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Truman State University Athletics

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Football

Football Notes: Truman vs. Missouri S&T (September 20 - 6:30 p.m.)

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Truman Bulldogs (1-1; 0-0 GLVC) vs. Missouri S&T Miners (0-2; 0-0 GLVC)
Saturday, September 20, 2014 ~ Jackling Field at Allgood-Bailey Stadium, Rolla, Mo. ~ 6:30 p.m.
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Truman and Missouri S&T will hook up for the 77th time, the longest rivalry in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, when each opens up league play on Saturday night in Rolla, Mo. at 6:30 p.m.

Game Preview: The Bulldog defense continues to make headlines after again limiting an opponent to two touchdowns or less in a game in Truman's 17-12 victory over NAIA nationally-ranked Langston (Okla.) last Saturday night.  It was their sixth game out of the last nine played that the Bulldogs held opponents to under 14 points and sixth out of the last seven that has been decided by seven points or less. The last Bulldog "comfortable" win was against the Miners when they defeated Missouri S&T 27-7 last season at Stokes Stadium.

Through two weeks, the Bulldogs lead the GLVC in redzone defense at 57.1% allowing four touchdowns in seven redzone trips.  They have allowed 335 yards of total offense with 140 on the ground and 195 through the air.

Garrett White needs 124 rushing yards for 2,000 for his career. He would become the 13th Bulldog back to hit that milestone. White had his seventh career rush over 40 yards with a 58-yard touchdown in the Bulldogs win on Saturday.

Missouri S&T have been road warriors to start the season.  They started the season at Chadron (Neb.) State with a 42-25 loss then on Saturday travelled to #23 Midwestern (Texas) State and fell 40-23 after leading 14-0 early.

Spencer Elrod, earned GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week accolades after accumulating 293 all-purpose yards in the Miners loss to the Mustangs on Saturday. Elrod opened the game with a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and averaged 32.3 yards on seven returns.

The Miners bring the second ranked passing offense in the GLVC behind quarterback Kason Key and receiver Melvin Stovall. Key has completed 45-of-88 passes for 628 yards while Stovall has caught 19 passes for 266. The Missouri S&T defense has allowed nearly 250 yards rushing (6.1/rush) in the first two games.
 
Series With Missouri S&T:
This is the 77th meeting between Missouri S&T and Truman on the gridiron dating back to 1909. From 1935-2004, the game was a staple on the schedule, playing each season outside of the three years lost due to World War II. The Bulldogs and Miners returned to the gridiron with a home-and-home series in 2007 and 2008 then reestablished a conference rivalry last year in the GLVC.

Truman owns a 50-22-4 overall record and a 48-20-4 mark in league tilts.  
 
Coaches:
Truman is guided by Gregg Nesbitt, in his fifth year as head coach of his alma mater. Nesbitt is 20-26 during his tenure. He played and lettered for the Bulldogs in 1978 and 1979, served as the team's defensive coordinator from 1990-93 and returned to the Truman campus in 2010.

Tyler Fenwick is in his second season as head coach of the Miners after guiding the team to a 6-5 (5-2 GLVC) record in 2013. The Miners won their final three games to finish tied with the Bulldogs and Saint Joseph's for second place in the league. He was previously the offensive coordinator at Missouri Western State University and a graduate of the University of New Mexico.
 
GLVC Preseason Poll:
At the GLVC Kickoff held on August 1, the Bulldogs were picked to finish second in the league by coaches. Truman garnered 56 total points to trail two-time defending champion, Indianapolis (Ind.) in the survey. The Greyhounds racked up eight first place votes while the Bulldogs were six points ahead of St. Joseph's (Ind.) College.

The Miners were picked fourth in the preseason poll with 38 votes.
 
Langston Game Highlights:
  • The Bulldog defense limited opponents to 12 points which was the sixth time in nine games that the "D" has allowed two touchdowns or fewer.
  • Garrett White broke the ninth place tie for career rushing touchdowns with his 21st of his career on a 58-yard run in the second quarter. It was his seventh rush  over 40 yards and third longest for his career.
  • White moved to 14th on the career rushing yards chart with 124 yards on 20 carries. It was his fifth 100-yard rushing game.
  • After being flagged nine times for 60 yards in the season opener against Drake, the Bulldogs committed just one foul, a false start midway through the first quarter. Langston accumulated six fouls for 40 yards.
  • The Bulldogs converted on six of 11 third down attempts while the Lions were 7-of-17 and successful on 4-of-6 fourth down conversions.
  • Chris Stanton's field goal block was the first by a Bulldog since James Thabuteau against Southwest Baptist in 2007.
  • Devonte Black completed his final five passes following the third quarter interception to finish with 12 completions and 105 yards.  Black had 11 attempts in the first half, 10 in the first quarter and was 5-of-6 in the second half.
  • Chico Orlando caught all six passes thrown his direction for 58 yards (9.6 yards per reception) and a long of 17.
  • Jacob Lamp notched his second 70-yard punt of his career on his first attempt of the night. His career-best was 74 against Kentucky Weselyan in 2013. Lamp had three punts for an average of 50.3 on the night.
 
Thrillers:
The Bulldogs have had eight of their last 13 games (5-3 Record) in which the final score was within eight points or less. Seven of the previous 33 games (21%) fell within that margin in the previous three years (3-4 Record) and since 2000, the Bulldogs averaged three games a season (26% of all games)in which the outcome was a one-possession game (17-12 Record).
 
In The Classroom:
The Bulldogs had 36 players named to the Academic All-GLVC list last season, most of any school in the conference. To earn Academic All-GLVC, a player must have a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average or have posted a 3.40 over two semesters. The team's cumulative GPA last season was 2.94 for over 100 members of the squad.
 
Bulldog Pedigree:
  • Truman has won 546 games in 106 years of football which is 8th all-time in Division II in terms of wins. The 1931-35 Bulldogs, under Coach Don Faurot, still have the eighth longest winning streak and 25th longest unbeaten streak among Division II schools.
  • This will be the 971st game in Truman Football history. The Bulldogs' .580 winning percentage is tops among the 15 NCAA (FBS, FCS, II, III) schools in the state of Missouri.
  • Truman is 4-3 in overtime games.  Six of the seven games have been played at home with the last being a road overtime loss to Drake 13-7 on September 6, 2014.
 
Defensive Notes:
  • The defense has allowed 12.5 points per game through two games in 2014 after allowing 20.4 points per game last season. The total was the lowest average since the 1994 campaign of 17.6 per game.
  • Opponents average 3.5 yards per rush this season with 281 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
  • Quarterbacks have completed 35-of-58 passes against the defense for 390 yards (195.0 per game average). They have completed one touchdown pass.
  • The team allowed 89 total points (12.7) in the seven GLVC games played last season.
  • The defense has not allowed 400 yards of total offense in their last nine games.
  • Truman has forced 91 turnovers since Coach Kellen Nesbitt has taken over as defensive coordinator in 2010. The Bulldogs have gained a turnover in 39 of 46 games played and went 33 straight from 2010-2013 forcing a turnover.
  • Opponents are successful 34% of the time on third downs converting 11 of 32 attempts and 67% on fourth down with four of six attempts.
  • Austin Zoda is the early leader in tackles with 18 through the first two games. Zoda leads the team with 11 solo stops.
  • Nic Abbate leads the team with two sacks with Devin Gillespie while Gillespie leads in tackles for loss with 3.5.
  • The team has seven sacks for 39 yards and 14 tackles for loss for 60 yards.
  • Abbate has 32 career tackles for loss, fourth most in Truman history. He will pass Judd Lienhard with a half for third place and Eric Sternberg with 2.5. Patrick Blackwell has the career lead with 37.5 tackles for loss.
Offensive Notes:
  • The team is averaging 10.2 points in their last four games dating back to last season, with five touchdowns and two field goals.
  • On the ground, Truman has averaged 172 yards per game and 4.2 yards per rush this season. Two of the three TDs in 2014 have been on the ground.
  • Truman has 617 yards of total offense with 308.5 per game and 4.8 per play. They have converted 45% on third down going 13-of-29 and have not attempted a fourth down conversion.
  • In the redzone, Truman has one touchdown and a field goal in four trips.
  • Garrett White leads the team with 44 rushes for 213 yards. He has five 100-yard rushing games for his career and seven runs from scrimmage over 40 yards. White is eighth in Truman history with 21 rushing touchdowns and 14th in rushing yards with 1,876.
  • Devonte Black has completed 60.4% of his passes in his first year as a starter for the Bulldogs. He has thrown for 273 yards and rushed for another 104.
  • Black's top receiving target has been tight end Chico Orlando with 13 passes thrown. Orlando has nine catches for 86 yards. Orlando has caught his last six balls thrown to him.
  • Black has thrown to eight different receivers through two games.
  • The offensive line has allowed four sacks for 19 yards after allowing 11 all of 2013.
 
Special Forces Notes:
  • Jacob Lamp is averaging 39.6 yards in 12 punts in 2014 with four inside the 20 and a season-long 70-yard boot against Langston (Okla.).
  • Lamp for his career is averaging 40.8 yards on 67 punts which is the best punting average in Truman history, slightly ahead of Bob Fletcher's 40.5 average from 1978-79.
  • Roger Howard is averaging 56.8 yards per kickoff on six attempts. Howard is 0-for-2 in field goal attempts, both over 30 yards.
  • Nick Dolezal has made all three extra point attempts and his lone field goal attempt of 29 yards.
  • Between Truman and their opponents, one of five field goal attempts have been successful.
  • Derek Hammann has returned five kickoffs for 90 yards (18.0/return) with a long of 34.
  • Kurt Loyd has been able to return two punts for 12 yards (6.0/return) with a long of nine.
  • Chris Stanton has the team's field goal block this season against Langston (Okla.).
 
Upcoming:
The Bulldogs return to Stokes Stadium for their GLVC home opener against new associate member Lincoln (Mo.) University.  Truman and the Blue Tigers played twice in 2011 and 2012, both in Kirksville with the Bulldogs winning each game as members of the MIAA.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
 
 
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