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Truman State University Athletics

15FBTS05-1

Football

Football Sets Sights For Indy

  • Opponent Game Notes (PDF)
 
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Bulldogs and the University of Indianapolis Greyhounds will battle for "Top Dog" rights on Saturday when the two schools meet on Saturday in a pivotal Great Lakes Valley Conference showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. (eastern).

This will be just the third meeting in this budding GLVC rivalry with has seen the Greyhounds take the first two games by scores of 21-14 and 23-20. Last year, UINDY rallied from a 20-6 fourth quarter deficit to stun the Bulldogs at home.

This season, Truman enters the contest with a 1-1 conference mark while Indianapolis is 1-0. The Bulldogs evened their record with a 31-14 victory over Lincoln last Saturday. UINDY stepped outside of conference play for a 38-7 beatdown of Hillsdale (Mich.) on the road. The Greyhounds lone league win was a 26-24 score at home against Southwest Baptist on September 19.

The Greyhounds are the three-time GLVC champions and were picked to win it again this fall by league coaches. The Bulldogs, in their two prior seasons in the league, have been picked as the Greyhounds' bridesmaids, including this year.

Match-Ups:
  • The Greyhounds have been moving the ball at will this season averaging 452 yards of total offense in their first four games. They have averaged 28 points and nearly 300 yards passing behind senior quarterback Connor Barthel.
  • Truman offense gained some traction in their victory Saturday against Lincoln. The Bulldogs ran for 281 yards on 63 carries. Three Bulldogs, including two newcomers, Andy Satulla and Malique Robbins rushed for over 70 yards against the Blue Tigers with quarterback Devonte Black added 79 yards on the ground.
  • The Bulldog defense has stymied opposing offenses this season limiting them to under 300 yards of total offense per game (291.5) and have gained six turnovers through the first four contests. Truman had held opponents to 115 yards rushing and 175 yards passing so far.
  • The Greyhound defense has been as stingy with a total defense number of 341 per game; 159 on the ground and 182 through the air.
  • Barthel has thrown for 1,171 yards (292.7) per game with a completion percentage of over 68%. His top target is fellow senior Reece Horn with 39 catches for 649 yards.
  • Black has been the Bulldogs dual threat at QB with 213 yards rushing this season and 313 yards passing. Black has two touchdown run and three touchdown passes.
 Last Time vs. UINDY:
  • Truman entered the fourth quarter with a 20-6 lead behind a pair of field goals by Roger Howard, a 15-yard run by backup quarterback Zach Tobin and an 87-yard fumble recovery return by T.J. Fine.
  • The Bulldogs forced five UINDY turnovers on the day while not committing one. Truman had three Connor Barthel interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
  • UINDY outgained the Bulldogs 509 to 193 on the day as the Greyhounds ran for 334 yards on 48 carries. Matt Ripp had 186 yards rushing and was joined by Andrew Walker with 152. That was the most yards allowed and only 100-yard rusher by the Bulldogs in GLVC play to date.
  • Barthel was 19-of-34 for 175 yards with Alex Kimack and Reece Horn hauling in five catches apiece. The Greyhounds held the ball for 37:39 but were just 2-of-12 on third downs. They were flagged eight times of 69 yards.
  • Devonte Black was 5-of-9 for 54 yards before leaving with an injury and Zach Tobin completed 8-of-21 for 51 yards. Senior Garrett White was held in check with 41 rushing yards, his lowest output of the season.
  • Senior tight end Chico Orlando caught five passes for 46 yards and Felix Neboh added four for 46 with a long of 36.
  • Luke Lamar led three Bulldogs in double-figure tackles with 15 on the dayand Rob Dury paced the Greyhounds with 10.
Truman/Lincoln Follow-Ups:
  • Truman got on the board just 20 seconds into the contest as Ben Wellman jumped on and recovered a fumble in the endzone. It was the Bulldogs seventh defensive touchdown since 2010 to go along with five safeties during that same span.
  • The Bulldogs had 195 yards rushing in the first half and finish with a season high 281 yards on the ground. Truman had 334 yards of total offense.
  • Andy Satulla led Truman with 89 yards rushing on 18 attempts (4.9 yards per carry) while Devonte Black added 79 yards on the ground on 16 attempts and Malique Robbins had 77 on 17 carries.
  • Lincoln was held to -11 yards in the first half and finished with zero net yards rushing for the game. The Blue Tigers finished with 253 yards of total offense with 163 yards coming in the fourth quarter.
  • The Blue Tigers came into the game averaging 383 yards of total offense and 144 on the ground, however leading rusher Miles Drummond did not play.
  • Steven Day finished with two sacks and as a team, the Bulldogs sacked Lincoln quarterbacks six times with 13 tackles for loss totaling 48 yards. Devin Gillespie, Brett Judkins and Ben Wellman all had fumble recoveries.
  • Ben Chaney led the defense with 10 total tackles and had two pass breakups.
  • Satulla had over 100 all-purpose yards on the day adding 14 yards receiving on two receptions. Truman won their 20th straight game over the Blue Tigers dating back to 1974. The Bulldogs are now 21-4-1 all-time against Lincoln. It was Truman's first trip to Jefferson City since the 1989 season.
  • The Bulldogs doubled their overall point total in the season. They came into the game with 30 points in the first three games and finished with 31 on the scoreboard.
  • Truman finished the game with 33:43 of possession time and was 6-of-15 on third downs while scoring on all four redzone trips. Truman has scored in every trip this season when they have reached the redzone.
  • The loss snapped a four-game losing streak dating back to the 2014 season finale. It was the longest streak since a 5-game skid that lasted the final five games of the 2012 season.
  • It was the fewest yards allowed rushing by a Bulldog defense since a -14 day at Kentucky Wesleyan in 2013. The four yards rushing by Alonzo Travis was the fewest "high" by a single running back against the Bulldogs since LaDon Laney ran for just 12 yards in the same game against the KWC Panthers.
  • Truman improved to 10-1 under Coach Gregg Nesbitt when rushing for over 200 yards in a game.
  • The victory was the 26th for Gregg Nesbitt as Truman Head Coach and moved him into a tie for seventh in Bulldog Coaching wins with his former head coach Ron Taylor (1975-78).
Behind Enemy Lines:
The Greyhounds are 3-1 on the season with their lone loss coming to crosstown rival Marian by a 28-22 score…UINDY has non-conference wins at home against Saginaw Valley State (27-17) and on the road against Hillsdale (Mich.) (38-7)…their only conference game was a 26-24 victory at home against Southwest Baptist…Andrew Walker is team's leading rusher with 342 yards on 67 carries…Walker is averaging 84 yards per game…Derrick Bryant averages 10 tackles per game…UINDY offense averages 6.1 yards per play and are 49% on third downs this year…the Greyhounds have been in the redzone 18 times with 16 scores and nine touchdowns…Head Coach Bob Bartolomeo is in his sixth season at UINDY and has an overall record of 42-16 and a GLVC mark of 23-1 since 2012.

The Bulldogs In The GLVC:
  • Truman is 11-6 as they enter their third season of GLVC action. Both years the Bulldogs have tied for second in the league race behind champion the University of Indianapolis.
  • In those games, the offense has averaged 24.9 points per game with an average of 353.4 total offensive yards (182.8 rushing/170.5 passing).
  • The defense has allowed 15.6 points per GLVC game with an average of 295.8 yards of total offense (93.3 rushing/202.5 passing).
  • The defense has posted 48 sacks in 17 GLVC games while the offense has allowed 25 sacks.
  • Truman has outscored GLVC foes 424 to 266 (+158) with 55 Touchdowns to 29 Touchdowns Allowed.
  • Most of the scoring damage has come in the first half with Truman outscoring GLVC opponents 288-91 (+197 points) but in the fourth quarter of conference games, opponents have a 133-68 margin (-65).
  • Truman defense has allowed just two 100-yard rushers, both in the same game (vs. Indianapolis on October 18, 2014) in 17 GLVC games.
Road Warriors:
Seven of the first nine games will be played away from Kirksville and the Truman campus. It ties the 2005 season with the most road games on a single season schedule.
Out of 172 NCAA Division II programs, Truman is one of three schools with seven true road games. The Bulldogs join Minnesota State Moorehead and Chowan (N.C.) with seven road games. Lane (Tenn.) and Central State (Ohio) also has seven games away from campus but each has one with a neutral site designation.
Truman will travel nearly 5,000 miles roundtrip this season but will also play three of the four closest NCAA Division II schools on the road. Those three are Quincy, Lincoln and William Jewell that will account for a total of 483 of those roundtrip miles.
Stopping The Run:
In the first four games, Truman defense has held opposing running backs to 2.8 yards per carry (118 /333 yards).
For the season, Truman is second in the GLVC in rushing defense at 82.0 yards per game.
String of Close Games:
Four of the last eight games, dating back to last season have been decided by three points or less with Truman's record in those games being 1-3. The other four games have been a 17-point victory,  two 20+ point losses and a 45-point victory.
Going back to the start of the 2014 season (14 games), the Bulldogs have been involved in eight games that have been decided by 10 points or less with a record of 4-4 in those games.
Bulldogs Return To TV
The October 31st conference game with rival Quincy has been selected by the NCAA Division II as part of their weekly national television package to be broadcasted on the American Sports Network. The ASN is comprised of 162 Sinclair Broadcast Group stations. The company, which launched last season, produced 250 college events in nine sports with plans to air more than 375 events this year. The game will be seen locally on KTVO CBS 3.2 and on KHQA CBS Channel 7 and nationwide on NCAA.com.
All Truman home games will be available on the GLVC Sports Network. The free webcasts which can be found on TrumanBulldogs.com/watch, will feature a simulcast of the radio broadcast provided by 104.7 FM KRES. The "Voice of the Bulldogs" Brad Boyer and "Mr. Bulldog" Hank Janssen return for their 21st season in brining Bulldog action to fans. In addition, all games will have a free audio webcast at CentralMoInfo.com/KRES.
Kings of Missouri
With a .579 all-time winning percentage, Truman is the "Top Dog" of all NCAA Football playing schools in the state of Missouri. The Bulldogs are second in terms of overall wins with 551 and trail the flagship institution of the state, the University of Missouri in that regard. Northwest Missouri (.576), Missouri Western (.551), Mizzou (.548) and Westminster College (.525) round out the top five of the 15 public and private schools in the state that play football under the NCAA banner.
Up Next:
It will be Homecoming on the Truman campus as not only the University will celebrate with returning alumni but the returning Bulldogs as well. It will be just the second home game of the season as Truman hosts Southwest Baptist University at 2 p.m. at Stokes Stadium.
The Bearcats are 2-2 on the season with wins over Friends (Kan.) and Quincy. Their two losses have been close road games at Grand Valley (Mich.) State and at Indianapolis. The Bearcats play at McKendree this weekend.  
 
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Players Mentioned

Chico Orlando

#84 Chico Orlando

TE
6' 2"
Senior
Garrett White

#28 Garrett White

RB
6' 0"
Senior
Devonte Black

#9 Devonte Black

QB
5' 11"
Junior
Ben Chaney

#19 Ben Chaney

DB
6' 2"
Sophomore
Steven Day

#21 Steven Day

DB
5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
T.J. Fine

#23 T.J. Fine

DB
5' 11"
Junior
Devin Gillespie

#59 Devin Gillespie

DL
6' 0"
Senior
Brett Judkins

#54 Brett Judkins

DL
6' 0"
Sophomore
Luke Lamar

#24 Luke Lamar

DB
6' 1"
Senior
Felix Neboh

#11 Felix Neboh

WR
5' 7"
Senior
Zach Tobin

#12 Zach Tobin

QB
5' 8"
Senior
Ben Wellman

#41 Ben Wellman

LB
5' 9"
Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Chico Orlando

#84 Chico Orlando

6' 2"
Senior
TE
Garrett White

#28 Garrett White

6' 0"
Senior
RB
Devonte Black

#9 Devonte Black

5' 11"
Junior
QB
Ben Chaney

#19 Ben Chaney

6' 2"
Sophomore
DB
Steven Day

#21 Steven Day

5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
DB
T.J. Fine

#23 T.J. Fine

5' 11"
Junior
DB
Devin Gillespie

#59 Devin Gillespie

6' 0"
Senior
DL
Brett Judkins

#54 Brett Judkins

6' 0"
Sophomore
DL
Luke Lamar

#24 Luke Lamar

6' 1"
Senior
DB
Felix Neboh

#11 Felix Neboh

5' 7"
Senior
WR
Zach Tobin

#12 Zach Tobin

5' 8"
Senior
QB
Ben Wellman

#41 Ben Wellman

5' 9"
Sophomore
LB