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Truman State University Athletics

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Football

Football Notes; Truman vs. Lincoln (September 27, 7:00 p.m.)

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Truman Bulldogs (2-1; 1-0 GLVC) vs. Lincoln Blue Tigers (1-2; 1-1 GLVC)
Saturday, September 27, 2014 ~ Stokes Stadium, Kirksville, Mo. ~ 7:00 p.m.
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Two of the Great Lakes Valley Conference top running backs will be on display Saturday night as the Truman Bulldogs host the Lincoln Blue Tigers at 7:00 p.m. in Kirksville.

Game Preview: Lincoln's Morris Henderson and Truman's Garrett White are ranked second and third respectively in the GLVC in rushing yards per game at 124.3 and 122.3 heading into this weekend's game. Henderson is the reigning GLVC Offensive Player of the Week after setting a conference record with six rushing touchdowns in the Blue Tigers 42-13 romp over Quincy (Ill.) University.

White ran for a season-high 154 yards and turned in a career-high 171 yards all-purpose yardage in Truman's 29-16 win in their league opener against Missouri S&T. The Bulldogs ran for 311 yards and chewed up nearly 36 minutes of possession time in moving to 6-2 all-time in GLVC games.

The Bulldog defense limited the Miners to 237 yards of total offense and just 27 coming on the ground in once again holding an opponent to two touchdowns or fewer. The "D" is second in the conference in points allowed (13.7/game), rushing allowed (102.7/game), passing yards allowed (200.0/game) and total defense (302.7/game).

As a team, Truman is second in rushing yards per game at 217.0 and first in third down conversions at 40%. The Bulldogs are also first in average possession time with over 32 minutes through the first three games.

Lincoln opened the season with a heartbreaking 49-48 loss to Langston (Okla.) at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City after leading the Lions 35-14 early in the second quarter and having their tying extra point blocked with 1:45 left to play. The Blue Tigers were dealt a 42-21 loss in their conference opener against Southwest Baptist (Mo.) before turning the tables on Quincy (Ill.) 42-13 last Saturday.

Henderson scored six rushing touchdowns against the Hawks to earn GLVC Offensive Player of the Week honors. The senior running back gained 1,266 yards in the Blue Tigers' final season in the MIAA and for his career averages 6.5 yards per carry. Henderson is a kick return threat as well with a 35.6 yards per return average including a 91-yard touchdown earlier this season.

Khiry Draine leads the Blue Tiger receiving corps with 238 yards on 13 catches and four touchdowns.

Davon Walls has 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss to lead the defense that has allowed 34.7 points per game and 447.3 yards of total defense.
 
Series With Lincoln:
The Bulldogs have won the last 18 straight and hold a 19-4-1 all-time series advantage over the Blue Tigers. The last two meetings were both played in Kirksville in 2011 and 2012 with Truman walking away with wins of 42-12 and 53-0.

Truman and Lincoln played for 22 straight years from 1968-1989 as members of the MIAA. Lincoln dropped the program and brought it back early in the 2000s. They returned to conference play in 2011 and this season moved to the GLVC as an associate member in football only. The Blue Tigers remaining sports all are playing MIAA schedules.
 
Coaches:
Truman is guided by Gregg Nesbitt, in his fifth year as head coach of his alma mater. Nesbitt is 21-26 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.

Mike Jones is in his fourth season at the helm of the Blue Tigers and is 6-30 during that span.  Jones is a graduate of the University of Missouri, spent 12 seasons in the NFL and is known for "The Tackle" preserving the St. Louis Rams Super Bowl XXXIV win over the Tennessee Titans.
 
Bulldogs In The GLVC:
Truman is in their second season as members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference and are 6-2 overall in league games. The Bulldogs were 5-2 and finished in a tie for second in their inaugural run through the league last season.  

The Bulldogs have outscored GLVC opponents 212-105.

In all-time GLVC game statistics, Truman has run for 1,464 yards (183.0/game, 4.5/rush) while allowing 477 opponent rushing yards (59.6/game, 1.8/rush).
In total offense, Truman averages 366.9 per game and allows 242.1 per GLVC game.

The defense has sacked opposing GLVC quarterbacks 26 times for 175 while the Bulldog offensive line has garnered six sacks for 50 yards.

White Hits 2,000
Garrett White has become the 13th Bulldog to rush for over 2,000 career rushing yards (2,030 yards) and first since Mike Redding finished with 2,054 yards in 2002.

White had 23 rushing touchdowns, good for eighth on the Bulldog career list, one back of tying Mike Richardson (1962-65) and five behind Lenvil Elliott (1969-72).

He averages 5.5 yards per carry with a single-game high of 158 against Kentucky Wesleyan and a long rush of 80 yards against William Penn.
White has six career 100+ yard games.

Missouri S&T Game Highlights:
  • The Bulldogs took the lead just 19 seconds into the game on a 20-yard run by Garrett White. It was the quickest lead for the Bulldogs since Kevin Collins caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Eric Howe against Northwest Missouri on October 2, 1999 to give Truman the lead 17 seconds into a game.
  • The last time the Bulldogs scored in the first minute of play was a 68-yard pass from Matt Ticich to Donald Harvey against Fort Hays State in 2008 at the 22 second mark (14:39).
  • The 311 yards rushing was the most this season and most since they ran for 396 against Lincoln in 2011.
  • Chris Stanton picked off his fourth career interception and first this year by the Bulldogs. Stanton returned the ball from the goalline to midfield. Jordan Brown recorded his first collegiate interception in the fourth quarter.
  • Truman topped 400 yards of total offense for the first time in four games dating back to 433 against Kentucky Wesleyan last season (November 2).
  • The Bulldogs were 4-of-5 on redzone chances and 5-of-16 on third down conversions.
  • 16 of Missouri S&T's 17 drives were six plays or less and 15 gained 30 yards or fewer.  All but one was under three minutes of length.
  • There were 12 total drives between the two teams that lasted under a minute and Truman had four last under 12 seconds despite a season-high 35:55 of possession time.
  • The 35:55 of possession time was the most by a Bulldog team since they had the ball 36:10 in a loss at Northwest Missouri in 2009 and only the third time over 35 minutes since two games in 2010.
 
Thrillers:
The Bulldogs have had eight of their last 14 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 547 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 972nd game in Truman Football history. The Bulldogs' .581 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 13.7 points per game through three 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 2.9 yards per rush this season with 308 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
  • Quarterbacks have completed 55-of-94 passes against the defense for 600 yards (200.0 per game average). They have completed three touchdown pass.
  • The defense has not allowed 400 yards of total offense in their last 10 games.
  • Truman has forced 94 turnovers since Coach Kellen Nesbitt has taken over as defensive coordinator in 2010. The Bulldogs have gained a turnover in 40 of 47 games played and went 33 straight from 2010-2013 forcing a turnover.
  • Opponents are successful 29% of the time on third downs converting 13 of 45 attempts and 50% on fourth down with five of 10 attempts.
  • Austin Zoda is the early leader in tackles with 23 through the first three games. Zoda leads the team with 14 solo stops.
  • Devin Gillespie leads the team with 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks this season.
  • The team has nine sacks for 54 yards and 19 tackles for loss for 89 yards.
  • Nic 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:
  • On the ground, Truman has averaged 217 yards per game and 4.8 yards per rush this season. Four of the seven TDs in 2014 have been on the ground.
  • Truman has 1017 yards of total offense with 339.0 per game and 4.9 per play. They have converted 40% on third down going 18-of-45 and are 2-of-3 on fourth down conversions.
  • Garrett White leads the team with 67 rushes for 367 yards. He has six 100-yard rushing games for his career and seven runs from scrimmage over 40 yards. White is eighth in Truman history with 23 rushing touchdowns and 13th in rushing yards with 2,030.
  • Devonte Black has completed 54.3% of his passes in his first year as a starter for the Bulldogs. He has thrown for 366 yards and rushed for another 132.
  • Black's top receiving target has been tight end Chico Orlando with 13 passes thrown. Orlando has 10 catches for 96 yards.
  • Black has thrown to eight different receivers through three games.
  • Kurt Loyd leads in receiving yards with 108 and two touchdowns.
  • The offensive line has allowed six sacks for 36 yards after allowing 11 all of 2013.
 
Special Forces Notes:
  • Jacob Lamp is averaging 38.1 yards in 17 punts in 2014 with six 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 56.5 yards per kickoff on six attempts. Howard is 0-for-3in field goal attempts, both over 30 yards.
  • Nick Dolezal has made all three extra point attempts and a field goal of 29 yards.
  • Between Truman and their opponents, one of seven field goal attempted has 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 five punts for 37 yards (7.4/return) with a long of 18.
  • Chris Stanton has the team's field goal block this season against Langston (Okla.).
 
Upcoming:
The Bulldogs head to Lebanon, Illinois to square off against McKendree (Ill.) University next Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
Truman held on for a 28-21 win over the Bearcats last season at Stokes Stadium and previously defeated McKendree 25-10 in their first meeting in 2011 in Lebanon.
 
 
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