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Truman State University Athletics

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Football

Game Notes: 'Dogs To Play Mules For 97th Time

Truman State University Bulldog Football Game Notes:
 
 KIRKSVILLE, Mo. –The Bulldog Football plays their final non-conference game of the season against their oldest rival as Truman welcomes the University of Central Missouri to Stokes Stadium on Saturday night for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff.

The Series:
This will be the 97th meeting between Truman and Central Missouri on the gridiron dating back to 1905. It is the fourth oldest rivalry in Division II football trailing the 109 games played between Emporia State and Washburn, 103 between Virginia State and Virginia Union and 101 tilts between Tuskegee and Morehouse.

It will be the 67th consecutive game dating back to 1946 between the two charter members of the former Missouri Intercollegiate Athletics Association.  The series will not continue next season with Truman in the Great Lakes Valley Conference now and Central Missouri not having any non-conference games in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

Truman holds a 52-39-5 advantage in the series but Central has won the last seven, their longest such streak. Last year, the Mules defeated the Bulldogs 38-17 in a game played in front of a national television audience on the CBS Sports Network.
 Colter Smith passed for 246 yards and LaVance Taylor rushed for 84 as the Mules led by a 38-10 in the fourth quarter. Truman's longest winning streak during the series was 10 from 1927-1936.
 
The Match-Up:
Truman is 2-1 following a 24-23 victory over William Penn on Saturday night at home. The Statesmen were ranked 20th in last week's NAIA Coaches Poll. Garrett White scored all three touchdowns for the Bulldogs, including two in the fourth quarter as the 'Dogs trailed 23-10. His final touchdown came with 49 seconds left to give the Bulldogs their first fourth quarter comeback since 2010.

The Bulldogs have averaged 143.7 yards on the ground and 138.7 yards through the air while the defense has allowed 236 yards rushing and 280 yards passing through the first three games. White leads the Bulldogs with 351 yards rushing and is averaging 7.6 per carry.

The Mules lost their first two games on top 10 teams before defeating Lindenwood (Mo.) 47-28 at home on Saturday. Central had leads against Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri before falling 26-23 to the Griffons in week one and 28-24 to the Bearcats in week two.

The Lions led the Mules 28-20 before Central rattled off 27 unanswered points for the victory. LaVance Taylor ran 19 times for 101 yards while quarterback Hayden Hawk completed 31-of-39 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns.  Central has averaged 94 yards on the ground and 342 passing while allowing 151 running and 267 passing in their first three games.

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 14-22. His teams are 6-1 in non-conference games, 8-3 when leading at the end of the first half and 10-1 when taking a lead into the locker room at half.

Jim Svoboda is also in his fourth season on the sidelines for the Mules and has a 26-13 record during that span. Central was 6-4 last season and has gone 41-20 over the past five seasons.

What's Hot:
Truman is 540-386-34 (.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 (.565).

The Bulldogs are ranked third in Division II in kick returns averaging 33.3 per. Tremaine Millender is first with his 48.4 yard return average and Aaron Hartfield is 16th with a 32.7 average.

The Bulldogs are one of nine teams nationally to be perfect on fourth down conversions. They were three-for-three including two 12-yard conversions in their victory against William Penn on Saturday.

Jacob Lamp is sixth in Division II with a 45.5 yard punt average and the Bulldogs are fifth in net punting average with 42.6 mark.
Just two of the 15 punts by Lamp have been returned for a total of two yards.

In three games, Truman has averaged 9:41 minutes of possession in the first quarter and are going for 7.3 yards per play.
Garrett White has led the Bulldogs in rushing for seven straight games and is averaging 117 yards per contest and 7.6 yards per rush. He is first in the GLVC in rushing yards with 351 and first in rushing yards per game at 117.0.

Nic Abbate is first in the conference in tackles for loss with 1.7 per game and is 36th in Division II.

Derek Koon is 5-of-7 in field goal attempts with the two misses coming from 51 and 48 yards. He is eight of eight on extra point attempts. For his career, Koon has made a school record 42 field goals out of 60 attempts and converted on 83-of-93 point after attempts.
 
Opening Drives:
Truman has scored on their opening drive once (a field goal) in the first three games. Opposing teams have turned the ball over twice out of the three games played in their first possession with both resulting in touchdowns for Truman.

To start the second half, Truman has not scored in their first possession of the third quarter while the defense has allowed a field goal and a touchdown in the last two games played.

Third Downs:
Truman has converted 15-of-41 third down attempts (36%) and are 8-of-11 when facing a third and less than three yards.  The Bulldogs are averaging 5.8 per rush on first down to set up shorter fields the rest of the series.

Opponents are 40% successful on third downs with a 56% rate on third and less than five. Opponents have scored four of their 12 total touchdowns on third down.

Red Zone:
The Bulldogs have scored points in seven of their eight trips to the redzone this season with five touchdowns and two field goals. Last season, Truman scored just 66% of the time with 24 touchdowns in 50 opportunities.

Opponents are 11-of-16 in redzone scoring with nine touchdowns. They were 80% in scoring in 2012 going 35-of-44.

Turnovers:
The Bulldogs have forced at least one turnover in each of the last 33 games and 34 of the 36 games under defensive coordinator Kellen Nesbitt. They are averaging 2.1 turnovers forced per game with a high of seven against Missouri Southern in 2010.

This season, Truman has converted three of their four turnovers into touchdowns.

Drive Chart:
Truman has scored 13 times in 35 drives with an average of 4.8 yards per play. Seven of their 35 drives have started on the opponent's side of the 50 yard line resulting in three touchdowns and three field goals.

The longest drive of the season was 7:25 seconds against Grand Valley State. It was the first drive of over 7:00 minutes since 2010 game against Pittsburg (Kan.) State.

Opponents are averaging 7.2 yards per play and have scored on 14 of 38 drives. The Bulldog special teams have forced 29 of the 38 opponent drives to start inside their own 30 yard line.

Offensive Notables:
Senior Dallas Grier recorded the second most receiving yards in school history last year with 1,026 yards and the third most catches by a Bulldog with 81…he is fourth all-time in receiving yards with 2,339 and needs 48 to move into third place and 1,119 to break Andrew Blakley's Truman record…Grier has 175 career receptions and trails Fontaine Walker by 5 for third place all-time, second place is held by Rich Otte with 206 while Blakley holds the all-time mark with 300 receptions from 1999-2002…He is a three-time all-MIAA player, one second team and two honorable mentions…single-game high for yards is 178 against Nebraska-Kearney in 2012…has seven career games of over 100 yards receiving…career longest reception is 66 yards against Nebraska-Kearney…has 21 punt returns for 252 yards for an 12.0 average and two returns of 39 yards.

Junior Garrett White is the Bulldogs leading rusher with 351 yards on 46 attempts for an average of 177 per game and 7.6 yards per carry…has 1,051 yards for his career in 176 attempts, 13 rushing touchdowns and a 5.8 yard per carry average…his single-game high is 146 yards against Southwest Baptist in the 2013 season opener and his longest rush is 80 yards against William Penn…is also featured in the kickoff return team and has caught seven passes for 67 yards this season.

Senior Conrad Schottel started all 11 games last season and has played in 27 at quarterback for the Bulldogs…Schottel has thrown for 2,851 yards for his career completing 50.5% of his passes and throwing 18 touchdowns… averages 105.6 yards passing per game with a long pass of 66 yards.

The offensive line is anchored by three seniors Steve Bosilovatz, Steven Backes and Erik Stone…the three have combine for 67 games played and are joined by redshirt sophomore Charlie Brynac and redshirt freshman Brad Wellman at center…the 'Dogs allowed 23 sacks for 135 yards in 2012.

Defensive Notables:
Redshirt freshman Austin Zoda has led the team in tackles both games this season with a high of 15 against Grand Valley State.  Zoda is second in the GLVC in tackles per game at 11.2.
Matthew Bell is second with 24 tackles. Bell, along with Brady Schroeder and Chris Stanton have the team's three interceptions while Stanton has the unit's lone fumble recovery.

Senior Jeramey Dockery is the team's top returning tackler from a year ago…Dockery recorded 65 total tackles including seven for loss and three sacks to be placed on the honorable mention all-MIAA team. He has 13 career tackles for loss.
Junior defensive lineman Nic Abbate is the active career leader in sacks with 7.5 and 18.5 tackles for loss. Abbate is tops in the GLVC in tackles for loss at 1.7 per game and 36th in Division II.

Special Team Notables:
Senior Derek Koon is the Bulldogs all-time field goal king with 42 makes in his four seasons…he has made 70.0% of his field goal attempts with a long of 46…has attempted three field goals 51 yard…has converted on 83 of 93 point after touchdown attempts and has averaged 57.8 yards per kickoff.

Junior Jacob Lamp is in his first full season as the team's punter…he averaged 45.5 on 15 punts with a long of 59…for his career; Lamp has 22 punts and averages 42.0/punt. Lamp is currently sixth in Division II punting and was the GLVC Special Teams Player of the Week following the September 21 game against William Penn.

The Bulldog kick return team of Tremaine Millender, Aaron Hartfield and Garrett White are third in Division II averaging 33.3 yards per return. Millender had a 100-yard return in the opener against Southwest Baptist to garner GLVC Special Team Player of the Week honors. Hartfield has returns of 68 and 59 yards this season and Millender added a 54 yard return. Millender is second in Division II with a 48.4 yards per return and Hartfield is 16th at 32.7.

Around the GLVC:
The Bulldogs are second in the GLVC in scoring offense with their 26.3 points per game while trailing Saint Joseph's 36.7 mark.
Truman is first in kickoff returns and punting while second in redzone defense at 68.6%.

Garrett White leads the league in rushing per game at 117.0 with Indianapolis' Klay Fietcher and Missouri S&T's Zenel Hudson tied for second at 113.7 per game.

This Date In Bulldog History:
The Bulldogs are 9-5 when playing on September 28 all-time.

They last defeated Missouri S&T in 2002 after posting 627 yards of total offense against the Miners in a 57-28 victory.

Jarrett Anderson ran for 272 yards in a 1996 38-21 win against Washburn University. It was the day that Anderson broke Dale "Paley" Mills' 36-year old Truman career and MIAA rushing record of 4,502 yards. Anderson finished with 6,166 career rushing yards.

Chris Livingstone passed for 415 yards but the Emporia State Hornets, ranked fifth in the NAIA at the time got a touchdown and two-point conversion with 1:02 left to defeat the Bulldogs 42-41. It was the fifth most single-game passing yards at the time for the Bulldogs.

Truman led 14-0 but saw Northern Michigan score 24 straight points to hand the 'Dogs their first loss of the 1985 season.
Two other games of note, in 1945 the Bulldogs suffered one of their worst losses in school history as they fell to Saint Louis University 96-6 while in 1934, Don Faurot began his final season on the sideline at Northeast Missouri with an 7-0 win at Simpson (Iowa).

Up Next:
Conference play will begin when the calendar turns to October next week. The Bulldogs will take their shortest road trip of the year as they head to Quincy University to open GLVC play. Truman and the Hawks last played in 2002 with the 'Dogs winning 69-14. Kickoff from Flinn Stadium is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
 
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