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Truman State University Athletics

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Football

Game Notes: Bulldogs Head To Liberty Looking For 2-0 GLVC Start

Truman State University Bulldog Football Game Notes:
 
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Week two of the conference football season see the 1-0 Truman Bulldogs heading west to face the 0-1 William Jewell (Mo.) Cardinals in Liberty, Mo. on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

The Match-Up:
Truman comes into Saturday's contest after posting a 33-0 shutout victory in the GLVC opener over Quincy (Ill.) University last week. The Bulldogs used a 23-point second quarter barrage and nine quarterback sacks en route to the convincing win.

Senior quarterback Conrad Schottel was named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week after completing 20-of-28 passing attempts for 197 yards. Schottel completed 16-of-19 after missing the first two passes in the the first half, including a stretch of 10-of-11 while throwing and rushing for scores. For the season, has completed 59% of his passes for 726 yards and six touchdowns.

Junior running back Garrett White is second in the GLVC in rushing yards per game at 101.6 per contest and is third in all-purpose yardage at 143.8 per game. He is averaging 6.2 yards per carry and has scored 14 career rushing touchdowns.

The Bulldogs are first in the conference in some special teams' categories with a 31.1 yards per kick returns and a 41.8 yards per punt average. Junior punter Jacob Lamp paces the league with a 43.3 punt average with just two returns out of 18 punts this season.

The Cardinals have struggled to a 1-4 overall record and were winless in their GLVC opener against McKendree (Ill.) a few weeks ago. William Jewell played a non-conference road game at Fort Hays (Kan.) State last week falling to the Tigers 34-17.

William Jewell led 10-7 early in the second quarter but three straight TDs broke the game open midway through the contest.  Thomas Cook Jr. had 51 yards rushing on 14 carries with quarterbacks Sean Shelton and DJ Balazs combining for 18-of-39 for just 115 yards and three interceptions.

Cook is first in the GLVC in points scored with 48 on eight touchdowns and is a returning first-team all-GLVC performer as a kick and punt returner. Jimmy DeStefano was a second team defensive selection last season and is tied for fourth this year in tackles per game at 9.0.

The Cardinals are last in the league in third down conversions allowed with opponents being successful 47% of the time but the team is also first in the conference in fourth down conversions at 66% (10-of-15).

William Jewell and Truman are 1-2 in kickoff coverage with the Cardinals netting 41.8 yards with eight touchbacks per kickoff and the Bulldogs averaging 40.9 and five touchbacks.

The Coaches:
Gregg Nesbitt is in his fourth season as head coach of his alma mater. Nesbitt has gone 4-7 in the three previous years for an overall record of 15-23. Nesbitt's teams were 7-21 in MIAA games the past three seasons and are 6-11 away from Kirksville.  

Jerod Kruse also enters his fourth season at William Jewell and has a 12-36 record during that span. The Cardinals were 2-9 last year and have been 15-38 while making the transition from the NAIA to the NCAA Division II. Kruse was a defensive secondary coach at Baker (Kan.) and spent five seasons as the secondary coordinator at Emporia (Kan.) State.

The Series:
It's been 52 years since the Cardinals and Bulldogs tangled on the gridiron in a series that has been played 13 times with 10 of the games resulting in one of the team's being shutout.

William Jewell was a staple on the Truman schedule in the first decade of football. The two met first in 1903 with the 'Dogs prevailing 12-6 then the schools played twice in 1904 and twice again in 1909. The teams "played" consecutive games during the 1909 season with the Cardinals winning the first game 49-0 and the Bulldogs walked off the field in the second game allowing William Jewell to win by the odd score of 1-0.

Overall, William Jewell leads the series 6-5-1 with Truman's taking the last meeting in 1961 by a 19-0 score.
 
What's Hot:
  • Truman is 541-387-34 (.580) all-time since 1900. The .580 winning percentage is the best by any NCAA I Football playing school in the state of Missouri. Next highest is Northwest Missouri State at (.566).
  • The Bulldogs are ranked second in Division II in kick returns averaging 31.3 per. Tremaine Millender is third with his 40.0 yard return average, while Aaron Hartfield is ninth with a 32.5 return average. 
  • Truman has had five kick returns go for over 50 yards through the first five games. Millender has a 100 and 54 yard return, Harfield has a 68 and 59 yard return and Garrett White has a 52 yard return. Nine kick returns take up the 16 Truman plays that have gone for over 30 yards.
  • Jacob Lamp is 13th in Division II with a 43.3 yard punt average and the Bulldogs are third in net punting average with a 41.8 mark. Just two of the 18 punts by Lamp have been returned for a total of two yards while two others have been muffed resulting in fumble recoveries for the Bulldogs.
  • The Bulldogs are 12th in the nation in fewest penalties per game at 4.8 for 47.6 yards.
  • The Truman defense has forced six turnovers that have led to 31 Bulldog points (83%).  The Bulldogs have forced a turnover in all but three games since Kellen Nesbitt took over as defensive coordinator in 2010.
  • Garrett White is second in the GLVC in rushing yards with 508 and 101.6/game. White is averaging 6.2 per carry and is on pace to become Truman's first 1000 yard rusher since Jerard Leverson ran for 1012 in 2003.
  • Dallas Grier is currently in third place all-time in Truman receptions and receiving yards entering Saturday's game.  Grier passed Fontaine Walker in receptions and now has 188 for his career with eyes on second place Rich Otte's 206 catches from 1989-1992. Grier's 2,473 yards receiving moved him past Russell Evans's total of 2,387 from 1983-86. He is 421 yards away from Otte's career yards for second place.
  • The Bulldogs notched nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss in the victory over Quincy last Saturday. It was the most sacks by the Bulldogs since at least 1998. The previous high was eight in a 2010 game against St. Joseph's College and a 1999 contest against Missouri S&T.
  • The single-game high for tackles for loss is 16 against Oklahoma Panhandle State in 2005.
 
Bulldogs In Conference:
The 33-0 shutout of Quincy in the first GLVC game by the Bulldogs repeated what the 1924 Bulldogs did in the first game of the reorganized MIAA. Truman shutout Northwest Missouri 14-0 in the MIAA opener and did not allow a point in conference until a field goal in week four at Southeast Missouri State.

Overall, Truman has played 962 football games, with 522 being conference games. Truman/Northeast Missouri played 333 games under the league known as the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association from 1912-1992 while another 188 games in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. The Bulldogs overall conference record during that span was 300-201-20 with a league-high 26 conference titles.

GLVC Preseason Poll:
In the league poll, voted on by conference coaches and released in August as part of the GLVC Kickoff event, the Bulldogs were picked to finish third in their first season in the league. Defending champion, the University of Indianapolis was the overwhelming favorite to repeat while second place Missouri S&T was chosen second.

The William Jewell Cardinals received 17 points which placed them seventh out of eight teams in the GLVC. The Cardinals were 2-9 overall last year and 1-7 in league games.

Team Statistical Trends:
  • Offensively, Truman is averaging 27.0 points per game with a season-high of 40 against Southwest Baptist in week one. The Bulldogs average 142.4 yards on the ground and 177.6 through the air for a total offense average of 320.0.
  • The average time of possession per game for Truman is 27:43 with a high of 30:34 against Quincy and a low of 24:35 against William Penn. Opponents have averaged 32:17 minutes per game with William Penn chewing up a season-best 35:25 in week three.
  • Defensively, Truman is allowing 27.0 points per game with 182.2 yards rushing and 171.8 passing for a total defensive number of 458.2.
  • The first quarter has statistically been the best quarter for the Bulldogs with a 6.4 yards per play average, 43% on third down conversions and an average time of possession of over eight minutes.
  • Opponents have averaged over nine minutes of possession time in the second and fourth quarters with an 8.0 yards per play mark in the first 15 minutes.
  • Truman has started 13 of their 58 drives on the opponent's side of the field and has scored in 10 of those possessions (77%). Opponents have started six drives in Truman territory out of 62 possessions and have scored touchdowns on each occasion.
  • The Bulldogs average starting position is their own 38 while opponents have started nearly 12 yards back on their own 26.
  • The offense has averaged five yards per play while the defense has allowed 6.2 through the first five games.
  • Truman is 55% successful on third down when facing less than five yards while opponents are 61% successful when facing the same situation. Longer than five yards, the conversion percentage drops to 27% for Truman and just 25% for opponents.
  • In redzone scoring, Truman has been successful on 16 of 19 trips (84%) with 11 touchdowns and five field goals. Opponents have scored on 18 of 23 trips (78%) with 14 touchdowns and four field goals.
Individual Statistical Trends:
  • Five different Bulldogs have at least 10 carries through five games with Garrett White leading the way with 82 for 508 yards and four touchdowns. White is averaging 101.6 yards per game and 6.2 per play.
  • White had a season-high 22 rushers in week four against Quincy and a season/career high 146 yards in a week one victory over Southwest Baptist. He has the longest rush from scrimmage this season with an 80 yard touchdown run against William Penn in week three.
  • Last year, White had 585 yards rushing on 118 carries.
  • Conrad Schottel has completed 59% of his passes for 726 yards and has 21 career touchdown passes. Sophomore Zach Tobin is 9-of-13 and redshirt freshman Devonte Black is 8-of-12 in a spot duty this year.
  • Dallas Grier has hauled in 13 career touchdown passes over his four seasons and is averaging 66.8 per game and 11.1 per catch this season. Has had nine 100-yard receiving days with 106 against Central Missouri being his season-high this season.  Grier has six games in his career when he caught 10 or more passes and had 10 in week four against Central Missouri.
  • Jared Haferbier is second with 16 receptions for 135 yards while Brett Nagel, Garrett White and Chico Orlando have caught 11, 10 and nine respectively.
  • Nic Abbate has 7.5 of the team's 37 tackles for loss this year and 21 for his career.  Tremaine Millender is second on the team with 5.0 tackles for loss out of his 22 stops.
  • Austin Zoda leads the team with 19 unassisted tackles and 45 total stops.
  • Matthew Bell, Chris Stanton and Brady Schroeder have the team's three interceptions this season while Stanton and Steven Day has the squad's only fumble recoveries, both on special teams.
  • Derek Koon has made 45-of-66 career field goal attempts and is Truman's career leader in makes. His long is 46 yards during the 2012 season and has attempted three kicks of 50 yards or more.  Koon is 88 of 100 on extra point attempts and has 223 career points.
  • Koon is third among active Division II field goal kickers with 45 made and is five away from cracking the top 10 in that category. 
  • Dallas Grier has four punt returns for 70 yards this season for an average of 17.5 and a long of 39. During his return career, Grier has 22 for 275 yards.
  • Tremaine Millender and Aaron Hartfield have 15 kick returns this season with Millender averaging 40 yards with a long of 100 and Harfield averaging 32.5 and a long of 68. Millender has 33 career returns for 27.6 yard per return average and two touchdowns.
  • Jacob Lamp has 18 punts this season for a 43.3 yards per punt average. Lamp has a long of 59 in week one against Southwest Baptist and has six total over 50 yards with 11 landing inside the opponent's 20 yard line. Only one punt, for two yards, has been returned this season.
This Date In Bulldog History:
The Bulldogs are 6-5-1 on games played on October 12.

They last lost to Washburn at home 26-21 in 2002 as the Ichabods scored on consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter to hold off the 'Dogs on Homecoming in Kirksville.

Truman lost 52-22 in 1996 in a game that began the Bearcat dominance over the Bulldogs in recent history.
Truman had won 11 straight "Old Hickory Stick" games until that meeting. Truman led 10-7 after one but the Bearcats tallied 21 points in the second quarter and 24 in the third quarter to claim the stick in which they would win 16 of the next 17 stick games.

In 1934, Don Faurot's Bulldogs won 13-7 against Pittsburg State and it was the first points allowed in five games and seven of the 13 points allowed all season.

Up Next:
Truman returns to Kirksville for Homecoming on October 19 and will welcome McKendree (Ill.) University. The Bearcats and Bulldogs played in 2011 with Truman prevailing 25-10 in the only previous meeting between the two schools. McKendree is 2-2 entering this week's game and are hosting nationally-ranked Indianapolis.
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