Football 9/6/2018 9:22:00 AM by Scott Goode (9/6/18)

No. 7 Harding vs. Southern Arkansas - POSTPONED UNTIL SUNDAY AT 2 P.M.

WEATHER UPDATE - The Harding-Southern Arkansas football game has been postponed until Sunday at 2 p.m.

#7 Harding Bisons (1-0, 1-0) vs. Southern Arkansas Muleriders (1-0, 1-0)
Sept. 8, 2018 • 6:05 p.m. • Searcy, Ark. • First Security Stadium

Game Story
Harding will play its first home game in 308 days Saturday against Southern Arkansas. Kickoff at First Security Stadium will be at 6:05 p.m., and the game will stream live on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.

Harding's last home game was a 44-13 victory over East Central on Nov. 4, 2017. Since then, the Bisons have played six road games, winning five, including three on the road last season against top-10 teams.

Harding is ranked No. 7 in the AFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, the eighth time Harding has been ranked in the top 10 in the AFCA poll. Southern Arkansas is receiving votes in the poll. Harding is No. 7 by MasseyRatings.com with Southern Arkansas at No. 15.

Harding is coming off a 41-17 victory at Henderson State on Aug. 30, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. The Bisons rushed for 307 yards with Tristan Tucker and Cole Chancey rushing for 103 yards each. Harding defensive end T.J. Winslow had five tackles, including three sacks and forced two fumbles, earning GAC Defensive Player of the Week. Harding's 41 points were its most ever scored at Henderson State.

Southern Arkansas defeated Arkansas Tech 38-0 Thursday in Magnolia, Arkansas. Barrett Renner completed 26-of-37 passes for 304 yards and 3 TD. The Muleriders, who did all their scoring in the first half, had an interception return and punt return for touchdowns.

Up Next
Harding goes in search of its seventh straight GAC road win Saturday, Sept. 15, at Southern Nazarene in Bethany, Oklahoma. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. Harding has won five of six meetings against Southern Nazarene, including all three in Bethany.

The Coaches
Paul Simmons begins his second season as head coach at Harding. He has an 12-4 overall record and led Harding to the national semifinals in 2017. He is in his 13th season at Harding and had been Harding's defensive coordinator for the previous seven seasons. Simmons was a three-time All-American defensive end and linebacker at Harding from 1992-94.

Bill Keopple is in his 10th season at Southern Arkansas and has a 50-46 overall record. He is a 1982 graduate of Central Arkansas. His best season was 2016, when the Muleriders had a 9-3 record.

Series History
Harding leads the series 27-26-1 and has won 11 of its last 12 meetings with Southern Arkansas, including five straight in Searcy. Harding has averaged 33.4 points per game in those five victories.

Home/Road Records
Harding lost its first two home games last season, but rallied to win the last three. The Bisons are 25-6 at home since 2012.

Last Meeting
Southern Arkansas quarterback Barrett Renner threw four touchdown passes and led the Muleriders to a 35-24 victory over Harding in GAC play on Sept. 9, 2017, at Wilkins Field.

Renner threw his fourth TD pass, and third to Tanner Hudson with 13:03 left in the game to give the Muleriders a 35-10 lead. Harding rallied to score two late touchdowns. The Bisons scored on a 16-yard TD run from Brandon Gates with 9:10 left and a 25-yard TD pass from Terrence Dingle to Bobby Green.

Gates led Harding with 63 rushing yards, and Grant Kimberlin added 46 rushing yards.

Streaks, Trends and Records
Harding ranked second in NCAA Division II in rushing last season at 341.9 yards per game. The Bisons have finished in the top three nationally in each of the last five seasons and led Division II in rushing in 2016 at 362.8 yards per game. Harding's 307 rushing yards against Henderson State marked the 63rd time the Bisons rushed for more than 300 yards since Harding went to the flexbone offense in 2010.

Harding has five players who will be playing their 42nd game as Bisons -- DE T.J. Winslow, DB Jon Aaron Howell, DB Frank Herbert, LB Sam Blankenship and OL Keith Pledger. Senior OL Bryce Bray is Harding's active leader with 39 career starts.

Harding has won nine consecutive regular season games, including three regular season home games, averaging 47.3 points scored in those three games.

Harding has scored 10 defensive touchdowns in the last three seasons (4, 2016; 5, 2017; 1, 2018), the most by a GAC team. Ouachita Baptist has six defensive touchdowns, and Arkansas Tech has five.

Sophomore fullback Cole Chancey has 15 career rushing TD and needs only two more to move into Harding's career top 10. Chancey needs 60 yards to become the 20th Harding player to rush for 1,500 career yards.

Harding has scored 273 rushing touchdowns in the last six seasons and has allowed 56. The Bisons have rushed for 22,596 yards and allowed 5,511 yards in the last six seasons.

A Quick Look at Southern Arkansas
Southern Arkansas was 7-4 last season and tied for fourth in the GAC. The Muleriders have had five winning seasons in the last six years ... Southern Arkansas was one of six Division II teams to shutout its opponent in the season opener.

Team Leaders
HARDING
Rushing - Tristan Tucker: 9 rushes, 103 yards (1st GAC), 1 TD; Cole Chancey: 15 rushes, 103 yards (1st GAC), 0 TD
Passing - Preston Paden: 3-3, 78 yards, 1 TD
Receiving - Taylor Bissell: 1 reception, 48 yards
Tackles - Dra Smith: 8 tackles (9th GAC); T.J. Winslow: 5 tackles, 3.0 sacks (1st GAC)
Punting - Cameron Scott: 4 punts, 44.8 avg. (2nd GAC)
Kicking - Cameron Scott: 2 for 2 FG, 5 for 5 PAT

SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
Rushing - Lorenzo Alexander: 7 rushes, 82 yards (5th GAC), 0 TD
Passing - Barrett Renner: 26-37, 304 yards (1st GAC), 3 TD (1st GAC)
Receiving - Karonce Higgins: 7 receptions, 117 yards (1st GAC), 2 TD (1st GAC)
Tackles - DaVondrick Lison: 6 tackles
Punting - Jordan White: 5 punts, 40.6 avg. (3rd GAC)
Kicking - Austin Wilkerson: 1 for 2 FG, 5 for 5 PAT

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Players Mentioned

#1 Terrence Dingle: QB; 5' 10"; Junior

#4 Brandon Gates: RB; 5' 10"; Junior

#5 Grant Kimberlin: RB; 5' 8"; Senior

#42 Sam Blankenship: LB; 6' 3"; Senior

#73 Bryce Bray: OL; 6' 0"; Senior

#34 Cole Chancey: RB; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#14 Bobby Green: WR; 6' 2"; Junior

#21 Frank Herbert: DB; 5' 11"; Senior

#16 Jon Aaron Howell: DB; 5' 11"; Senior

#11 Preston Paden: QB; 5' 11"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#1 Terrence Dingle
: 5' 10"; Junior
: QB

#4 Brandon Gates
: 5' 10"; Junior
: RB

#5 Grant Kimberlin
: 5' 8"; Senior
: RB

#42 Sam Blankenship
: 6' 3"; Senior
: LB

#73 Bryce Bray
: 6' 0"; Senior
: OL

#34 Cole Chancey
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: RB

#14 Bobby Green
: 6' 2"; Junior
: WR

#21 Frank Herbert
: 5' 11"; Senior
: DB

#16 Jon Aaron Howell
: 5' 11"; Senior
: DB

#11 Preston Paden
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: QB