogs scoring 13 points in the final quarter to pull out a 36-31 victory. The Tigers rushed for 314 yards on the day with Andrew Smith going for 204 yards on 21 carries in the loss. Graduated 'Dog
J.B. Clark had 298 yards passing with three touchdowns, one to
Anthony Brown, one to
Dallas Grier and one to
Paul Taylor before scoring himself from one-yard out for the winning TD with 9:28 remaining.
Truman is in the top five in the conference in scoring offense (36.5/g), scoring defense (21.2/g), rushing offense (165.8/g) and rushing defense (93.8/g) while the Tigers are last in the league in scoring (12.8/g), total defense (517.2/g), rushing defense (244.8/g) and passing defense (272.5/g).
The Bulldogs past opponents this season are a combine 4-12 while the Tigers past opponents are 14-2 entering play this week.
This will be the seventh meeting with the Tigers since they joined the MIAA in 2006. Truman has won four of the previous six games.
Bulldogs Quick Glance:
Truman (3-1; 2-1 MIAA) had tough second and third quarters against the Mules in the national television spotlight. After gaining 60 yards in the first quarter, Truman was held to just 49 yards over the next 30 minutes with just one net yard of rushing. A pair of Mule touchdowns, one to end the first half and one to start the second was the difference however Truman forced five turnovers with four interceptions but only scored 10 points off those turnovers.
The loss snapped Truman's five-game winning streak dating back to last season.
White and
Will Mosquera have been a one-two punch for the Bulldog running game this year. Both have over 200 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.
Conrad Schottel has completed 56% of his passes for 729 yards and eight touchdowns while
Dallas Grier has 21 catches for 329 yards.
Richie Schumacher leads a veteran defense with 30 tackles and
Patrick Blackwell has 24 stops with four sacks.
Tigers Quick Glance:
Fort Hays (0-4; 0-3 MIAA) has played three straight games against nationally-ranked opponents and has been on the short end of each. The Tigers managed just a 48-yard field goal by Drew O'Brien in their 21-3 loss to Missouri Western at home Saturday night. Fort Hays rushed for 158 yards but only had 112 through the air. Freshman Addie Brown had 11 carries for 87 yards.
Brown has seen a bulk of the carries with 64 for 311 this year replacing Andre Smith in the starting lineup. Smith had just under 1000 yards rushing last season and averaged 87.5 yards per game. He had just three carries for five yards in a season-opening loss to Emporia State. Junior Tarean Austin has completed 45% of his passes for 431 yards with Eli Cordon catching nine balls for 104.
The Tigers lost the nation's top tackler in Alex Whitehill from last season's team with Austin Hubert leading this year's defense with 38 stops with a sack. Whitehill was a first-team all-conference selection last year after recording 164 tackles.
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 950 games all-time. The Bulldogs are 537-379-34 (.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 626 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 in interceptions with eight and in kickoff coverage at a net 44.2 yards per kickoff. They are second in rushing defense at 93.8/game and fifth or better in a total of 12 conference statistical categories.
Their highest national rankings for the Bulldogs are 15th in sacks and 24th in net punting.
Michael Elliott is tied for first in the nation with Terrance Franklin of Southwestern Oklahoma with 1.33/interceptions per game. Elliot has four on the season in three games, including a pick-six. Fred Gaines of East Central (Okla.) leads Division II with five picks while Division III's Alex Miller (Western New England) and Chris Hall (Buffalo St.) lead all Divisions with six interceptions.
Patrick Blackwell is tied for 2nd in the league in sacks per game (1.0/g) and tied for 25th nationally.
Offensive Notebook:
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Sophomore Garrett White and senior Will Mosquera have 104 of the team's 167 rush attempts. Each has four rushing touchdowns with White averaging 65.5 yards/g and Mosquera 61.2 yards per game.
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Junior quarterback Conrad Schottel has completed 56% of his passes (57-of-101) with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. He has an efficiency rating of 133.3 and has thrown for 729 yards.
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Junior Dallas Grier has been the top target with 21 catches for 329 yards. Redshirt freshman Chico Orlando has caught 10 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Paul Taylor also had three TD receptions and sophomore Jared Haferbier has 11 catches for 78 yards.
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The Bulldog offensive line has allowed 13 sacks for 73 yards and 28 tackles for loss for 108 yards.
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Through four games, Truman is averaging 36.5 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 165.8/g and have 663 yards rushing through four games. Passing, the Bulldogs are averaging 210.2/g (841 yards) with an average of 376.0/g (1504 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 four games, have turned the ball over nine times (five interceptions and four fumbles lost). Opposing teams have scored four 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 68% of the time with 13 touchdowns and two field goals out of 22 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 (23 of 69) on the plus side of the 50 yardline. They have scored 11 touchdowns when starting a drive in their opponent's territory.
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The offense has converted 36% of their third downs in 2012 up from 34% last season.
Defensive Notebook:
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Senior Richie Schumacher leads the Bulldogs with 30 total tackles while 14 Truman defenders have over 10 tackles through four games.
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The Bulldog defense has 14 sacks for 96 yards and 34 tackles for loss for 146 yards. Last season, Truman had 21 sacks for 145 yards and 56 tackles for loss. Senior Patrick Blackwell leads the team with three sacks.
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Truman allowed just 21.2 points per game through four this season after allowing 32.5/g last year.
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The team has allowed 375 yards rushing (93.8/g), 975 yards passing (243.8/g) and 1350 yards of total offense (337.5). 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 just three plays from scrimmage over 30 yards this year, a 52-yard pass by Northwestern Okla. St. and a 50-yard pass by Lincoln (Mo.). In 2011, the Bulldogs allowed 24 plays from scrimmage of 30-yards or more.
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The Bulldogs defense has forced 12 turnovers, eight interceptions and four fumble recoveries. The offense has scored touchdowns on two of the 12 turnovers forced with 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 just 12 times out of 69 drives this season but have converted for touchdowns in each trip. 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 35% successful on third down after going 39% in 2011.
Special Teams Notebook:
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Junior Derek Koon is 2-of-6 in field goals in 2012 with a long from 37 and two blocked from 36 and 28 yards. For his career, he is 28-for-41 in field goals with a long 42 yards against Fort Hays State and Central Missouri in 2011. He has also converted on 64-of-73 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 26 punts in 2012 for an average of 39.7/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 13 finishing inside the opponents 20 with three 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 face their second “first-time” opponent this season when they travel to the University of Nebraska-Kearney for the MIAA Television Network Game Of The Week. The Lopers, after appearing in the national playoffs last season, are 0-4 in their new league and will be at Lindenwood (Mo.) University this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:37 p.m.
Truman/Central Missouri Footnotes:
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With three receptions, junior Dallas Grier went over 100 (101) for his career. Grier had three catches for a season-low 16 yards against the Mules.
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Michael Elliott picked off his 10th career pass, fourth of the season and had his second career pick-six. As a team, Truman had four interceptions on the night
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Patrick Blackwell was credited with a half sack and now has 17.5 for his career. He is now eighth all-time in Truman history. The next closest active Bulldog is Matthew Smith with four.
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Truman had over nine minutes (9:28) of possession time in the first quarter but finished with just 28:24 for the game. Central had over nine minutes in both the third and fourth quarters.
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The Bulldogs were held to just 49 yards of total offense in the second and third quarters with just one yard gained on the ground.
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With seven rushes coming in the final two drives, freshman Aaron Hartfield led Truman on the ground with 56 total yards. He had a long of 19 and averaged eight yards per attempt.
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Taylor Breen tossed his second career touchdown pass to Paul Taylor in the fourth quarter. His last TD pass came in 2009 against Fort Hays (Kan.) State, a four-yard strike to Vanness Emokpae.
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Punter Eric Phillips averaged 39.6 yards per seven punts with a long of 52 and four inside the 20. Phillips had his fourth punt downed inside the one yard line this season.
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Out of the five turnovers the Bulldogs forced, they managed just 10 points while Central scored 14 points on their two takeaways.
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Garrett White turned in the longest kick return to date with a 36-yard scamper while LaVance Taylor for the Mules had the longest rush against the Bulldogs this season of 38 yards.
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Eleven different Mules caught passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns. The longest completed pass was for 24 yards by Ralph Watson.
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The Bulldogs were just 4-of-15 on third down conversions while the Mules converted on 10-of-17 third downs and both fourth down attempts.
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The 105 yards passing was the lowest output by the Bulldogs in 16 games (2010 vs. Washburn – 83 yards) and 188 yards of total offense was the lowest in 26 games (2009 vs. Washburn – 136 yards).
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With the win, Central now has their longest winning streak in the 96 year history of the series at six games.
