Football 9/1/2015 11:15:00 AM by Scott Goode (9/1/15)

No. 21 Harding Football Opens 2015 at Oklahoma Baptist

Harding Bisons (0-0, 0-0) vs. Oklahoma Baptist Bison (0-0, 0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 5 • Hurt Field • 11 a.m.

Coverage
Radio: KVHU 95.3 FM in Searcy (Billy Morgan and Jerry Mote)

Today's Game
•   Harding will open its 65th season of intercollegiate football against Oklahoma Baptist, a team it will be facing for the first time. Oklahoma Baptist is joining the Great American Conference as a provisional member in 2015. Oklahoma Baptist is transitioning to NCAA Division II from the NAIA.
•   Harding is ranked No. 21 in the American Football Coaches Association Preseason Poll. It is the first time since Harding joined the NCAA in 1997 that the Bisons have opened a season nationally ranked. The Bisons are also ranked 19th in the D2Football.com Preseason Poll.
•   The game's 11 a.m. kickoff will be the earliest in program history, but is the first of two 11 a.m. kickoffs this season. Harding and Ouachita will also get an early start on Oct. 3 in Arkadelphia to accomodate television.
•   The Oklahoma Baptist game is the first of 11 games in the 2015 season, all of which are Great American Conference games. The Bisons will play six road games and five home games during the regular season.
•   Harding is 27-7 in its four seasons in the GAC and is 15-2 against teams from Oklahoma. The Bisons have won eight straight against teams from the Sooner State.
•   Harding has a 15-7 (.682) record as a nationally-ranked team and has won 11 of its last 14 games as a ranked team. The Bisons were 7-2 while nationally-ranked last season.
•   Saturday's game is the first of six regular season road games in 2015. The last time Harding had six regular season road games was 2008. The Bisons are 14-1 in their last 15 regular season road games.

2015 Bisons
•   Harding has won a school-record 27 games over the last three seasons and have reached postseason each time. Last season, Harding went 9-2 and played in the NCAA II Playoffs for the second time.
•   Harding begins the season with 91 players on the active roster, including 15 seniors. Six Bisons are in their fifth season in the program -- DB Trendall Stevenson, LB Chris Sarkissian, OL Cole Lockwood, OL Nathan Cash, OL Davis Hudson, and DL Matt McKeown. Harding has 25 juniors, 24 sophomores, and 24 redshirt freshmen.
•   Harding also starts the season with four true freshmen on the active roster -- DL Martez Modica, LB De'Andre McCarthy, K/P Cameron Scott, and DL Dylan Hampton.

Season Openers
•   The Bisons are 40-21-3 (.648) all-time in the first game of a season and have won 11 of their last 13 and five of their last six.
•   Harding will open its season on the road for the fourth time in the last five years. The Bisons have won two of the three road openers, victorious at Southern Arkansas in 2011 and at North Alabama in 2012. Harding lost at Southwestern Oklahoma in 2013 in its last road opener.
•   Ronnie Huckeba will be coaching in his eighth opener. The Bisons are 5-2 in his first seven.

Offensive Notes
•   Last season, Harding outscored its opponents 120-30 in the first quarter. Over the last five seasons, the Bisons hold a 527-181 scoring advantage over opponents in the first period.
•   Harding has ranked in the top five in NCAA Division II in rushing in each of the last five seasons. The Bisons ranked second last season with 371.7 rushing yards per game.
•   Since moving to the flexbone in 2011, Harding has rushed for 15,537 yards or a little over 8.8 miles. The Bisons need to rush for 2,063 more yards to reach 10 miles.
•   Harding led NCAA Division II last season in passing efficiency (188.1). The Bisons scored a passing touchdown every 7.2 pass attempts (86 passes, 12 touchdowns).
•   In the last two seasons, Harding has 90 more rushing touchdowns than its opponents. The Bisons have rushed for 104 touchdowns and allowed only 14.
•   Only one player that is projected to start for Harding on offense Saturday has ever started a game for the Bisons. Junior LT Eric Mitchell started all 11 games last season. Each of the other 10 projected starters will be making their first start.

Defensive Notes
•   Harding's defense has finished in the top 10 in NCAA Division II in rushing defense in each of the last three seasons. The Bisons were third last season, allowing only 77.7 rushing yards per game.
•   Harding's projected defensive starters for Saturday's game have combined to start 53 games at Harding. Six players will be making their first career starts. The five with starting experience are senior CB Trendall Stevenson (22 games), junior LB Daylan Skidmore (19), junior DT Cordell Zalenski (5), sophomore FS Daylan Markham (4), and junior CB Corey Bassett (3).

Opponent Notes
•   Oklahoma Baptist is beginning its third season of intercollegiate football after a 73-year hiatus. The Bison began football in 1911, but canceled the program following the 1940 season. The program restarted in 2013 as an NAIA program and had a 4-7 record. Last season, Oklahoma Baptist went 8-3 and won five of its six home games. Oklahoma Baptist enters the game on a four-game winning streak.
•   Oklahoma Baptist ranked third in the NAIA last season with 43.5 points per game and ranked fourth with 479.0 total yards per game. The Bison ranked eighth in rush defense, allowing only 109.5 yards per game.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Corey Bassett: DB; 5' 8"; Junior

#64 Nathan Cash: OL; 6' 1"; Senior

#66 Davis Hudson: OL; 6' 2"; Senior

#59 Cole Lockwood: OL; 6' 2"; Senior

#90 Matt McKeown: DL; 6' 3"; Senior

#55 Eric Mitchell: OL; 6' 0"; Junior

#8 Chris Sarkissian: LB; 5' 10"; Senior

#44 Daylan Skidmore: LB; 5' 11"; Junior

#1 Trendall Stevenson: DB; 5' 9"; Senior

#94 Cordell Zalenski: DL; 6' 1"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#12 Corey Bassett
: 5' 8"; Junior
: DB

#64 Nathan Cash
: 6' 1"; Senior
: OL

#66 Davis Hudson
: 6' 2"; Senior
: OL

#59 Cole Lockwood
: 6' 2"; Senior
: OL

#90 Matt McKeown
: 6' 3"; Senior
: DL

#55 Eric Mitchell
: 6' 0"; Junior
: OL

#8 Chris Sarkissian
: 5' 10"; Senior
: LB

#44 Daylan Skidmore
: 5' 11"; Junior
: LB

#1 Trendall Stevenson
: 5' 9"; Senior
: DB

#94 Cordell Zalenski
: 6' 1"; Junior
: DL